HF Pin nailer & review

[Jay Yoder]

I have been looking for a pin nailer for months. I really wanted a Grex, but the $180+ was not in the budget. I had seen some positive responses in some other threads about this so i thought i would check it. I picked it up for about $16 along with 5/8, 3/4 and 1" pins. I brought it home, added the quick connector, and of course 3-4 drops of oil. I began with the 1" pins in some pine 1x and no issues whatsoever...then i moved to some scraps of 3/4 oak. The pins went into the endgrain no prob, which i expected. Then when i went to pin the faces some would go thru and set the "heads" right below the surface, others would remain about a 1/4" proud. At this point, I was kinda disappointed and ready to return it. I switched to the 3/4" pins and most of them went in. The more pins i shot, the more consistant the depth was. I put the 1" pins back in and tried again, and now they set perfectly. Just wondered if some of these guns had a "break In" period? Is this typical? I pinned 2 pieces of scrap oak together, 1 pin at either end, and was surprised how strong the joint was!

[Don Carter]

Jay,
I have one these that I bought last year, purple I think. I used it on project in my home that had a lot of small trim. It worked great. Makes the finish much easier and I have not seen any problems since using it. Maybe it takes a while to break them in. I don't know. I am not a pro so, if it doesn't work right the next time I need it, I'll take it back. All the best.

[Ben Cadotte]

I have HF guns from pinner to framing. They all work as advertised. Had them about 7 years now. Originally bought them becasue they were cheap and would get better ones, when I had more money. Well after 7 years have not had to get better ones. I did initially have an issue with 2 of them not feeding correctly. This was fixed by readjusting the drive head cap. If they quit tomorrow, I would say I definately got my monies worth out of them.

I do have a Porter Cable 16 gague, and some new Senco guns that I got on clearance. But the HFs' still get used. I keep different length nails in each gun, so I just grab a gun with the length I need to use now. No changing nails for size now.

[Matt Meiser]

I just did an engineered wood floor and used a Bostitch stapler made for that purpose that shoots 20ga staples. I was having a terrible time with it not sinking the staples so I took the nose apart and cleaned that, not that I found much to clean off, and added several drops of oil. Within about 30 staples it straightened out to where I think I had two that didn't sink in the rest of the floor. So the oil may have been the issue.

I have the HF pinner and it works consistently. Mines the purple one too. I also have one of their brad nailers I bought to shoot 5/8" brads becasue my Porter Cable didn't go down that far. Both work nicely for the limited use they see in my shop.

[tom holton]

I too just bought it to pin some small mouldings on my baby crib. Worked great after I realized my a/c tank was empty...son flipped the auto fill switch when he was "just looking" at it.

I also have their stapler and a 2" brad nailer. all have worked great for home shop use. I have had a few jams with the brad nailed when making jigs and nailing like crazy. i wouldnt use them professionally, but for my shop, cant beat them. None were over $20.

Tom

[Justin Leiwig]

Mine gets some sawdust in it every now and then, so I just have to blow it out to get it to keep firing away. I think I paid 9 bucks on clearance for it at HF and I've probably laid well over 200 ft of trim, plus many other small projects. I love mine. Definitely a good purchase from HF>

[Jim Becker]

Proper lubrication is important on these tools to both keep them from jamming and to insure they operate efficiently. Cleaning them regularly serves a similar purpose. Don't assume a new tool is properly lubricated or even clean! ;)

[Greg Cole]

Putting oil inside the air fitting helps lube the pneumatic cylinder-seals etc... but oiling the feeder mechanism is important too. If you have ever done an asphalt shingle roof... you'll learn that one right quick.
Lubrication is one of the most important things for proper operation and longevity of oh-so-many things.
Greg