Brad Nailer vs Pin nailer

[Raymond Fries]

I am getting ready to buy a nailer for a home project; I am going to lay porcelain tile for the house. Oh boy - looks like I better buy some of those knee pads! Anyway, I will need it to use it to re-attach baseboards for the entire house. I have been looking at the PC 18 ga with 6 gal compressor combo.

Well today, I came acrosss other treads here at the Creek describing the use of the 23 ga nailers and how the holes do not need to be filled.

Will the 1" pins be sufficient for baseboard? Or, should I go with the 18 ga?

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[Richard Dragin]

I would use the 18g. for base. the 23g is more delicate and probably to small for architectural details unless you plan on using glue. Trim work on furniture is probably better suited to the 23g.

[Chip Lindley]

16ga. finish nailers are usually the weapon of choice for baseboard because they shoot a 2-1/2" nail. 18ga. brad nailers have much less holding power with baseboard. Better with hardwood or MDF than pine or foam. Pinners are way out of their league.

If you choose an 18ga. brad nailer, use a small dollop of construction adhesive behind each nailing spot, and shoot at an angle. 1" brads are definately too short. Use the maximum your gun will shoot! (2"?) Remember you have to penetrate to reach the wall studs. (unless it's solid wood panelling)

[Ramsey Ramco]

I have done production trim in homes for nearly 10 years. I shoot a 16ga 2" nail for all door/window casing and base board. A 2 1/2" for door and window extension jambs. I also use the brad nailer to nail the inside profile on the door and window casing. The only things I use my micro pinner for is intricate mouldings like the outside corners on crown or a rope moulding. Occasionally I will use it to nail the small detail pieces of base when a bullnose corner bead is used. For base boards I would personally suggest the 16ga Hopefully this helps a little.

[keith micinski]

18 Gauge brads will hold base board up no problem. The only thing it is doing is pulling the board against the wall. It's not even supporting the weight of the base board in most cases. I would suggest not using glue. If you ever have to remove these pieces again for some reason you have complicated removal significantly. Unless you plan on having someone trying to rip your base board off all of the time you'll be fine.

[Don Whitten]

Use a 15-16ga finish nailer with 2-2 1/2" nails, by all means don't use glue. If you ever need to remove the trim and used glue you'll be replacing a lot of trim/base board.

[Glen Butler]

I am in the 2" 18 gauge camp. This gives you well over an inch penetration into the stud. If this is paint grade the caulk will glue it to the wall. 16 gauge to me are worthless. Not quite small enough for the fine stuff, not quite big enough for heavy holding. I use a 15 gauge clipped head angle nailer to hang doors and heavy holding projects.

[Jack Wilson]

Regarding the size, please keep in mind that the 23 gauge pins are really that, pins. They are needle thin and have no head. Though you can get some longer ones, up to 2", maybe more, they have no holding power in this application. First of all you want some grabbing/pulling power to hold the trim to the wall the head on the nail is whats gonna do this. I think 18 gauge is a little light for this kind of work and would stay with the 15/16 gauge nails, optimal length is 2", and don't be afraid to buy an extra gun. I have 18 nail guns at last count and wouldn't think twice about getting another. But...I have a sickness;)

[Caspar Hauser]

Another vote for a 16g finish nailer and a 2 to 2.5" nail, a pin nailer is definitely the wrong animal.

[Van Huskey]

With pins no matter 23 or 21ga the base can just pull away from the wall. 18ga will work but I prefer the more traditional 16ga.

[Raymond Fries]

I have never seen the 23 ga but sounds like it would be way to light for the task.

I guess I will have to consider what I will do with it beyond this project and then decide whether to get the 18 ga or 16 ga. I love tools but do not do enough work to justify two nailers at this time. I might even be buying the nailer for just this project. I just have never thought about pneumatic tools all that much until this project came along.

Well if it does turn out to not be used much after the project, there is always the ole classified section here which is a very busy place.

[David DeCristoforo]

Brad nailers are best used for light trim. Things like baseboards, door casings and the like need the holding power of a "headed" nail. Brad nailers, pin nailers and finish nailers are, as an old Russian friend says, "similar...not the same". Each has it's best use and while there is some crossover, they are not necessarily interchangeable.

[Paul Ryan]

A pin nailer will never hold base board on for the long haul, unless you use glue and you don't want to do that with any type of trim work that may need to be removed and reinstalled. Beside holding it finding pins that are long enough to go through 5/8 base board 5/8 sheet rock and into a decent amout of stud would be difficult.

I have been using a 18 gauge nailer for years on everything from window casing, to base board, to door casing, and furniture assembly. It is my go to size for any trim work. 18 gauge is a more common size than 16 when it comes to finding nails. I use sizes from 5/8 up to 2" have never needed any longer.

[Jay Jeffery]

I don't have much to add, as everyone already said you need at least an 18 gauge, and would be better off for this project with a 16 or 15 gauge nailer. My only bit of advice is to look at the fasteners you will want for the gun and factor that into your decision. The cost to feed a nail gun quickly exceeds the cost of the gun, so don't worry excessively about the intial outlay for the gun itself.

If you plan to do small projects after this job, an 18 ga nailer and compressor combo might be the way to go. Just make sure it can drive a 2 inch brad; you don't want to put up molding with just 1 1/4" and most cheapies max out there. You can get smaller sized brads down to half an inch and drive them into delicate materials.

Be aware that the longer 18 ga brads don't always stay straight and can come popping out the side of your material if you aren't careful. That's not a huge deal if you are aiming for a 2 X 4 inside a wall, but a 16 or 15 ga might suit you better if you think you would be using it with projects where 1 1/2" or 2" long festers are the norm.

[Jerome Hanby]

Brads may not have much of a head, but pins don't have one at all. I don't use them anywhere where I'm depending on them to be the holding mechanism. They rock for tacking something in place that would be a pain to clamp or some cases where you need three hands to put something together.

[eric buggeln]

If you do go with the brad nailer don't get the PC. The Ridgid and Bostitch are much nicer. If you go with long brads and caulk the top to the wall, you will be fine, but 16 ga 2 inchers give a stronger hold. Eric

[Russ Kay]

If you're just going to be using it for the one job, why not rent the gun you need, whether it's a 16 or 18 gauge?

[Curt Harms]

If you're just going to be using it for the one job, why not rent the gun you need, whether it's a 16 or 18 gauge?

Or buy one from Harbor Freight. H.F. brad and pin guns seem to get more good reviews than bad. Some of the Framer guns get panned. I wouldn't go H.F. for a frequent use gun but for a one-project (you think;)) usage it might be adequate. If you live near an H.F. store and it gives you grief in the first week, you can return it and get your money back. If it doesn't give you grief, it probably cost less than a rental and you still have the gun. I might buy fasteners from Senco or Porter Cable though. Just my opinion.