Nailer for fixing mdf and ply cupboards

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Hi all,
so i have the DeWalt DCN660 2nd fix 18v nailer, but i need something that fires brads smaller than 32mm.
Ideally something that fires nails 15-30mm so that it can cater for thinner materials too, not just 18mm mdf or ply.
Looked at a tacwise one that seemed to fit the bill but it got hammered with negative comments about nails sticking 4mm out, and simply not strong enough to help fix cabinets together even with glue.
I'll have other uses for this nailer (mainly softwood skirting and arcs), so no need to recommend alternative methods of fixing cabinets.

Thanks for any advice offered. (links to recommended products would be awesome :p )
 
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Does it have to be battery or mains powered? Ideally you need to go Pneumatic. If that's possible there are a wealth of options.
 
Lol, can’t believe I didn’t even mention which power train.
I have a pneumatic one, but it’s a ball ache hauling the compressor out.
Although I did hang my nose over a clarke mini compressor that comes bundled with a nailer that on paper would suit my purposes well.
So electric i guess.
 
Have a cheap tackwise and works fine for pinning 20-38mm, if a pin stick out after firing I have always found it to be due to insufficient pressure against material , that is, user error.
 
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Looking at the 660 I hadn't realised it was 16Ga. Seems a little heavy for cabinet finishing. Makita do a cordless 23 which is quite light but better suited. DeWalt also do a 18Ga which would be more realistic but I'm not sure of the model number.

As foxhole has said, I've read plenty of good (and some bad) things about the tacwise nailers but they're cheap enough to try out I suppose.
 
Have a cheap tackwise and works fine for pinning 20-38mm, if a pin stick out after firing I have always found it to be due to insufficient pressure against material , that is, user error.

I have the £75ish Tackwise Duo.

It is rubbish. Staples and pins often get jammed down the side of the firing arm. I purchased it to staple down thin plywood in a kitchen. The flex is so short that when I plugged it into the worktop sockets I discovered that it wouldn't reach the floor. Any firm that is so tight that it refuses to spend another 60p on a couple of meters of flex probably isn't to concerned about at the customer's experience.

I regret buying it, so much so that I have left it sitting in a client's house for the last year.

With regard to pins sticking out, yes it is a function of pressure but you need to apply a lot more pressure than you would with an air pinner.
 
I have the £75ish Tackwise Duo.

It is rubbish. Staples and pins often get jammed down the side of the firing arm. I purchased it to staple down thin plywood in a kitchen. The flex is so short that when I plugged it into the worktop sockets I discovered that it wouldn't reach the floor. Any firm that is so tight that it refuses to spend another 60p on a couple of meters of flex probably isn't to concerned about at the customer's experience.

I regret buying it, so much so that I have left it sitting in a client's house for the last year.

With regard to pins sticking out, yes it is a function of pressure but you need to apply a lot more pressure than you would with an air pinner.
Most power tool manufacturers only fit short flex , among them my dewalt saw, hitachi grinder, glue gun, table saw, chop saw, etc . Etc.I just replace with 3m flex myself.
 
Most power tool manufacturers only fit short flex.

In my experience trade/industrial rated tools normally have a reasonable flex length, that said, yes my Arrow glue gun has a very short flex as does my Makita angle grinder. Sure, I could put a longer flex on my angle grinder but I hate it. Badly designed, Chinese manufactured rubbish.
 
Looking at the 660 I hadn't realised it was 16Ga. Seems a little heavy for cabinet finishing. Makita do a cordless 23 which is quite light but better suited. DeWalt also do a 18Ga which would be more realistic but I'm not sure of the model number.'
16ga nailers are designed to drive a headed 16ga brad nail and are commonly referred to as 2nd fix nailers because of their most common use - 2nd fix carpentry, such as installing paint-grade MDF or softwood skirtings, architraves, window boards, etc. Pin lengths generally 25 or 32mm up to 64mm. They leave a relatively large hole due to the heads of the brad nails being so large and are unsuitable for furniture making

18ga nailers are designed to drive a small-headed 18ga brad nail and are sometimes used in site work to do 2nd fix on clear-finish materials such as polished skirtings, architraves, window boards, etc. (the holes are filled with coloured wax afterwards). Pin lengths generally 25 mm up to 50mm. They are too weak for furniture making on their own and are often used as a temporary fixing to hold components together whilst they are screwed together or while the glue in joints (such as dowels or biscuits) sets. Pin lengths generally 25 or 32mm up to 64mm.

22 to 24ga nailers are designed to drive a tiny-headed (or in some cases headless) micro pins and are used to affix beadings and mouldings (often glued as well) to otherwise finished work. Pin lengths generally 12 mm up to 32mm although Grex do 50mm pins for one of their guns. They are far too weak for any form of construction work
 
They are too weak for furniture making on their own and are often used as a temporary fixing to hold components together whilst they are screwed together or while the glue in joints (such as dowels or biscuits) sets.

I've never known anyone build cabinets, furniture or carcasses with pin nails alone.
 
I've never known anyone build cabinets, furniture or carcasses with pin nails alone.

It should be all that's needed in terms of metal fixings, just to keep parts together long enough for the glue to cure.
 
It should be all that's needed in terms of metal fixings, just to keep parts together long enough for the glue to cure.

That's what I'm saying. Never heard of anyone make anything without glue at the very least.
 
  • Either way butted, glued and pinned joints just don't give a carcass enough strength on their own (try dropping something like that on an edge and see how long it lasts). To make something which can be handled or transported requires another mechanical fixing such as biscuits, dowels, screws, etc in order to get joints which will take a small amount of handling and which won't fail when the cabinet is loaded with stuff.
 

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