I had a project that required attaching molding that was 1/4 x 1/4 cove molding on the top and bottom edges of all for sides plus another build up molding.

The Project:
Hall Table.jpg

The Nailer:
Pin Nailer.jpg

I decided this was a great project to try out a pin nailer, so I picked up the Harbor Freight model for $26.99 plus a box of 5/8" 23 Guage pins for $4.49. I figured for about $32.00 it was worth a try.

Criteria used to select Pin Nailer. I let me estimated frequency of use dictate what I should look at.

Price: $32.00 for Nailer and box of pins. About the cost of one clamp .

Frequency of use: I do 1-3 projects a year of which, I can see myself using this product maybe a couple of times per year. I just could not justify buying a PC or name brand gun in this product category due to my projected low use. I have been doing projects for six years now and this is the first time that I had moldings that were too small for my brad nailer. This is really a specialty product.

Results: I turned my pancake air compressor down to 90 psi and started nailing. The product performed as expected, it shot pins into the wood . I did not have any jams in the two loadings of pins that I used. Again this was a small project.

Other: I could hear a very small amount of pressure leaking from the rear of the gun. The leak did not affect the operation nor did it effect my compressor which only kicked on once in the hour that I was using it between applying glue and fitting the pieces.

Overall I am happy with the purchase and would recommend it to a home hobbyist to save time.

Drawbacks: It will only shoot up to a max of 1" pins. I did a few test shots and found that it would leave a sleight dimple in softwood IE pine, so that should be considered, but I would think a small piece of bike inter-tub would take care of that should it become an issue for me in the future. This project was using oak molding.

Thanks for reading and happy tool hunting.

Product comes with a 1 year warranty. I have a local Harbor Freight so I was able to pickup it off off the shelf and did not have any shipping involved.

Sam Brooks