Are brad nailer brads interchangeable?

[Louis Brandt]

Hello,

I have a Porter-Cable brad nailer, and I need a length of brad nail that I can’t find in Porter-Cable brand, UNLESS I buy a box of 5000 (most of which I’ll never need). So my question is, would another brand of brad nail (Senco, for example) be ok to use with my Porter-Cable brad nailer? Is there anything that I need to check to make sure that another brand will work with my nailer?

I haven’t asked Porter-Cable this question simply because I assume that they would just tell me that they don’t recommend that I use any brand of brads but theirs.

Thanks,
Louis

[Dave Sweeney]

If you're asking about 18ga brads then yes, AFASIK they're pretty much interchangeable. I think the same is true for 16ga but I'm not positive. 15ga finish nails is where you have to be careful about the brand you use.

[john bateman]

Be careful that you do get a size compatible with your nailer.
I had some Bostitch 1-5/8" brads...they won't shoot from my porter cable gun, even though it will go up to 2".

Examining the magazine revealed to me why they wouldn't shoot.

[Tom Godley]

I have also had a few issues -- they are not all the same.

[Robert Todd]

They are supposed to be interchangable, but I have a Hitachi brad nailer that will not work with Bostich brads but will work with other brands. The nailer is up to 2 inch and would not work with Bostich one and five eights brads.

[Alan Schaffter]

Definately NOT ALL THE SAME!!

The PC has ridges on the magazine and many brads, while an acceptable length overall, won't fit because the heads land on a ridge.

You also need to be skeptical of what it says on the box.

I have a PC BN200A 18 ga. brad nailer. Bostich 2" work, but Bostich 1-5/8" won't (says compatible with PC BN200- could the 200A be different?). My suggestion is to take your nailer with you when you buy brads.

You need to be careful with angled finish nailers also- they come in different angles!

[Mike Henderson]

I'v shot PC 18 gauge brads in a Senco but never the opposite. Buy a small pack and try it.

Mike

[Ian Roth]

Interesting Thread. I have a Bostich BT200K-2 (18 gage) and have used both PC and craftsman brads with no issues.

[Steve Clardy]

Never had any problems with my PC guns using any brand of 16 and 18 ga. nails.
Now the 15 ga., yes. There are 2-3 different angles out there for 15 ga. nails.

[Myk Rian]

Examining the magazine revealed to me why they wouldn't shoot.
What did you find?

[john bateman]

What did you find?

I found what Allen Schaffter found, in his post above at 11:26 yesterday.

[Bill Keehn]

Anybody want to put together a compatibility matrix to keep as a sticky?

[Alan Schaffter]

Anybody want to put together a compatibility matrix to keep as a sticky?

With the PC 200BN it is not a brand compatibility issue, it is brad length issue. The magazine has ridges and if the head of the brad falls on a ridge it won't work. You can easily measure the distance from the bottom of magazine to the ridges to see what size brads the PC will take and what sizes it won't.

It really looks like PC put the ridges there so the the nailer couldn't use some, most brads by certain manufactures. It sure seems like they could have put the ridges in better locations than they did.