23 gauge pin nailer

[Ken Fitzgerald]

At the same time a contractor is building a kitchen addition for us, we had him install all new windows. I insisted they use windows with nail flanges. The contactor installed the exterior trim and I am painting it.

I am doing the interior trim. For the picture frame mitered corners, I had read and the contractor told me he likes to put a single 23 gauge pin nail to secure the mitered corners together while the glue dries. He offered to let me use his 23 gauge pin nailer as he doesn't use it often. I have enough projects where I could use a pin nailer so I purchased one.

Today my Hitachi NP35A 23 gauge pin nailer arrived. I took it to the shop and gave it a test drive. It drove everything from 5/8" to 1 3/8" pin nails into white oak like it was nothing with my air compressor set at 90 PSI.

I finished assembling my outfeed table today. I will put a finish on it later but now I can begin using the outfeed table while ripping red oak for the window trim and pre-finishing it.

Then the little pin nailer will get it's real test. With the initial test drive, I was impressed.

[John Lankers]

I agree with you, I built 100 little box joint boxes last winter and 'clamped' the joints with 5/8" pins, just smeared some saw dust/glue mixture into the pin holes and set them aside to dry - perfect results and super fast. My little King Canada pinner paid for itself within the hour.

[Bruce Page]

I have a Grex 23ga nailer. I don't use it often but if you need to tack something and have it almost undetectable they work really well.

[Prashun Patel]

I like mine too. It's awesome for trim. Beware though that it has very little ability to pull a piece out of tension, so I would not use it if your two pieces don't mate perfectly.

[Randy Red Bemont]

They are tiny but mighty! I have the P/C one and love it. A great air gun to have when you need it.

Red

[Glenn Clabo]

As an old finish guy...the best invention was the pin nailer. I can't tell you how many times my old French mentor made me take something down because it wasn't good enough...mostly because of my inability to nail. As I watch people these days...most no longer know how to use a hammer properly...but I can't blame them at all. Pneumatics are an amazing time and effort saver. Just be careful...those little suckers can curl around knots and are quite painful in a finger.

[Jim Dwight]

As an old finish guy...the best invention was the pin nailer. I can't tell you how many times my old French mentor made me take something down because it wasn't good enough...mostly because of my inability to nail. As I watch people these days...most no longer know how to use a hammer properly...but I can't blame them at all. Pneumatics are an amazing time and effort saver. Just be careful...those little suckers can curl around knots and are quite painful in a finger.

+1 I like using my Bostitch pinner and my 18 gauge brad nailers but both want to wander sometimes, even in pine. It doesn't take a knot for them to go off at wild angles. In my interior trim project on our addition I used the pinner mostly to put the returns on the casing under the window stool. The trim was all painted. If I was doing clear finish trim, I would have used the pinner more.

[Robert Chapman]

I really like my Bosch 23 ga. pin nailer. I use in mostly in place of clamps for glue ups. As stated earlier you need to be careful around knots since the thin pins can be easily deflected.

[Peter Quinn]

I've used that hitachi pin nailer at a few jobs now for a few years, it's probably the best value in pin nailers going. I love the 23 gauge pins, I use them a lot. One fine use is for gluing on face frames that want to slide around, I shoot pins through a scrap of laminate into the plywood edge, then pull the laminate. That adds just enough traction to keep my frames from sliding around as I position and clamp but the clamps can easily squish the protruding pins into the wood. I'm dying to get a 21 guage headless nailer for door glass stops where 18 is too much and 23 not quite enough, but for some reason they are a huge bit more $$$$, so I haven't taken that plunge yet. I think that little hitachi will soon become a favorite.

[Mike Henderson]

I bought the Grex that shoots 2" pins. Good tool but way overkill. I've never used a 2" pin yet!

Mike

[lowell holmes]

I have a Spotnail pin driver. It is good for holding a piece while the glue drys. The pins wouldn't hold the glass mold in an entrance door I made. I had to use brads.
As your contractor used it to hold pieces until the glue dried, I've done the same thing. It is a nice toy er tool:) to have.

[Jerome Stanek]

Hate to say this but I have the Harbor Freight one that I got while in Reno at a trade show. Needed real quick and only for one small job. the HF was right across the street from where I was working so I thought why not try it. It is one of their gems I have used it many times now and can;t bring myself to buy a better brand.

