With a 15ga and 18ga gun do you need a 16ga?

[John Weber]

Hey guys,

I have a 15ga finish nailer and a couple 18ga brad nailers. Lowes has the Porter Cable 16ga finish nailer on clearance for $111, Always hard to pass up a deal, would there be much use for a 16ga nailer?

Thanks - John

P.S. They also have the PC 15ga angled finish bailer for either $135 or $139, I don't remember for sure...

[Jim Dunn]

As I have an 18ga and my friend has a 16ga we find that they together can handle all the nail ups we encounter. However as I/we don't have a 15ga I would need to know how long is the nail it will handle? As you are probably aware the 16ga will handle a nail that is 2.5". The head size is not so large as putty has a lot of problems covering it. Course how many tools is to many:)

[Steven Wilson]

I find the 15ga can be a bit to aggressive for some moldings, that's when the 16ga is real handy

[Michael Perata]

I find the 15ga can be a bit to aggressive for some moldings, that's when the 16ga is real handy

I have put too many 16ga nails into my fingers to ever allow one on a job. The thin long nails will whip in the grain and come out backwards at you, all without warning.

My recommendation - stay away from 16ga nailers. If your 15ga is too big, either predrill for 7/8d finish or drop down to an 18ga and short nails.

[Per Swenson]

With all due respect, any gun nail will turn and damage a appendage when your hand is next to the material. I own 9 finish nailer's,2 -22 guage, 3- 18g, 3-16 and one 15g. All are are wonderful tools and used daily. Please note they are job specific. We hang doors and larger crowns with the 15. This also applies to framing nailer's. They can bite back too. Today may be the day but...I am a finish carpenter for 27 years, no punctures , all my fingers,no vacations.

[Mike Holbrook]

I think the key would be whether or not you think you will have work to justify the gun. Personally I love my Hitachi angled 15 and look for excuses to use it. I find ways to make it work because it is such a pleasure to use. I took my original gun back and got the Hitachi 15 when I decided I needed to counter sink in Choice Deck 5/4 boards. I use a little 18 for anything that my 15 will just blow through. For me the amount of wood filler in the hole is not a real consideration, wood filler is cheap and a slightly larger hole fills about as fast as a slightly smaller one.

I like the 15 because it does a larger range of jobs I need to do. For me I would take the money and buy a LV or LN plane. If I was doing what Per is I would have a 16. though.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

I have a 16 and an 18 and never once have I needed a 15 instead. Mike, I am very curious about your use of the 15ga to lay Choice Dek....did you really do this instead of using screws?

[Boyd Gathwright]

.... John, I find that I use my 15 gauge gun for heavy assembly. Like last night I glued up and pinned 2X6's. I also find I use my 16 gauge gun when I need to hold two pieces of wood together correctly before I use the bigger gun to keep things still from moving (aligined). Also, if I feel that a particular wood is prone to cracking or splitting I tend to use the smaller gun, 18 gauge. I find it depends on the application. It seems you can never have enough tools, go figure! ;)

Boyd

PS: By the way Porter Cable is what I use and that appears to be a good price.


Hey guys,

I have a 15ga finish nailer and a couple 18ga brad nailers. Lowes has the Porter Cable 16ga finish nailer on clearance for $111, Always hard to pass up a deal, would there be much use for a 16ga nailer?

Thanks - John

P.S. They also have the PC 15ga angled finish bailer for either $135 or $139, I don't remember for sure...

[Steve Clardy]

I think I have 12 guns now, and have all the sizes, plus staple guns.
I bought my 15 ga. a few years back, and haven't used it all that much. I got it for trimming out houses. I like the angle, it really helps in corners.
But I find that unless the trim is something other than pine, it does leave to big of a hole to really fill with putty, especially if it's stain grade trim. So I use the 16 and 18 ga.
Thats a great price on the 16 ga. I'd go for it.
I talked to a PC rep once about why they didn't come out with a angled 16 or 18 gauge gun. He told me there wasn't a problem why they couldn't make and market one. The problem stemmed from the nail makers. The nail manufacturers weren't willing to start a new lne of nails just for a few guns.
Steve

[Michael Ballent]

About the only reason I have run across to need at 15ga nail gun is to nail up bigger items or if you need more length but the 16ga seem to fit my needs. I personally would love to have an angled 16ga just to get into those tight spots. I have not really looked to see if it exists. BTW all my guns are from PC and I have not run into any problems with jamming or any other problems... They have just worked for me. Also just because I do not feel like nailing myself to the work (blood is hard to clean up) I have not installed the bump and fire option into my guns. Rather go slow and steady :D

[Rudy Fuselier]

Well I'm on my way to the Lowe's store in San Antonio to pick up the 16 ga. nailer. I had to call 5 different stores to find them and only one of the stores had two left. I have the 18 ga PC and the 23 ga pin nailer from PC and I really enjoy both of them. But, in some instances the 18 is not quite enough. That 23 ga pin nailer is great for certain projects like applying edging, etc. Thanks a lot for the tip on the PC closeout.:)

[Boyd Gathwright]

.... Well John, what was your decision? You have had 10 responses (posts) and mine being the eleventh. I, for one, think you have a very valid question and am interested in what decision you have made and why.

.... Looking forward to you conclusion :).

Boyd

.

Hey guys,

I have a 15ga finish nailer and a couple 18ga brad nailers. Lowes has the Porter Cable 16ga finish nailer on clearance for $111, Always hard to pass up a deal, would there be much use for a 16ga nailer?

Thanks - John

P.S. They also have the PC 15ga angled finish bailer for either $135 or $139, I don't remember for sure...

[John Weber]

Ok guys, I went ahead and picked it up. And it fact it is very nice, only slightly larger then a brad nailer it feels good in the hand. While larger then brads, it does seem to leave a noticeable smaller hole then with my 15 ga gun. I'll keep the 15 ga, but for a woodworker, the 16ga gun does seem like a very nice size to go with a smaller brad gun. It is also lighter then my 15 ga gun and feels great.

John

P.S. I even picked up 2 figured I could sell the other, it's listed in the classifieds for what I have in it if you are interested...

[Ray Bersch]

You know, somehow I knew that would be the answer - "on sale" was the give away - btw, I just added a 23 ga gun to my collection (15 and 16 ga) for the real small stuff and am very happy I did - an PC, of course - but if you want to see a nail do a turn on you, this one will do it!