Quick Question: Air nailers

[Craig Hemsath]

Looking at buying an 18ga brad nailer. See oiled and oil-less for sell. I've seen oil-less compressors and not impressed. How do oil-less nailers fare?

[Chris Friesen]

I've got a Ridgid oilless 18ga. I haven't used it for industrial purposes, but for homeowner and shop use it's been fine. It's got a lifetime service agreement if anything goes wrong, but I haven't had any problems in 2 years.

[Tom Veatch]

I have both oiled and oil-less nailers/staplers and, quite frankly, prefer the oil-less. It's a very small hassle lubricating the oiled variety, and, I suppose, if you had an in-line oiler on your air supply, it'd be even less of a hassle, but it's still one that I prefer to avoid.

Like Chris, I haven't used them in an industrial/production environment and have no idea how the oil-less would hold up in that environment. But, for hobbiest/home shop use, oil-less gets my nod.

Now with compressors, as you indicated, my preferences are the exact opposite. Only have oiled, don't expect to ever have anything but oiled.

[Glenn Howard]

+1 on the Ridgid oil less

[Craig Hemsath]

Well, it's just for around the home/shop stuff (faaaaar from production) so oil-less it is. Thanks for the replies guys.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
All my nailers are oiled.

Were I to do it over again, I believe I'd spend the extra and go both oiless and magnesium on an 18 ga and 16 ga.
When the time comes to get a 15 ga, I will probably go both oiless and magnesium.

One nice feature of oiless is that you don't have to worry about the exhaust spraying a surface with oil.

I got careless once w/the 16 ga fastening a 6" ledge and ended up with fist sized oil spots every 6" on the (unfinished) drywall along a 20 foot wall.
B*I*N pigmented shellac sealed it in well enough that you can't see it.
(I can, but only because I know to look for it)