23ga. pinner

[Ray McGrath]

I'm looking at a Grex 23ga. pinner, it will shoot 2" pins, would this work with 5/8" oak casing as a finish nailer?

[Karl Brogger]

Sure, why not?

I'd PL the casing to the wall though. The holding power of a headless 23ga micropin is about nothing.

Why wouldn't you use a finish gun, or a brad/pin nailer?

[Sam Layton]

Hi Ray,

I have the Grex 23ga pinner. It is the older one, it does not shoot 2" nails. I can't remember how long it goes. It is a good pin nailer. However, I would not rely on it only. I use it along with my finish nailer. At 23 ga, they are so thin they have a tendency to blow out and follow the grain. Like Karl said, not a lot of holding power, but they do well on small parts while glue dries.

Sam

[Rick Fisher]

I have a Porter Cable 23 ga pinner.. I use it a lot for furniture.. but always as a clamp..

For baseboards and casing, its not really strong enough..

I did a bunch of wainscot for a buddy, we used the 23 ga to fasten the panel mould, but fired 2 pins in at different angles.. That worked very well. .

[Rich Engelhardt]

I didn't have a lot of luck hanging oak trim just yesterday using the 23 ga pinner alone.
I had to back it up with a small bead of Locktite Power Grab.
I prefer PG over the PL due to it's higher initial grab.
Stuff "stays put" until you can drive a fastener.

I also had one stubborn (warped) piece that defied using the 23 ga or the 18 ga.

I resorted to a heavier bead of PG and the 16 ga for that piece.

[Matt Evans]

. . . fired 2 pins in at different angles.. That worked very well. . .
That does work very well. It is also the best way I have found to install wooden moldings to plaster over brick, without backing, although that requires a much larger gauge nail and lots of adhesive.

[Jim Becker]

Ray, for casing you likely are going to need more holding power than a pinner can deliver. I do use my Grex for installing face-frames on built-ins after the carcasses are installed, but I'm also using glue, shooting the pins at a slight angle and employing some masking tape for additional hold while the glue dries. The pins are only for initial clamping. With architectural moldings, you have to remember that the house is going to move and that will sometimes even free up with 15 gage nails. This all is my opinion, of course...your mileage may vary. But having that pinner in your arsenal is still a great idea...very useful tool in so many ways.

[Ray McGrath]

Thank you all for your responses.
Ray

[Brian Tax]

What is PL? I am assuming some kind of construction adhesive (liquid nails).

[Bill White]

23 ga. is only used for non-structural applications in my shop.
Bill

[Rich Engelhardt]

Brian,

http://www.stickwithpl.com/

[Rick Fisher]

I was making box joints today.. Cut both sides at once.. Use 2 23 ga pins to hold the two pieces together, because they are so easy to pull apart..

They are nearly invisible.. On heavily grained wood, they are invisible.. but have little or no holding power..