[Erik Christensen]

I really like my 23 guage pin nailer but it is not without some drawbacks - the most important is to always pay attention to where you place your fingers when using it because the thin 23 guage pin is easily deflected - not at all uncommon to have it hit a knot or grain reversal and take a hard 90 turn especially on longer pins - so if you are shooting 1 1/2" pins make sure your fingers are at least 2" in every dimension away from the tip of the gun - do not pay attention to where the gun is 'pointed' - assume the pin can turn in any direction - don't ask me how I know this :0

[Jim Becker]

I actually have two 23 gage pinners...my original one is a Senco Accuset that only shoots a few sizes up to 3/4" long and was acquired a long time ago. It actually can do most of what I need in the shop for projects but was lacking for home improvement tasks. So a few years ago I also bought a Grex that goes up to 1 3/8" fasteners. That one gets the most use...pretty much every project...and generally, it's for either holding on light trim while glue sets or for making temporary jigs that can be torn down cleanly afterward. Great too to have!

[Mark Blatter]

I have a Grex 23ga nailer. I don't use it often but if you need to tack something and have it almost undetectable they work really well.

+1

I love my Grex. I can drive a long nail, mostly straight, without any issues. I bought a Rigid one not too long ago and tried to put a 1" nail through a piece of 1/4" scribe, into a cabinet. It would not drive it all the way in, though it was hickory. still my Grex would have done with a 1 1/2"l nail all while taking a nap.

[Jeff Ramsey]

I also have a Grex, and it's never failed to drive a pin.

[julian abram]

Yes, 23g pin nailer very useful tool for woodworking and trim carpentry. You don't have to worry about splitting wood with a 23G pin. I have the Porter Cable nailer.

[Jerry Olexa]

The beauty of a 23 g gun is the heads of the nails virtually disappear..Great for trim/moldings

[Lee Schierer]

I have a 23 ga pin nailer and it does a pretty good job. I generally use hardwood trim and have fount that the pins hold pretty well, but won't hold bowed pieces into the soft framing behind the drywall. In pine trim, the pins will allow your to pull the trim right off the wall with little effort.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

As prescribed by my general contractor, when I trim out the 8 windows in our ranch style home, I will use 18 gauge to nail the jambs together and to attach the casing to the jamb but will drive 1, 23 gauge pin at the mitered corners to hold the miters together while the glue sets. The 23 gauge pins won't be used for structural use.

[Dan Friedrichs]

I have the HF one, and I agree that it's a gem. It's like $19 or something, it works great, and it "feels" like it's a LOT more expensive than it is. The HF pins are crap, though - buy the grex ones.

[Mike Holbrook]

I am thinking about acquiring a pin nailer. I seem to favor off sizes in nail guns. My favorite is one few people seems to like, an angled 15 gauge. I bought the 15 after a good deal of testing 15-20 years ago. I bought it because it was the only nail gun I could find that would sink heads into the new plastic wood as deep as I wanted. I have found that the plastic/wood expands back over the head of a counter sunk small nail head preventing the nail from ever working its way out. I have thousands of feet of decking secured this way and have never had a nail head poke it's ugly head up. I suspect the pin nailer will work similarly? I am a little surprised to read that few people like the 2" 23 gauge nails. Maybe people do not use these devices to hold 3/4-1" stock in place?

I find three guns: Grex, Cadex and Fasco that some calim are all made in the same place with similar parts. The cadex seems to have an additional feature which allows the user to blow air, although I'm not sure I would use a gun to blow with anyway. Any info. on the relative value of any of these devises would be appreciated. I am wondering if the less expensive guns, particularly those that fire 2", tend to send nails off course more often?

Maybe I should think about the 21 guage?

[John TenEyck]

PC 23 gage pin nailer here, too. Only shoots pins up to 1" though, and I often wish it would take longer ones. Great for trim work and building jigs. As several mentioned, keep your fingers well away from the kill zone. I got a nasty surprise twice with it before I learned my lesson. Actually, keep your fingers well away from any pneumatic nailer. I can attest that 18 gage nails hurt even more !

John

[Art Mann]

Maybe 10 years ago, I bought a $10 sale pin nailer from Harbor Freight just to see if such a tool would be useful. I planned to buy a good one if the answer was yes. It did indeed prove to be highly useful. It was so useful that I decided to just use it until it malfunctioned and then replace it. I have been waiting for ten years and about a million pins for that to happen. One drawback to it is there is no real safety mechanism on it and you can shoot people across the room if you want to just by pulling the trigger. Another one is it only does 1 inch or less pins and that limits its usefulness. I'm thinking I may have to drop it from a tall step ladder or something so I can justify a new one.

