Dangerous tool gloat

[Dave Cav]

I just picked up what could possibly be my most dangerous tool- a Hitachi NR83A2 framing nailer. It's awesome.

I have a small framing job coming up (framing in a 12 x 12 foot rolling door opening on my pole building shop and installing a pair of 2'6" doors in the new wall to replace the rolling door) and wasn't looking forward to swinging a framing hammer any more.

I did a little research on the web and went through a couple of pawn shops and found that apparently the Hitachi NR83A is kind of the default framing nailer for most of the framing carpenters around here. Everything I read and heard gave me the impression that they are pretty bulletproof. One pawn shop had about seven of them in varying conditions, so I picked out the one that seemed to be in the best shape and paid $137 (plus tax) for it. I stopped at the orange Borg and bought a box each of Senco 16d and 8d nails for it, took it out to the shop and tried it out. It works great. I have a few brad nailers from 23 to 16 gauge, but I've never used a framing nailer. This thing is an animal. Fortunately it's the newer A2 model so I can switch the trigger from bump firing to sequential firing. I tried it both ways, and bump firing gave me a lot of double nails. I can see where bump firing would be great for installing subflooring or sheathing, but for framing (especially toe nailing) I'm going to stick to sequential firing.

So, anyone got any good framing nailer stories or tips?

I'm almost looking forward to the framing job. I wish I had it a few years ago when I built the 24' x 48' tractor shed on the back of the shop.

Dave C

[Matt Ocel]

I love the Hitachi framing nailers.

Except -

I have the framer which was originally to use "clipped head nails".
Now that "clipped head nails" were outlawed. Hitachi claims that the new full head nails they now have will work in the clipped head guns. Well, they don't work the greatest. With my gun, when you get towards the end of a clip, 4 or 5 nails left, the gun for some reasons, tends to jamb, or bend a nail as it gets driven.

[Rick Fisher]

Framing nailers are pretty safe as long as you keep the business end away from your fleshy parts.

The bump fire is the normal way of operating the gun. The Hitatchi gun is an exceptional gun, one of the better choices.

Typically you hold the trigger and push the nose into anything you want a nail in. Its fast and efficient. You will get the hang of it rapidly.

[Don Abele]

Dave, here's a thread I posted a while back...

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=6894 (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=6894&highlight=nailer)

Be well (and safe),

Doc

[Dan Friedrichs]

I've always avoided the bump mode since I saw someone put a nail into his knee using that. Kneeling on some 2x8's and making a beam by nailing them together, the nailer bounced and "bumped" his knee.

[David G Baker]

I have an old Senco SN2 framing gun that shoots 2 nails at a time if I don't lift the gun nose fast enough. It doesn't happen all the time but enough that I put it on the shelf and bought a Paslode 350. I researched the Senco on Google and found that it has some bad history and horror stories surrounding firing issues.

[Paul Greathouse]

Well you asked for a story, here goes the gore.

I've found that my framing nailer is much safer in my own hands. 3 years ago I had an inexperienced person shooting for me while I was pulling two pieces of stubborn 2X togeather while building trusses.

My old Senco double shot, the board got the first ring shank and my right hand got the second one. It went in at an angle on the top of my hand, just above my wrist, on the little finger side of my hand. The head was fully imbedded in my hand and about 1/4" of the tip was sticking out of my palm in the fleshy part below my thumb. It required surgery to get it out. The doctor said it penetrated the 3 finger bones in the middle of my hand. 6 months of rehab and 3 years later I still have some pain, like right now when typing or using the mouse for extended periods of time.

I had shot hundreds of thousand of nails with this gun and many others and never shot myself or anyone else but all it took was one time, getting in a hurry and putting the gun in the wrong persons hands and thats all it took. Yea they can be dangerous, stay alert and be safe.

[Hans Braul]

I have a tiny scar on both sides of my index and middle fingers of my left hand from putting a nail through. Long story, but put it down to inexperience and carelessness. This happened over 30 years ago and the framer I was working for was the first kid on the block to try out this new-fangled device. Miraculously the nail did no permanent damage!

Regards
Hans

[John Eaton]

Guy I worked with shot a nail through his foot while putting down decking - had to cut out the deck section and take him to the ER. Whole thing was pretty grizzly (they had to dig through the top of his foot to cut off the nail-head) and left him incapacitated for a while. He was a 10 year framing veteran and had never caught himself before so it was very unusual.

-- John

[Anthony Watson]

Dave,

I bought a Porter Cable framing nailer a few years ago when I was framing our house. Like you, I found the bump nailing to be uncontrollable. Despite numerous attempts, it always fired two or more nails (5 at once was my record. :). For the PC nailer, I had to order a "single fire" kit. I think it was free for the asking at the time. Anyway, using the trigger to fire a single nail offered much more control and safety.

