Need advice for an electric nail gun

[lasagna]

My father wants a nail gun for Christmas. He sent me a link to an Amazon product that is not for sale (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFB8WH5J/?tag=atomicindus08-20). I'm wondering what a much better brand of nail gun with the same functionality would be. I've been looking at DeWalt and Ryobi, but that's mainly because I have no experience with nail guns and do not know which other brands to look at. Any and all help/suggestions would be much appreciated.

Edit: one thing I meant to specify, but forgot, is that I'm looking for a corded tool.

 

[GeoBruin]

Are you looking at corded or cordless? Also, that absurd product image shows staples. Are you looking for a nail gun or a staple gun? Any idea what size/gauge?

 

[Old tool guy]

That’s not a nail gun in the picture, it’s a brad nailer. 18 ga. That size brad is very useful, and also very un-useful. Good for all kinds of trim. Not good for hanging doors, nailing boards together, etc. Look for a cordless brad nailer, dewalt for example. What’s in the picture is trash.

 

[fourjeepin]

I have the Ryobi cordless 18ga. It works good and is very handy. Rather bulky, but I almost never use my pneumatic one after getting this cordless one.

 

[readhead]

Do you know what kind of work he wants to do with it?

 

[lasagna]

Are you looking at corded or cordless? Also, that absurd product image shows staples. Are you looking for a nail gun or a staple gun? Any idea what size/gauge?

Looking for a corded tool. I just fixed my post. Thanks for the heads up.

The Amazon link goes to a 2-in-1 product that is both a staple and nail gun.

 

[lasagna]

That’s not a nail gun in the picture, it’s a brad nailer. 18 ga. That size brad is very useful, and also very un-useful. Good for all kinds of trim. Not good for hanging doors, nailing boards together, etc. Look for a cordless brad nailer, dewalt for example. What’s in the picture is tra

Thanks. I could actually tell the pictured product was trash. It looks like something that's made in China. That's the main reason I started this thread-- I want to get my dad something higher quality. This is just completely outside of my wheelhouse. I will take a look at Dewalt's offerings.

I don't think I can fix the thread title, but thanks for letting me know that I'm not even looking for a nail gun. I'm not trying to pretend like this is an area of expertise for me at all.

 

[lasagna]

Do you know what kind of work he wants to do with it?

I don't, but I'll ask and report back. I won't have more information until the morning, unfortunately.

 

[Old tool guy]

Electric corded brad nailers are weak. Pneumatic is best, but that requires a compressor. Cordless are good.

 

[lasagna]

Reply from my father regarding use case and additional information:

I would only use it for light duty such as fastening trim. Cordless with battery is fine for this, or corded is also good. I want to avoid pneumatic.

 

[M6erfan]

Go cordless. Lots of good options. Is he in a cordless system already? You gave no price point.

 

[tarbellb]

Battery operated 16g Ryobi is your ticket, look no further

 

[AEAdam]

The Milwaukee 18V narrow crown stapler is really great for trim. I really love mine. It has great pull up.

I think an 18ga Brad nailer is also useful for trim, but doesn’t produce the pull up of the stapler. The heads are pretty tiny, so while you may not be able to pull them out, you can often pull the trim off the headless nail.

16 and 15ga are considered finish nailers, a little too big for small trim like crowns etc. They are better for window and door installation. 15ga are bigger nails with bigger heads that produce good pull up and won’t pull thru.

16 is my least favorite, kind of a compromise between 15ga and 18ga. I use my 15ga and narrow crown stapler the most and reach for the stapler most often.

 

[Jim greengo]

All I can say about cordless nail guns is if you happen to get him an 18v milwaukee framing nailer.
Don't let him use it when he's in a hurry ,in a dark crawl space without a light!
Just saying! Hahaha

 

[readhead]

Where did you get a picture of my hand. I never told anyone about that.
Seriously, I have done that about three times over the years and it really hurts.

 

[MoonRise]

The 'homeowner' level plug-in electric stapler/brad-nailers are usually rather weak. I have one, brand name too. It will work OK for pine and soft woods but can not really sink the brads (or staples, except for the short leg ones) well in harder woods like oak.