By the way, I don't recommend HF brand pins.

[Bill Ryall]

+1 for the Bostich. I seem to do miles of small trim on the studio furniture. It was one of the tools that after the first time I used it I was kicking myself for not getting one sooner.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I bought the Hitachi. It seems to work well in my limited tests.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I actually have two 23 gage pinners...my original one is a Senco Accuset that only shoots a few sizes up to 3/4" long and was acquired a long time ago. It actually can do most of what I need in the shop for projects but was lacking for home improvement tasks. So a few years ago I also bought a Grex that goes up to 1 3/8" fasteners. That one gets the most use...pretty much every project...and generally, it's for either holding on light trim while glue sets or for making temporary jigs that can be torn down cleanly afterward. Great too to have!

me too...except i gave the accuset to a friend .... now he has one when i come to visit....the grex is remarkable, by comparison.....

[David Ragan]

I bought the Hitachi. It seems to work well in my limited tests.

I have the same one, have used a little. Works great, no complaints.

I bought that brand cause rated highest on Amazon (no-I don't buy everything that way, just most things).

Got the 18 gage pinner too. Why? Do you really need to ask?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

David......I have a Senco 15 gauge, a PC 18 gauge....a Dewalt 18 gauge and now the Hitachi 23 gauge......

An explanation........the 15 gauge is a serious finish nailer......the PC 18 gauge was given to me but only drives 5/8-1 3/8" brads.......I bought the Dewalt which drives 2" 18 gauge brads and now I have the Hitachi 23 gauge.

[Jim Becker]

Yea, I really like my 15 gage angle nailer for when "real fasteners" are required for something structural. (Mine is an Accuset by Senco) Most of my work is with the 18 gage brad gun (Accuset) and pinner (Grex) but I have a second 18 gage gun that I got for free with my full head construction gun that I keep handy for alternative lengths as well as a narrow-crown stapler for when that's appropriate. These guns all come in handy for what they individually do well...

[Tony Zaffuto]

I have Bostictch pin nailer and it does everything I ask of it-would buy again in a heartbeat.

When I worked for a living, when trimming windows, we accurately measure and assemble trim on a flat job site bench. This was well before the time of pin nailers, but after biscuits were becoming common. We would install the smallest biscuit at the miter, and then nail with a 16 ga. gun, from the top to hold. May seem a bit slow to some, but don't forget the story of the tortoise and the hare-after setting up the method, two of us moved dayam quickly.

[Mike Holbrook]

So I am not the only fan of the 15 gauge, mine is a Hitachi. I often use mine to frame small projects like the opening I am currently working on for a new AC unit. The 15 gauge does not split/break/splinter 2x4s or 2x6s like the framing guns often do, allowing me to work closer to corners... I usually run a few screws in or reinforce with the framing gun, depending on the surfaces I have to work with. My other nail guns are a little different, SUPCO framer, SUPCO 18g brad gun, Makita 18g staple gun and a Hitachi 7/16 x 2" stapler. I use to put together wooden ware for bee hives with the small guns. The larger stapler gets used for tacking wire, screen, insulation, felt, sheathing,...in place. The larger staples can be set so they do not tear through softer/thinner materials, holding a larger surface area too.

From the posts above I guess I am missing a 16g and a 23 pin nailer. I think I can get along without the 16g but I think I might get a good deal of use out of a pin nailer for small projects, models...I just wonder which gun and what length staples I should plan on. I have usually gone for the gun that uses the largest nails/brads/staples but with the pin nailer I will not be working with 2xs, which sort of challenges my normal thought process. I am reading above that those who bought 2" pin nailers have not found the extra length of benefit and I suspect the longer pins might bend during use worse.

I have not heard anyone who has the Grex mention problems with the pins going off course. I am wondering if the more powerful guns like the Grex, Cadex and Fasco are less likely to have the issue? Maybe the more powerful guns power the thin pins through wonky grain & tough spots better? I bought my 15g Hitachi angle nailer for similar reasons from a guy that was considered the Metro Atlanta expert on nail guns. Everything he told me about the Hitachi has proven true and the small extra expense has made my work much easier. I am just wondering if those wise words apply to the pin nailers as well?