Any Harbor Freight Pin Nailer Owners?

[John McClanahan]

I've been wanting a pin nailer for a while now. Notice I said "wanting" and not "needing". As a hobbyist, it will not get very heavy use, and I'm not going to spend over $100 to own one. I have some Harbor Freight tools that are "good enough', and was wandering if the Harbor Freight pin nailer falls in that category, or if I would be wasting $24.99 on one.

Thanks, John

[Eric Roberge]

Funny that you should bring this up today of all days... I was just in there this afternoon looking at the HF pin nailer thinking the same thing.

Online it's $24.99 and in the store it was $26.99????

I've read some reviews that seemed favorable, plus I'm hard pressed spending $109 for a PC pin nailer or $200+ for a Grex.

[Rob Young]

I have the HF pin nailer. So far, so good at a few hundred 3/4" and 1/2" pins. It does tend to bounce a bit so it can mark up the material. But so far that hasn't been an issue for me as I've been using it for pinning 1/4" ply on the backs of carcasses while the glue dries or to tack down templates to larger pieces for routing.

As always with HF gear, look around for the 20% coupons.

[Bruce Wrenn]

A couple of other choices include the Bostich one for about $130, and an Airy for $59.99.

[ales uliasz]

I have one over a year and shooting just like expensive one.i am using 3/8 and 1 inch pin nails with no problems.

[Ted Calver]

I've had one for two years and it does everything I need it to do. No jams and has been working well. I think I got it at one of the sales for $19 something

[Paul Ryan]

I own the harbor freight pin nailer. I am embaressed to say, I don't know why I bought it. I hate harbor freight tools, I got it for 15.99, that was 19.99 plus 20% off. To be honest, ya, it is probably is worth $15 but not a penny more in my opinion. Mine doesn't drive every pin to the same depth. Most are counter sunk but about every 5th is kept out just a little. The pins are a pain to load, an it only shoots up to 1" pins. In my defense I didn't know how much I would use a pin nailer, so I bought the cheapest one. Well I got what I paid for in my opinion. I honestly can say I will never take another step into harbor freight, I just get a bad feeling. For those of you that have had good luck with their tools. Good for you I am glad someone has, but I have never had good luck with cheap tools. So anyway I have owned it for about 10 months and have shot about 200 pins. So now I don't know if I really need a pin nailer or if I just dont use it very often because it is a chitty tool. I would buy a bostitch, I really like their nail guns.

[Robert foster]

I bought one last winter and have used it occasionally. No problems here. I paid $14.00 for mine.

Bob

[Leo Vogel]

I just got done using my HF pin nailer to to do a few small projects. Works great so far. I bought it because I was not sure I would use one, and if I did, I would buy a better one. Well, I'm using it a lot, and see no need to buy a different one yet.

[Jim Pritchett]

I have both the HF pin nailer and brad nailer and they work like a charm.
Pay attention to the delivered air pressure so the pins don't blow through thin material. Ideal for pinning drawer sides and plywood edging after gluing up. No clamps needed! Good luck with yours.

Jim Pritchett

[Richard M. Wolfe]

I got mine on sale for $12.99, as I recall. There have been a couple times I had to shoot it into scrap to get it going (probably my fault for not oiling it) but for the overall performance I've been satisfied with it.

This afternoon I tried using it to shoot through 3/4" mesquite and found one more thing that won't work. Two of the one inch pins completely looped back 180 degrees and came out about a quarter inch from where I started. :rolleyes: It's not the nailer but the application I was trying to make it do in this case. I used it a couple weeks ago on some 3/8" pine strips I was using to hold some screen wire and and shot probably a hundred pins with no problems. If you want one for just occasional use it should fill the bill.

[Dave Cav]

I have two 16 gauge, two 18 gauge, a stapler/nailer and a 23 gauge. The 18 gauges seem to work a little better than the 16s, but they all work pretty well especially for the price; so far the 23 gauge pinner has been perfect. I'm not using them for high production work but so far they seem fine for occasional use, and I have had them for some time. That being said, when I needed a 3 1/2" framing nailer, I got a used Hitachi at a pawn shop. It's bulletproof.

