Nailers

[Allen Grimes]

Is this a good deal?http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?CNTTYPE=PROD_META&CNTKEY=Products_2%2fPower+Tools%2fAir+Tools%2fNail ers&BV_SessionID=@@@@1466083471.1100064456@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccefadcmmmmlegjcgelceffdfgidgmk.0&MID=9876

There is a "FREE Crown Stapler by Mail-In Rebate with Purchase of a Porter-Cable 2-Gun Combo Kit". I wasn't planning on buying any nailers just yet, but me mum saw the ad in the paper and let me know.

[Norman Hitt]

Allen, it's a good deal that is offered several places, because it comes from PC. Amazon/ToolCrib also offer it, and if you get Free shipping from them it would save you the Sales Tax (depending which state you live in).

[Charlie Plesums]

That kit only has the BN125 brad nailer, up to 1 1/4 inches. Although most of the brads I shoot are 1 1/4 or less, I have used and appreciated the longer brads that can be shot with the BN200 brad nailer. Bottom line, that isn't the brad nailer I would choose.

If you don't have any nailer, you will be surprised how you lived without it when you get your first one. It allows you to hold something in alignment and fasten it with a trigger pull. My hammer moves things out of alignment until the final hit, when it either dings the wood or bends the nail. Guess I have a defective hammer. And my countersink is afraid of nails - it always slides off the head and makes a new hole when hit by the defective hammer.

If you primarily do home repair type projects, you will also want a 15-16 gauge finish nailer, like the PC in the kit. (for comparison, the brad nailer is 18 gauge)

If you primarily build furniture, you will love having a pin nailer (23 gauge).

[Allen Grimes]

Thanks guys. Charlie I will basicly be doing everything until I can get enough money to get my furniture factory/store going, which then I will be specilizing in kitchens, but still be doing all the rest.

[Charlie Plesums]

This is what I have found...

The finish nails have some strength, but are large enough that the only place I have used them in furniture making is in hidden torsion boxes (e.g. the sructure inside a hollow desk top). But I have used it for "carpentry" repairs around the house. It has been years since I built kitchen cabinets, but there might be some use there.

The brads are great to hold glue blocks and as a substitute for clamps. They have some strength but not a lot - enough to hold things in place if handled gently until the glue dries. The brads are big enough that they need to be hidden, and I don't like the colored filler that some use (the wood and the putty change colors at different rates over time)

The pin nailer is so fine that I only use it to hold trim in place while the glue dries, but the hole is so small that it is typically hidden by the final sanding. For moldings that cannot be clamped, like the crown on a bookcase or trim in the middle of a piece, the pin nailer is priceless.
Hope this helps with your purchase plans