Brad Nailers and Pinners and Compressors

[Edward Oleen]

I WIN!!!!!

No, seriously, I finally, after many years, am going (I hope, I hope, I hope...) to earn some money from my (craft?) (hobby?) (whatever...). A lady my wife knows (she knows a lot of people I don't) wanted some custom molding work done in her home, with maybe some built-in book-cases or knick-knack shelves.

My loyal althought long suffering wife brought her home and showed her the work I had done a few years back in the dining room...

That did it: I MUST, ABSOLUTELY MUST, do the work she wants. This is a problem, of sorts. I absolutely can't tell her that I can't or won't do it: I'd catch hell from my better half. If I did the work in my shop (not possible) I'd of course, glue on the molding and then clamp it. No sweat...

But this stuff is going to be unclampable. AND I can't stand on a ladder and hold it until the tack sets in.

So I need a brad nailer and or pinner. And a compressor. And I have never needed one, except for a little no-tank Sears thing that I use to put air into a low tire once a decade or so.

Any suggestions? Warnings? Loves? Hates?


:confused:

[Don Morris]

There are lots of options. Here's what I have for my cabinet builds. You need portability because you're going to want to go over to the site and do some work there. For example: In addition to my large shop compressor, I have a Porter Cable 6 gal, 2.6 SCFM 150 psi pancake compressor: small, portable, not too noisy, will drive any nailer. A Porter Cable 18 ga. brad nailer that has given me great service for years. But there are other brands that work well too. I am partial to my Grex P635 pin nailer. The Grex is a great tool. I find I use it more and more to hold things together temporarily and often don't even need to fill the nail hole. Not particularly needed for cabinets, but I'll include for completness: The third nailer I have to complement the other two is a Senco 15 ga. nailer. I don't use the 15 ga. as often because that's more for 2 x 4 type construction (large crown molding). But for my purposes that sort of covers small, medium and large nailer requirements. With the compressor, 18 ga. nailer and possibly the pinner, using proper nail size selection, that's satisfied my cabinet build requirements.

[Rich Engelhardt]

What's the budget, what is the maximum gauge nailer you'll want to use and most importantly - how critical is quiet?

[Jamie Buxton]

Compressor: Senco PC1010. It is just the thing for trim work. It is small enough to be easily carried into a customer's home. It is big enough to drive pin nailers, brad nailers, and small finish nailers. It is quiet.

On pin nailers, look out for the safety. All bigger nailers must be pushed against a surface before you can shoot a nail. Some pin nailers do not have this feature, and you can light off a shot while the nailer is up in the air.

[John Schweikert]

Do yourself a favor and buy a quiet-'er' compressor than the usual Husky's and others you'll find sitting at an HD or Lowes. Look for ones which have about 70dB or less. You'll be much happier in the long run.

Dewalt DWFP55130 (rated for 71.5dB)
California Air Tools (rated from 60-70dB for different units)
Rolair (similar to California units)
Makita Mac2400 (I own one and it's very tolerable to be next to it even at a rated 79dB)

[Greg R Bradley]

The Senco PC1010 will keep up with an 18ga brad gun in anything less than a production environment. it is quiet and at 20 pounds is easy to carry around. At around $110-120 it is worth having for almost everyone. For your requirement it is THE choice. It is not a good choice for a very few low end guns that don't work well unless they have 100-110 psi. Also useless to inflate high pressure truck tires.

California Air Tools makes some nice units and some so-so units. The CAT-10020 is a really nice unit IF you want that type of unit like for a small shop but will still move around on wheels. Does not sound like it is what you want. NOT a unit to haul around in a pickup truck from job to job. Extremely quiet.

I have the Makita MAC2400 in my garage shop and it is excellent. It fits under a bench and is great if you want a unit that size that is moveable rarely. I do mean rarely because it weighs 70 pounds so even with handles and a roll cage. Great unit for a two man crew that has to haul something around in a truck from job to job. Very Quiet. Will inflate 100 psi truck tires.

Rolar makes a bunch of nice units for a wide variety of applications. I originally thought I would buy a JC-10 if/when I kill my PC1010 but decided that fits a niche I don't really need. It is too heavy and bulky to move easily compared the the PC1010.

[Edward Oleen]

Sorry for taking so long to respond, but the Boss has kept me busy busy, busy with family things. None, alas, that involved me in my shop. Indeed, I had to wear a (shudder) suit for the first time in years.

At any rate, thanks for the advice. I'm going to be looking closely at the PC compressor as well as the DeWalt. I've always had good luck with DeWalt tools. Can't say the same for PC.

Noise is not a problem at the work site, aside from my hearing. In the shop I wear a Peltor combination hearing protector(s) and face shield when I'm in the shop,anyway. And if need be, I can always put it in a sound baffle.

I'm not in the market for used items: this is the ruling from The Boss, who also controls the exchecker. Who am I to complain?

As far as Lowes and H-D - I definitely don't shop at H-D. I'ved gotten stung too many times there, and finding the small things, like hardware is a thorough pain in the sitz.
And they cost too much - way too much. And they don't reliably carry lots of things that I want, like t-nuts and threaded inserts. Don't even know what they are, if you ask for help.

Got to stop now: Sarah (a West Highland White Terrier - the boss in the house, along with The Boss) is demanding my attention for some reason: probably there is a family of racoons in the back, which is VERY DEFINITLY HER TERRITORY.

The CAT unit looks nice, but it's a bit pricey for me, as well as being overkill.

[jim gossage]

Some of the California air compressors are ultraquiet - check out youtube for a video/audio demonstration.

[george newbury]

I've a Makita 2400, fairly quiet and portable. But I ran into a need for an aircompressor/brad nailer for quarter round while 800 miles away from it. After some research I bought the Harbor Freight 1/3 hp, 100 PSI for $40 and their nailer/stapler combo for $18 (look for coupons). Word is don't buy their brads.

I've now used the compressor on several projects and it's held up well. My research indicated that it was about the same as the HD/Lowes/Porter Cable low end offering. And for $40 well worth it. /edit - not quiet but very inexpensive

Now if this thing is going to be tax deductible I'd recommend you get the largest quietest one you can easily carry up two flights of stairs.

[Rich Engelhardt]

If long life is more important than quiet, then have a long look at the Ingersoll Rand "twin hot dog".
It's a 14 amp, 2 to 2.5 HP class compressor (~ 4 to 5 SCFM @ 40 to 90 psi) with a 100% duty cycle.
It's in the same neighborhood as the MAC2400 both in price and output.
The Makita is quieter - but - it's only a 50% duty cycle.

Both will run any nailer you can hook up to them from a pin nailer to a couple roof guns to a framing nailer.



After some research I bought the Harbor Freight 1/3 hp, 100 PSI for $40 and their nailer/stapler combo for $18 (look for coupons). Word is don't buy their brads.

I've now used the compressor on several projects and it's held up well. My research indicated that it was about the same as the HD/Lowes/Porter Cable low end offering. And for $40 well worth it.

I have a couple of low end cheapies - a Coleman one gallon and a Sears Evolv 3 gallon. Both ran under $50 on sale and both came with an 18 ga combo brad nailer/stapler.
I use those a lot for jobs I don't want to drag out the IR for or for small jobs. - or - LOL! those third floor jobs where I don't have enough hose to reach from the ground floor!

[Fred Chan]

Senco cordless 18 gauge brad nailer. Bit pricey but handiest thing for trim installation on job site. No need to pack around a heavy bulky compressor.