[george wilson]

My HF pin nailer works just fine. I could be confusing the HF with a Grizzly. One of them did not shoot the brad or pin nail below the surface of the wood. I found that when I took off the rather thick rubber cushion off of the nose that you press against the wood,it worked quite well.

I never use such nailers unless I am putting in trim in the house,or something like that,so I can't recall which one had the small problem. Since I don't use these type tools often at all,I didn't want to buy an expensive one,and they both have been fine. I use a little Senco compressor with them.

[Darrell Bottoms]

I bought one, shot maybe 300 pin's....broke & traded in
2nd one, shot maybe 150....broke & traded in
3rd one, not even a full clip of pins....broke & in the trash.:(

Is probably my run of luck as most seem to be pleased....being as I've found all the bad ones...I'd say you'd be safe to get one that works!

[John McClanahan]

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like its probably worth the asking price. Maybe I can catch them on sale.

John

[Randal Stevenson]

I am hoping people will start reviewing their posts and place their models in them. When I looked at one, they had two models. One seems to get better reviews then the other when I searched for them, but both were recommended as "light use". For everyday use, the Grex got the most recommendations (higher then the posters budget).

[William Hutchinson]

I've had the HF brad and pin nailers for five or six years. With moderate hobby usage, both have performed well shooting porter-cable brand brads/pins.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y66/wlhutch/IMG_0291.jpg

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I have one from long ago, and it's buried in my garage, so I don't know the model number. It's worth the money, as long as you don't expect it to fire a nail every time. I've had numerous misfeeds. It's NOT a 130 buck Bostitch. It works for the weekend warrior. Definitely not for the serious woodworker. It's east to tell it it didn't feed a nail. Or I should say pin.

[Norman Pyles]

I have one, and it works well. They usually go on sale quite often.

[Myk Rian]

I just bought a HF pin nailer a couple weeks ago. Haven't been able to use it yet.
I've had the brad nailer for a couple years. Works great. Had to replace a leaky O-ring, but other than that, no problems.

[Tom Winship]

I bought one about a year ago and it has served me well. My opinion of HF is that if you use it only once in a while, it is the smart place to go.

[Bill Arnold]

I've had one for several years and it has worked just fine for me. No complaints.

[Rob Young]

I am hoping people will start reviewing their posts and place their models in them. When I looked at one, they had two models. One seems to get better reviews then the other when I searched for them, but both were recommended as "light use". For everyday use, the Grex got the most recommendations (higher then the posters budget).

OK, since mine is clear up at the top, I'll just "pin" the model number in here:
Harbor Freight 97526-0VGA, and I paid around $15 for it (almost never pay full price there, wait for sale or coupon or both).

I will also add, that it did leak air when I first bought it but it was just from the air fitting. Some extra layers of pipe tape and no more leak.

[David Prince]

Funny that you should bring this up today of all days... I was just in there this afternoon looking at the HF pin nailer thinking the same thing.

Online it's $24.99 and in the store it was $26.99????

I've read some reviews that seemed favorable, plus I'm hard pressed spending $109 for a PC pin nailer or $200+ for a Grex.
Print off a copy of the on-line HF price. The store will honor that price.

As far as the price of the nailer, at least you will not have a lot invested in it if it fails to perform. If you were going to use it alot, a better nailer is a better investment.

I have a cheap Cambell Hausfield. It works for cheap / non-important tacking, but I can tell the difference when I pull out a bostich.

[Jerome Hanby]

I got one and it fires grex pin nails just fine. It works well. Only problems I've had are trying to use pin nails in situations where they are poorly suited. I'd buy it again.

[Eric Gustafson]

I bought one just to try a pin nailer. It works! I haven't had any problem driving pins and I use HF pins, too. Mine doesn't mar the surface and the pins are driven well. Caution should be excercised using it, however. There is no safety on my trigger. Use eye protection! Don't leave it where a kid could access it.

