Finish Nailer

[Mike OMelia]

I have been wanting one for a while. Bostich brand is fine. All my other guns are Bostich. What gauge would you recomend? And what about angled versus straight? If you have a specific model number, that whould help. Santa needs to know the specifics! :)

Thanks

Mike

[Rich Engelhardt]

What's it to be used for?
16 ga. is more of a brad than a nail.
15 ga. has a larger head and is a stouter fastener.

16 ga. (IMHO) can suffice for installing trim and/or crown and (IMHO) is sufficient for installing hollow core prehung doors.
15 ga. is more better for trim/crown and will do both hollow core and solid prehung doors.

16 ga. is 16 ga. -by that I mean you just buy the 16 ga. fasteners according to the length and style (straight or angle).
15 ga. comes in two styles, one for Bostitch (FN) and one for Senco (DA). The head is larger on the Botitch (FN) style and it prevents using 2.5" FN style fasteners from going into my Grex 15 ga. - which uses DA style. I wasn't aware of that until after I'd bought a box of 2.5" DA and found they wouldn't fit.

Angle or straight is a matter of preference. My 15 ga Grex is angled and my 16 ga PC is straight.

For Gage, the angle and the type - FN or DA, my suggestion there would be to go with the one that you can most easily find fasteners for. Lowe's and Home Depot seem to be at odds in my area. One sells one and the other sells the other. Lowe's doesn't stock 16 ga. fasteners that fit my straight PC nailer. I have to drive an extra 20 min to go to HD for them. Ditto for the 15 ga. 2.5" for my Grex.
15 ga., w/it's more ample head, is easier to finish off using a nail set if/when needed.

One other difference. The 15 ga. is huge. My Grex is more the size of a framing nailer than it is a finish nailer. <-- read that as do yourself a favor and look for a gun with a magnesium frame. All it takes to appreciate the lighter weight is one good sized room of crown.
Besides the weight, the larger air motor on the 15 ga. uses more air. It uses just a hair more air than what the 6 gal pancake compressors are comfortable with.
My Grex is a lot happier on the end of my IR "twin hot dog", than it is one the end of my contractor buddy's PC "pancake".

One last thing 'bout brands. While I like my Grex and it's been good to me, don't buy a Grex. Grex makes great 23 ga. pin nailer, but, unfortunately, that's it. Their other nailers have a pretty bad reputation. Again - that's hindsight speaking. I jumped all over a close out deal for the Grex @ $99.00 based on the Grex name. It wasn't until afterwords that I found out they ain't so hot.
On brand. I'd just say go with whatever has a service center the most convenient to you. Sooner or later, the gun is going to need rebuilt - 15 or 16 ga.

I prefer oiled nailers over oiless in the larger (16 and 15 ga) and the smaller (23 ga). I'm fine with an oiless 18 ga. - mostly because an 18 ga/ these days is in the "throwaway" category where the cost to rebuild one is nearly the same as a new one. YMMV there.
Oiless does have it's advantages - such as a lack of a big ugly oil stain on a wall when you stick up a piece of trim (been there/done that).
HTH.

[Jay Jolliffe]

I own a Senco & Bostiich finish nailer. I like the Senco over the other. The only reason I have the Bostitch is I sent the Senco out to be repaired & needed a finish gun...I'll have to look at what models I have....If you go with the Bostitch I'll sell you mine if you want it. Used very little....

[Jim Foster]

I have the Bostitch 15G angled gun. Shortest nail I can find is 1-1/4" and I suspect the 16g has shorter nails if you have a need for shorter. The angle of the gun seems pretty helpful for ceiling crown molding or the crown on a chair rail type project. 15G seems like a fairly beefy nail, have not looked at the 16G nails. I like it, it's lightweight and very nicely made, but I did not comparison shop and am not familiar with other guns.

[Mike OMelia]

Thanks... this was all very helpfull

Mike