Thankfully, I've avoided any injuries with the framing nailer, but I always make it a point to keep my hand or foot at least 6" away from the area I'm nailing. On numerous occasions I have fired a nail and had it blast clear through the board when the board split. Other times the nail hits a knot or something and curls around backwards coming back up out of the board. If I had my hand anywhere close, it would have come up into my hand. And obviously, never put your hand in the line of fire to hold two boards together.

The air nailer sure beats a hammer. It frees up a hand to use for positioning, and construction goes a lot faster. But it can get a bit heavy at the end of a long day. :)

My wife loved using the framing nailer. She nailed down almost all of our subfloor. Suited me fine, saved me all that bending over. :)

Anthony

[David Keller NC]

One of the more dangerous things about pneumatic nailers is not what you might expect. There are quite a few OSHA reportable injuries where a workman was holding a piece of lumber up to a surface onto which it was to be nailed, and shot the nail through the board and into his hand. A dumb injury to be sure, but the ability to hold a framing member in place and tack it down with a pneumatic nailer is one of the chief advantages of the tool, and also one of the attributes that makes it dangerous.

Needless to say, it's nearly impossible to do this with a food-powered hammer and nails. :)

[Greg Cole]

They are great tools but very easily can be dangerous. The advice to keep your body parts away from the business are rather wise... but the errant nails when you start to try toe nailing, for example, are something to be wary of. I treat it like a firearm in regards to pointing it etc.
I have a Paslode FS 350 & love the heck out of it. I like that it comes with a rafter hook to hang it by. I don't have any issues using the "bump" method, I found that if I let the gun recoil and don't "man up on the grip" it works quite well. If you squeeze the bejesus out of the handle you'll keep double and triple tapping.
There are places in remodel work where they are a saviour as they can get in places where swinging a hammer might be impossible.

Matt,
Are clipped heads only outlawed by code or by law in MN? I've never heard of it, but don't read up on code much....?

[David G Baker]

Greg,
I haven't read the code on clipped head nails but from conversations that I have had with carpenter friends the clipped head nails are outlawed in many areas by local codes. I am not sure if the nails are still available but can be found at garage sales, etc.
I think that California was one of the first states to stop the use of the clipped head in code controlled construction but haven't heard about what other states have decided. I still have a bunch of the 3 inchers and will use them for building things on my own place when I run out of standard head nails.

[Bill White]

I don't have any of my nailers set for bump fire. Just feel that is is too scarey. OK. I'm a woose.
Bill

[Jason White]

Make sure you put some pneumatic nail gun oil in it before working it hard. 5 or 6 drops will do it. Especially important if it's used. You never know how abused it might have been.

Jason

[Raymond Fries]

...and never look away.

My brother worked on a job with a guy that nailed his had to a wall stud with one of those by looking away to talk. :eek:

His co-workers cut the stud out on both sides of his hand with a reciprocating saw and took him to ER.

He healed OK but never worked the same way with the tool.

[Peter Quinn]

It is a GUN that shoots nails. Use the necessary precautions and the proper frame of mind. Be safe. I have a bostich I like, certainly not a toy.

[Per Swenson]

In retrospect, as its been almost 15 years, I tell this story for laughs.
In reality it just plain sad, but true.
We had a new guy on the job who pretended to know what he was doing,
either due to insecurity or a really large need to impress.

We were building partition walls in a warehouse with concrete floors.
Layout was chalked and 2x4 cca cut and placed on the lines.
I had sent some one else back to the truck for the Hilti.
But what I said, and to some one other then our tragic character was,
"Go to da truck and get the freakin gun ya moron!"

The framing nailer was hooked up to hose and compressor.
The new guy eager to please picks up the nailer and try's to shoot
through the 2x4 into the concrete.

Oh yeah, he had gotten down on his knees and all this happened so fast, I guess due to enthusiasm, and no one said what da hell ya doin?

He fired the gun, his head was a foot above said gun....
Which bounced back,hit him squarely in the forehead and knocked 'em out cold.

Poor kid, that story gets told a lot.

Per

[Paul Greathouse]

Remember the line from one of the Lethal Weapon movies...."Nailed Him"

[Matt Meiser]

I shot one right past my brother's head while we were finishing out the inside of my shop. We were both up on ladders putting up a 4x8 sheet of OSB. I reached out to put in a nail at about the middle and had the gun at a little bit of an angle and instead of going into the wood it turned and whizzed along the surface. We decided it was time to take a break at that point.

On the oil--take that advise! I just installed an engineered floor using a stapler I purchased used. It was misfiring (not driving the staples all the way) a bit at the beginning. By the middle it was pretty much useless. I took the nose apart and cleaned it and added a few drops of oil. Within about 20 shots it was working so well I think I had one misfire the rest of the floor--and I'm pretty sure I hit a subfloor nail that time.