If you want the electric nailer to work, you pretty much have to go either pneumatic or the cordless tool version of the pneumatic nailer. Pneumatic nailers work well and are lightweight but you need some sort of air compressor and an air hose. Cordless nailers can work well, but are bigger and heavier (usually) than pneumatic ones and the batteries can be expensive and don't have a long lifetime (not use time but lifetime) but you don't need an air compressor or an air hose.

For use on 'trim', you can go with a headless pin nailer or an 18 gauge brad nailer or a 15 or 16 gauge finish nailer.

Headless pin nailer is useful for things like pinning small trim molding in place on furniture while the glue dries. Not so useful for nailing baseboard trim or shoe molding or crown molding to a wall in a house. Not enough holding power (because it is just a straight headless pin). But that headless pin is so small in diameter that you usually don't even have to fill in the hole when finishing the wood, no putty or filler needed.

The 18 gauge brad nailer can sometimes nail trim to a house wall.

The 15/16 gauge finish nailer shoots a bigger diameter finish nail, which has a small head (but bigger than the head on a brad).

Some info https://www.thisoldhouse.com/tools/21273347/how-to-choose-a-finish-nailer

 

[M6erfan]

All I can say about cordless nail guns is if you happen to get him an 18v milwaukee framing nailer.
Don't let him use it when he's in a hurry ,in a dark crawl space without a light!
Just saying! Hahaha

I did that last week, although with only an 18ga finish nailer. The nail must have hit a knot or something and it took a 90° turn and exited the side of the trim piece right into my palm. Not very deep, but ouch! Lesson learned, pay attention and don't hold near the nailing point.

 

[rickpaulos]

Best nailer day of my life was when I got rid of the electric nailer. IMO, Air power works so much better.

I started with one of those awful red pancake compressors (sold that) and I now have an ultra-quiet Fortress 2 gallon compressor that is light enough I can schlep it around and up on scaffolding. It's big enough to run any nailer short of going non stop roofing. Inflates bike tires well which is what I use it for most. I have a brad nailer, 18g nailer, 16g nailer (all 3 Porter Cable used from pawn shops). I bought a full size framing nailer for derecho repair work and later sold it (mistake). Now looking for another full size nailer.

PS, you can shoot yourself with any type of nailer but is that less painful than hitting your fingers hundreds of times with a hammer? I'd say yes. Once you figure out how you shot yourself, you won't do that again. In my case, a nail went clear through the wood in into my finger that was holding the wood from the other side.

 

[captain14]

I don't think I can fix the thread title, but thanks for letting me know that I'm not even looking for a nail gun. I'm not trying to pretend like this is an area of expertise for me at all.

If you can’t change the thread title, post a question in the Q&A thread with a link back to this thread. The mods can make adjustments after they see it posted there.

Questions & Suggestions

Got questions about the board? Maybe a suggestion or two? Fire away...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[lasagna]

If you can’t change the thread title, post a question in the Q&A thread with a link back to this thread. The mods can make adjustments after they see it posted there.

Questions & Suggestions

Got questions about the board? Maybe a suggestion or two? Fire away...

www.garagejournal.com

I appreciate the advice/solution, but it seems like most of the folks here know a lot more about tools than I do, quickly figured out what I'm really asking, and gave me good advice. I've now already ordered and received a Ryobi P325 One+ cordless 16g finish nailer. The one I ordered didn't come with a battery (or battery charger) though.

If any stragglers make their way to this thread, here's what I have my eye on: https://www.amazon.com/POWTREE-P108-Battery-Charger-Channel/dp/B0CGTNFRG1/?tag=atomicindus08-20

The actual Ryobi batteries are only 4Ah and that off-brand one is 7Ah. What I don't know is if that'll even matter for this particular finish nailer. I hate the fact that I'm making my greenness (if that's a word) plain as day here, but this is my imperfect line of thinking. I have a 65W USB-C wall adapter for my laptop. Using a USB-C cord that's capable of powering devices with 100W would be irrelevant because my charger only has 2/3 of that capacity. Batteries for this Ryobi product with more than 4Ah might be similarly worthless, so I don't know if I'm judging the choices by the wrong criteria.

I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to help me out. If any of you can throw me a battery bone too, I'll be, uh, even more eternally grateful.

 

[mike93lx]

4ah is plenty for a nailer. Buy a genuine battery and charger.

Direct tools can be a good source of refurb and factory blemishes Ryobi at a good discount. Otherwise, just buy through home depot