Tacwise not firing

[billozz]

I have an air powered tacwise Brad nailer, it keeps misfiring (Brad doesn't come out) I bought some brads from ebay and wonder if they could be the problem, I have found that if I run the head of the brads along a piece of sandpaper they do fire better but still not all the time.
Any suggestions please
Thanks
Bill

 

[big-all]

are they the correct gauge ??
what gun and what nails have you chosen ??

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Get some OEM brads and use them - cheap no-name nails, pins and staples can be an isue and the miniscule savings you generally make are simply not worth the hassle. The Tacwise pins and nails I've used over quite a few years weren't bad quality - and they weren't in the same league, price wise, as Paslode or Senco equivalnts

 

[billozz]

are they the correct gauge ??
what gun and what nails have you chosen ??

Thanks for the reply, I have dgn50v and I've bought 18 g brads 50mm, according to the booklet it will take 180 nails? What are they? I haven't tried nails yet. Now sure if you can answer but what is the difference between nails and brads

 

[opps]

I think it means "type 180" which is 18G

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I looked up the gun, it's an 18 gauge gun which will take 18 gauge brad nails from 20 to 50mm. What are the nails you have bought?

Nails/brads? It's terminology. The trade in the UK generally refer to the nail guns by work type, e.g. "first fix nail gun", "second fix nail gun" and sometimes "pinner". Brad is an American term which has crept in to cause confusion

1st fix nails - nails from about 2.4 to 3.3mm shank thickness with a full round head, an offset full head or a D-shaped (clipped) head, These can be hand driven if needs be and are used for structural framing, sub-flooring, etc. Most 1st fix nailers are desgned to use paper or plastic collated nails, 2.8 to 3.3mm diameter x 50 to 90mm shank length

2nd fix nails - nails (or pins) with three specific sizes, 15 gauge, 16 gauge and 18 gauge. 15 gauge nails have a round body and a fully formed small head - I use a gun which drives 15 gauge nails, but they are rare in the UK. 16 gauge nails, which are the standard for installing architraves, skirtings, etc are flat strip nails and come in lengths from 25 to 64mm. 18 gauge nails, which are more for attaching small to medium size mouldings, etc are again a flat strip nail with lengths 16 to 50mm. Americans refer to 18 gauge pins as "brads"

Smaller pinners - some manufacturers make a fine, headless pin in 20 to 23 gauge. Lengths are normally restricted to 35 or 40mm max length. These very fine nails are used specifically to fix beadings to furniture and similar tasks because the holes made is near invisible

The guns are referred to as nailers or nail guns in sizes from 18 gauge up to 3.3mm; 15 gauge and smaller (down to 23 gauge) are also referred to as pinners

"Gauge" refers to AWG or American Wire Gauge and describes the size of the shank. The higher the gauge, the smaller the nail or pin

 

[billozz]

I looked up the gun, it's an 18 gauge gun which will take 18 gauge brad nails from 20 to 50mm. What are the nails you have bought?
Thanks for the reply
I have bought 18 gauge brads. Can I use nails in this gun? I appreciate the long reply lots of info.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I have bought 18 gauge brads. Can I use nails in this gun?

The question was more what brand? In theory your 18 gauge 50mm nails should work in your gun (they are not brand dependent), but you say you need to run the heads along sandpaper to get them to work at all - that indicates poor quality nails. Bin them and get yourself a box of Tacwise nails (Screwfix, Toolstation or Amazon)

 

[billozz]

Tbh the ones I bought from toolstation aren't brilliant they fail also

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Toolstation used to sell unbranded ones in white boxes and TacWise in blue/yellow boxes (they always come in branded boxes) - the unbranded can be a bit ropey at times. Which ones did you buy? You still haven't said. The issue is this - if the gun refuses to work with TacWise OEM nails, then that points to the gun having a problem because TacWise OEM nails are generally good - if the gun refuses to work with unbranded nails then it could be either the gun or the nails at fault.

 

[big-all]

i have 95% tackwise and some Axminster never ever had a misfire or problem other than when working with friends they where using wrong gauge nails in the wrong machine
trying 18 in a 16 and visa versa now to me a bit daft but we need to realize in the real world people are fantastic in there field off expert ease but a bit to very restricted in understanding basic real world situations outside there worlds

 

[billozz]

Toolstation used to sell unbranded ones in white boxes and TacWise in blue/yellow boxes (they always come in branded boxes) - the unbranded can be a bit ropey at times. Which ones did you buy? You still haven't said. The issue is this - if the gun refuses to work with TacWise OEM nails, then that points to the gun having a problem because TacWise OEM nails are generally good - if the gun refuses to work with unbranded nails then it could be either the gun or the nails at fault.

Thanks for the reply I have both and there can be a problem with both, but mainly the unbranded

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Good. In that case avoid the unbranded (I have had problems with the occasional box - so it either goes back or gets skipped).

That narrows it down to probably being some sort of feed issue. Does the pusher which drives the pins forward operate smoothly, or is it sticking? Are there any signs of rust or rough paint on the pusher or its' spring or in the track the clip of pins are pushed along? Also, have you tried cleaning out and lubricating the magazine that the pins are loaded into? Clean with a cloth dampened with white spirits - lubricate with a dry lubricant such as silicone or PTFE. Avoid oils or greases as they attract dust

As an aside, my first gen DW 16 ga nailer would never work with Paslode pins over 50mm long - they would jam and stick all the time. 50mm and below were great, so above that I just had a couple of boxes of a different make with me. By far the biggest issue, though, was rust forming on tools (and sometimes nails) which spent their life on site or in the van

 

[billozz]

Thanks for the reply,
The reason I began lightly rubbing the nails on some emery paper is because when the gun misfires the nails are usually stuck under the guide that is just before the end of the gun, the slider that feeds the nails seems to work nicely and doesn't get stuck.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

You shouldn't need to do that, though, hence the lubricant, etc suggestions.