Pin nailer doesn't shoot pins

[Ralph Okonieski]

I did a quick search but did not find anything that resembled my issue.

I received a Harbor Freight 23 ga pin nailer as a gift a few months back but did not use it until now. I bought Grex brand pins in several sizes but the nailer does not shoot any of the sizes. The instructions seem simple enough, but it appears the pins are NOT getting down to the tip. The nailer does give the "pfft' sound so it appears to be getting air. The air pressure was within the nailer's recommended range. I just slid the pins into the slot in the magazine and closed the magazine. By the way, I did change the size indicator when trying the different sizes. It seems the pins just are not moving down to the tip. Is there some sort of spring device that I'm missing or perhaps just not loading it correctly? I'll admit that I did not give it any oil, but doesn't seem like that would keep it from shooting one or two pins.

Thanks in advance.

215062

[Jerome Hanby]

I've got the same pinner and I bought an assortment pack of grex pins from WC. Mine works fine. One thing, not all the grex pins where short enough (according to the pinner's document). Any chance you are loading pins that are too long? I'm not looking at the pinner right now, so that may be a stupid question...

[Chris Tsutsui]

Sometimes a nailer won't shoot pins. I find that if I increase the air pressure to the upper end of the range and then make sure the nailer is oiled and fire it with no nails in it a bunch of times into a scrap to get the parts moving. Then I load it with nails pushing the magazine to the bottom and it works.

First thing I'd check is the air pressure.

I would also oil it. heh

[Jerome Hanby]

On mine, I do put a drop or two of oil into the nipple before I attach the compressor...

[Curt Harms]

I have an Air Locker pin nailer which is another pacific rim product. I had something similar going on, nails not feeding reliably. There was a little bit of a burr where the 'magazine' joined the 'chamber'. I disassembled enough to get to that edge and sanded away the burr. It's been fine since so that's one thing to look at.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I received a Harbor Freight 23 ga pin nailer as a gift a few months back but did not use it until now.
Rule #1 of Harbor Freight - always test/use whatever you get from them as soon as you get it.
Their return policy is very generous if you excersize it within 30 days.

You might try taking the gun down to HF and explain to them it was a gift & it doesn't appear to funtion roight out of the box.
They may allow you to exchange it for another one.

[Dave Lehnert]

On 23 ga pins it can be hard to tell what way to load the pins. Most has arrows printed on them that should be loaded pointing down.

[George Gyulatyan]

I'll admit that I did not give it any oil
You should.

[Pinwu Xu]

How about getting pins from HF?

[Pinwu Xu]

Now they need the receipt to handle your return

Pinwu

[david brum]

I have one of those. I seem to remember having to remove the top plate from the tip (two screws) and cleaning out the pin's pathway. It's a pretty simple mechanism and any obstruction should be obvious.

Pin guns are really handy to have around.

[Rick Fisher]

The Pfft .. sound.. is it the sound of the driver blade going all the way forward, and all the way back ?

Normally you fire by pulling the trigger in .. If you hold the trigger in, the driver blade stays extended out the tip of the gun.. When you release the trigger, the blade is forced back up to the top allowing the nails to advance forward.

If the gun simply makes a light pfft sound, that could mean the driver blade is not advancing.. It could be a dislodged bumper, broken o-ring or broken driver.. but those things are wear and tear..

If the driver blade is active, then its either not going back far enough to let the spring in the magazine advance the next pin.. It could also be jammed .. its not uncommon for a gun to cycle when plugged into the air (when new) .. if it did so with really low pressure, it could have jammed its first ever pin.

I would remove the top cap at the nose and see if there is a jam or if the driver blade is moveable.. it should slide with a small amount of pressure..

[Rich Engelhardt]

Now they need the receipt to handle your return

Correct - that's what the store manager told my wife when she returned a pneumatic tool.
He did let it slide though since it was a replacement and not a refund.
The OP and I live in the same town & it's a good bet the gun came from the same HF store I deal with.

Ralph,
I'm in Stow also. I have some 1/2" through 1" Porter Cable pins.
If you want to try another brand to see if it makes a difference & don't want to have to buy a whole pack, give me a shout.

[Jerome Stanek]

What store did you try. The Akron one or the Cleveland store. I got one at the Akron store that did the same thing and I exchanged it at the Cleveland store no questions asked.

[Tony Perrone]

Buy a new one from HF put the old one in the new box and return it receipt in hand.

[Rene Moerman]

That would be the honest thing to do.

[Ronald Blue]

The honest thing is attempting to exchange it for another after explaining the situation. I can't imagine them not working with you on it. Doing the box swap thing.....not so much.

[Ralph Okonieski]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I'm going to try the suggestions this weekend. If nothing works, I'll see if I can exchange it.

[Kevin W Johnson]

The honest thing is attempting to exchange it for another after explaining the situation. I can't imagine them not working with you on it. Doing the box swap thing.....not so much.

But in this case, it was bought new and never used. HF got their money for something that was sold defective. In this case if a box swap is the only alternative, then its justified. It's not like he bought it, used it, and abused it, and then wants to swap it.

I think the OP can probably fix it and solve the dilemma anyway and prevent more landfill rubbish or what ever they do with it.

Otherwise the store will most likey exchange it anyway. But if not..... well, you know.

[Rick Fisher]

Pin nailers are probably the simplest tool in the shop.. Literally any woodworker could strip one down to parts and assemble it again so long as they remembered what went where..

It normally takes less time to fix them than it would to drive to the repair place..

[Jerome Stanek]

My HF pin nailer stopped feeding and I could not get it to feed consistently so I took it back and they exchanged it. The new one works fine. I repair all kinds of air tools but this one had me stumped. It would feed fine for maybe 5 shots then would not feed until I pulled the pins and reset them.

[Richard Rodgers]

I just bought the 23 gauge pin nailer from HF and didnt oil it the first time and it worked fine for me. I shot about 30 pins and they all worked fine. I did oil it after I used it but havent used it since. If it is still in wararenty I would just return it. I have found HF to be pretty good on Gift item returns if the tool looked New.

[Richard Rodgers]

Tony might be right except that they might keep a record of the SN for the units and then the new recepit might not work with the old SN if they bother to check.

[Bill Orbine]

On 23 ga pins it can be hard to tell what way to load the pins. Most has arrows printed on them that should be loaded pointing down.

That's right.... if you loaded the pins upside down, you can jam the pinner. Not necessarily on the first fire, but it seems that you could have.

[Curt Harms]

That's right.... if you loaded the pins upside down, you can jam the pinner. Not necessarily on the first fire, but it seems that you could have.
And if you have a partial stick with no arrows on it ........ I've taken to drawing a line on the bottom of the stick with a felt tip marker. The difference as I understand it is that one end is flat and one end is beveled. I find it pretty hard to tell which is which.

[BOB OLINGER]

Buy a new one from HF put the old one in the new box and return it receipt in hand.

Sorry, I don't subscribe to this approach; surprised to see it from a Creeker.

[Ralph Okonieski]

Mystery solved, sort of. I disassembled the pin carriage from the body. As I suspected, there is nothing to retract the spring mechanism to push the pins into the firing area. If I completely remove the carriage limit bracket on the side, then I can pull the mechanism completely out and load the pins. The gun works OK then, except for the issue below.

On a separate note, the Grex pins I tried were 3/4 inch, but had to use the 7/8 setting to get them to fit. The 7/8 setting leaves a perceptible hole in the wood. Anyone else have an issue with pin length?

Thanks to all who have replied. I may not have disassembled it without your inspiration!!