23 Gauge Pinner

[Randy Meijer]

I just purchased one and it has been jamming up on me. Owner's manual doesn't seem to be of much help. I finally got out my loupe and looked at the pins. Although not obvious to the unaided eye, the ends are definitely different. One end does seem to be more pointed and the other more flat. Do you have to orient the pins when they go in the gun or shouldn't it matter? Owner's manual is quiet on the subject.

[Hoa Dinh]

Do you have to orient the pins when they go in the gun or shouldn't it matter?
Absolutely. The pins from PC have arrows on the strip to indicate where the sharp points are. There may be no arrows on a partially used strip. When I open a box of pins, I use a permanent pen to draw a line along the sharp edge of each trip to indicate that edge has to be installed down.

[Randy Meijer]

Thanks for the help.

I haven't bought any pins yet.....just using the little sample packs that came with the gun. It came with 500 packs of 5/8", 3/4" and 1" pins. I was using the 1" pins since I expect that is what I will be using most. Went back and opened the two packs of shorter pins and they were both well-marked with arrows pointing to the sharp end. Guess someone screwed up and failed to mark the 1" pins?

Hope I haven't damaged the pinner??:mad: :confused: :mad:

[Vaughn McMillan]

My cheap (HF) pins have no arrows, so I just find the ends that have the bevel/chisel edge. As you discovered, it's hard to see unless you're looking for it, but it does make a difference. Hold 'em up in the light just right and you can see the chisel edge on one of the ends.

[Randy Meijer]

OK, thanks and I have another question. I bought the pinner because it was on sale and very cheap and thought is might be useful 3 or 4 times a year. This thing won't be getting any heavy use. The pins seem to be quite "delicate" for lack of a better word? Should I restrict use of the pinner to soft woods or will it handle hard woods and materials like particle board? Do I have to watch out for the occasional knot or will the pinner handle harder materials? Thanks.

[Tyler Howell]

Senco pins have arrows!

[Hoa Dinh]

Should I restrict use of the pinner to soft woods or will it handle hard woods and materials like particle board?
I use it to attach 3/8" thick hard-maple trims without any problem. But I don't rely of the little pins' holding power, only to "hold it while the glue cures." I guess if one puts the pins in at an angle, with directions alternating, the holding power just by itself may be acceptable.

I've never tried it with particle board.

It's always a good idea to watch out for knots, not just with a 23 ga. pinner, but with any nailer (including one called "hammer" :D ).

[Jim Becker]

Randy, I've used my pinner with hardwoods no problem. I use it for both sticking "small stuff" to a project as well as temporary jigging. Very handy...in fact, I use it more than I expected to.

[Bob Childress]

Randy, like Jim says, you will use the pinner much more than you think you will. It is handy for small crafts as well as "holding till the glue sets" kind of stuff.

But of course, you will have more success if you get the pins right side down. :rolleyes: :D

[glenn bradley]

No problems with maple or red oak up to 1/2" thick using 1 1/8" pins into the 3/4" base material.

[Martin Lutz]

So -- does anyone have any recommendations on specific pinners? It sounds like I may need to look for one.

[Hoa Dinh]

So -- does anyone have any recommendations on specific pinners? It sounds like I may need to look for one.
I bought one on eBay from a seller named "thetuulshed" for $21 + $13 shipping (there are some listings now but I'm not sure if I can post the links here). Do a search for that seller. They are listed as "PICTURE FRAME NAIL GUN ART CRAFT FRAMING PIN AIR NAILER."

The longest pin it can handle is 1" long. Its quality is surprisingly good for the price.

[Cary Falk]

Martin,
The Porter Cable has a loyal following as do most of their nailers. I have an 18 and 16ga nailer. I couldn't justify the price for something I wouldn't use that much. A lot of people on previous treads turned me on to the Air Locker P630 which I like a lot. It has some very nice features like shooting nails up to 1 3/16 and not having to make adjustments for different size nails. I think it was a bargain for $60( half price of the PC). A lot of people seem to like the HF one also. I was going to check it out at the time but my local store did not stock it. It can probably be had for <$30 on a good sale. Hope that helps.
Cary

[Justin Nelson]

Grex P635 hands down, I have used the PC and Senco Pinners and felt limited by the small pin length. The P635 can shoot 1-3/8" pins and grex has a new on out (model number escapes me) that will go to 1-3/4" on the pins.
I use it to install my crown molding on kitchens and ETC. Fast and no puttying!! It gets a lot more use than my brad nailer now simply because the holes are almost invisible from about 2 - 3 foot distance.

Justin

[Martin Lutz]

Thanks for the help. I like the idea of using longer pins. Christmas is coming so will definetely be on the wish list.

[Mike Goetzke]

I bought the Bostitch pinner at Menard's for a little under $100. I too find myself using this gun more than I expected. I do have one thing that bothers me though. The pins are driven just below the surface of the wood. I would like them to be a little deeper - I have read some grind the tip slightly to accomplish this. I called Bostitch CS and they said their pinner is designed to put the pin just below the surface - no deeper.

Mike

[John Gregory]

Randy, I've used my pinner with hardwoods no problem. I use it for both sticking "small stuff" to a project as well as temporary jigging. Very handy...in fact, I use it more than I expected to.

Like Jim I use it far more than I thought I would. I have used it on hard works with no problem. Mine is the PC model, the pins are well marked for direction.

John

[Randy Meijer]

Thanks for all of the comments. I went back and looked at the piece of scrap where I was testing the gun. 50/50 chance of having the pins in correctly and I guessed right.....dumb luck, actually!! So there must be a problem with the nailer....guess I will take it back and get another one.

Wish I could find 50/50 odds in Las Vegas.....I spend almost as much money there as I do on tools!!!:D :D