[Warren Scott]

I bought one, it fires pins OK, but it does not have a safety. I haven't found a pinner with a safety on the nose, but most require you to pull 2 triggers to get the pin to fire. the HF pinner only has one trigger.
After a misfire that sent a pin into my leg and a trip to urgent care to get it out and a week or 2 hobbling around, I stay away from mine, and am waiting for an excuse to go buy one that is a little safer.
Granted these stories are told about all air nailers, but this accident happened specifically because of the lack of a safety trigger on this model.

[John McClanahan]

I'm surprised to learn they don't have a safety!

Next time I'm at Harbor Freight I will take a close look at one.

Thanks everyone! :D

John

[Ryan Baker]

I bought one, it fires pins OK, but it does not have a safety. I haven't found a pinner with a safety on the nose, but most require you to pull 2 triggers to get the pin to fire. the HF pinner only has one trigger.
After a misfire that sent a pin into my leg and a trip to urgent care to get it out and a week or 2 hobbling around, I stay away from mine, and am waiting for an excuse to go buy one that is a little safer.
Granted these stories are told about all air nailers, but this accident happened specifically because of the lack of a safety trigger on this model.

I know what you mean. I won't use a gun without a safety any more. I have one of the HF brad nailers. It works just fine but doesn't have a safety. I never shot myself with it, but it just isn't worth the risk. I have several other brad nailers anyway, so it's not a big deal.

The HF nailers do the job for moderate use (the air tools are about the best things HF sells). For heavy use, one would be better suited with a better tool.

[Joe Wiliams]

On a recent rerun of NYW Norm noted the lack of a safety device on pin nailers was so they could fit in tighter spaces. Any idea what brand he uses?

[Rob Young]

It is my understanding that for PIN NAILERS (ie 23 gauge) they do not have the nose safety due to the size of the nose and the types of spaces they are intended to be used.

Some (the Porter Cable and Grex and some others) have a two stage trigger. The HF unit does not have a two stage trigger. It does however have a safety that can be engaged to block the trigger.

And frankly, it seems to me that any sort of "gun" should be treated as such and you keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to fire (pin or bullet). Same goes for the trigger on circular saws, jigsaws, etc.

[Don Dorn]

Mine shot about 200 and something must have happend to the hammer because it doesn't matter what air pressure is delivered, every pin now sticks out about 1/4". It was cheap and probably paid for itself - I'll spend a little more and get a decent one.

That said - I've had a 15 gauge finish nailer from HF for about three years now and have used it far more than I ever thought I would including building two shops. It did a great job of tacking many things up before the actual fasteners. Still works like a charm.

[Curt Harms]

I have an Air Locker model. It has a nose safety like larger nailers. I haven't had a problem with it but can see the advantage of the double trigger design for getting the nose into confined spaces. Mine had a burr in the magazine causing feed problems but a little emery cloth cleaned that up and it has worked fine for hobby/occasional use. I also discovered that 1 3/16"=30mm pin size. I got mine for $39 a few years ago.

http://www.toolmarts.com/air_locker_p630.html

[Scott Jusko]

I would also look into Grizzly nailers. Most likely won't cost much more and from my experience their quality control is better.

[Randal Stevenson]

It is my understanding that for PIN NAILERS (ie 23 gauge) they do not have the nose safety due to the size of the nose and the types of spaces they are intended to be used.

Some (the Porter Cable and Grex and some others) have a two stage trigger. The HF unit does not have a two stage trigger. It does however have a safety that can be engaged to block the trigger.

And frankly, it seems to me that any sort of "gun" should be treated as such and you keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to fire (pin or bullet). Same goes for the trigger on circular saws, jigsaws, etc.

I went looking and found an old post that described the difference between the two HF pin nailers. The 95882 was (appears to be discontinued) the model with the bump safety. It wasn't liked as well due to leaving dents. (read one post about using something like plastic dip on it, but never saw how it came out and worked after that). The 97526 has a trigger safety, that should be moved back into place between shots. Neither one of these (as well as any pneumatic nailer) should be left out especially if you have air lying about.