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Thread: What do you use 2" long 23 ga pins for?

  1. #1
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    What do you use 2" long 23 ga pins for?

    My PC 23 ga pin nailer uses up to 1" long pins.
    I use it quite a bit.

    So far, I haven't run across anything I'd use it on where I'd prefer it had the ability to shoot a 2" pin.
    What am I missing?
    My granddad always said, :As one door closes, another opens".
    Wonderful man, terrible cabinet maker...

  2. #2
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    I suppose that if you're only using mechanical fasteners for say trim or something similar where it won't be glued or caulked but I'm just guessing. 1 inch should be plenty for a pin. For longer, I'd probably pick up a different nailer with a larger gauge fastener or use a different method altogether.

  3. #3
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    I've used 1.5" pins to stop parts from moving/sliding during a glue up , never shot 2" for anything .

  4. #4
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    I can't even imagine a pin that thin and long going in straight and not finding a way to poke out of somewhere it shouldn't be.

  5. #5
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    2" is probably suitable for very soft materials. Might have trouble shooting through or straight in harder woods.

  6. #6
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    I use stainless ones to sew ridge wooden shingles on along with construction adhesive on one underside. I shoot a bunch of them in at different angles. So far, holding well through three hurricanes. No good way not to have exposed fasteners, so I figured the smallest size entry holes, that actually seal back over from the wood swelling.

    I can't think of anything else I use them for.

    I did fix one such old ridge with the same method that had been put on in the 1980's, but the galvanized fasteners had failed.
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    Last edited by Tom M King; 08-15-2022 at 10:38 AM.

  7. #7
    I have a Cadex 23 ga that shoots up to 1 3/8” and even that can be pushing it in really hard woods, though I have done it (oak, ash, etc)

    There are times where I want longer than 1” and find a use for it but can’t think of a time where I really needed more than 1 3/8” in 23 ga and wanted to rely on it for strength and trusted it to not deflect at that length.
    Still waters run deep.

  8. #8
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    Anything over an inch seems to bend on me.
    Regards,

    Tom

  9. #9
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    Installing a large crown on a freestanding piece of furniture that will be stained or clear coated. I wouldn't use 2", but certainly 1 1/2" is useful. Also useful with stain grade house trimming. Especially useful on a built in place fireplace mantle. I saw a wood block wall made of 3/4" thick wood blocks. The longer pins would be great to hold the blocks up while the construction adhesive dries.

  10. #10
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    I have never found a use for more than 1" long pins. I have longer and my Grex can use them, but that is only because I bought a variety of sizes with the Grex as that seemed like the most econmical method to get the pins I wanted without buying large amounts of them. I have never used up any of the sizes but have all I bought left over 1".

  11. #11
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    The guy that did the trim work in my daughters house (wasn't me) used them everywhere and lots of them. If one was good, two was much better.
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
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  12. #12
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    The 2" pins can be used for trim work when glue is involved and as some have mentioned, multiple fasteners in varying directions provide more than enough holding power and they are essentially invisible after finish, especially. I typically don't use longer than 1" in most cases for things I employ my pinner, however. One really needs to pay attention where one's hands are when shooting the long ones for sure! It doesn't take a lot to "redirect" things into one's flesh...
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  13. #13
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    One really needs to pay attention where one's hands are when shooting the long ones for sure! It doesn't take a lot to "redirect" things into one's flesh
    Yeah. I can see that being the case.
    I'm sort of leery of my 1 1/4" 18 ga. finding its way where it shouldn't be going.

    Thanks everyone! You'll just saved me a couple hundred bucks!

    Well maybe not saved since now I'm looking hard at a cordless pin nailer.
    My granddad always said, :As one door closes, another opens".
    Wonderful man, terrible cabinet maker...

  14. #14
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    A cordless pinner is an interesting thing, but given how I use my pin nailer, often in tight spaces, the "heftier" size of a cordless unit might make it less usable. It really comes down to what you intend to use the tool for. Cordless nailers of any kind have become an essential for construction work; I'm not as convinced they are better for in-shop use due to size and weight vs the nature of many projects.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  15. #15
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    I like 1 & 3/8" for prefinished crown. Haven't come across a need for 2" but I did buy another gun just to be able to shoot them.

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