assembly with pin nailer?

[chris weir]

Can a pin nailer be used for cabinet assembly, or are they only useful for molding and small pieces? I am not opposed to clamping, but it seems the pin nailer would help to hold pieces in place during assembly. I like the idea of not seeing the fastner, but I am concerned about how well a headless pin would hold during glue-up.

Oh, and I need an excuse to buy a new tool...

Thanks- Chris

[Dane Allen]

Oh, and I need an excuse to buy a new tool...

Thanks- Chris


Amen, brother. My wife ****e a drawer in a cheap MDF dresser and I told her that I would need a biscuit jointer to fix it and it's her fault I have to get the new tool in the first place. She saw through that sh*t real quick. No biscuit jointer but still no fixed drawer. Keep up the bluff, I say!!!!:D

[Dane Allen]

Can a pin nailer be used for cabinet assembly, or are they only useful for molding and small pieces?
Thanks- Chris

Oh, and I read a technique where you fire a couple of pins at an angle like this / \ instead of straight in like this | | and you get some good holding power. Trick is not to fire them too deep below the surface.

[frank shic]

chris, a pin nailer or a pneumatic stapler is one of the fastest ways i've found to temporarily tack cabinet parts together before driving in a couple of confirmat screws. clamping is so cumbersome and tedious...

[Peter Quinn]

A pin nailer may be handy to add a little traction but I wouldn't count on them to provide much clamping pressure during glue up. If you are talking plywood carcass assembly such as kitchen cabs where the outsides are blind, I prefer 18g brads for a bit more holding power, but I'd back those up with screws. If you are talking furniture assemblies the pins might give enough traction to let you get the clamps on but I'd probably work on your clamping strategy and skip the pins. I would however buy a good pin nailer in any event as they have many uses. Good enough excuse to get one and experiment to see what works for you.

My 23g pinner shoots 1" max, if you are going to use them for assemblies a gun with a longer capacity would be helpful. For holding power in blind assemblies staples are hard to beat, especially corrugated staples. Those might be a good substitute for clamps.

[Karl Brogger]

I use a 15ga finish nailer for assembly the box, and the faceframe onto the box. Pin nails don't hold very well and are prone to arching out of the material if they hit something hard.

[frank shic]

peter makes a good point. chris, are you talking about using the nailer on furniture grade cabinets or melamine/plywood cabinets? i don't like nail holes on furniture and i usually use an 18 gauge stapler or pinner on utility cabinets. the headless nails don't have much clamping power and are much more useful for small pieces of molding. i would never try holding cabinet parts together with a small 23 gauge headless pinner although they do work for raised panel doors while you're waiting for the glue to dry.

[chris weir]

I was thinking about using the pin nailer to assist in clamping- holding/squaring multiple parts together and then clamping. Would the pins show on exposed cabinet parts?

[Jim Becker]

I now use a pinner when putting face frames on cabinetry, but generally use my 15 gage nailer or an 18 gage brad gun for convenience in carcass assembly. (This is in situations that the fasteners will never show)

The pins are "hard" to see, but can still be visible, depending on the species and finishing method. I'd never use them for fine furniture projects in any area that they might be seen, but am less concerned when doing built-in cabinetry, etc., where the convenience (or necessity) of completing assembly in situ is the case.

[frank shic]

chris, it depends. norm abrams used to fire tons of exposed nails into his furniture to temporarily clamp them up while the glue dried. my whole point of using a pneumatic stapler is to obviate all those heavy clamps that get in the way and make the cabinet heavier and heavier to maneuver around. like jim, i wouldn't use them on fine furniture.