Air Nailer Repair

[59ctd]

I have an older Craftsman 351-18323 18g brad nailgun that I bought 10+ years ago for cheap at a garage sale. The trigger seems to be leaking air and it does not work. I am going to take apart the trigger related parts. What is considered as generally replaceable on these types of tools and when does it make sense to just go buy a new finish nailer?

 

[alinc100]

You might try taking out the trigger valve and lubing up the o-rings, maybe even a couple shots of oil at the air inlet will get there. It's highly likely that after 10+ years the o-rings are quite dry and brittle. I'd say a rebuild kit for that is not common and may be hard to find. Judging by your frequency of use I'd likely just buy a replacement from HD,Lowes,Harbor Freight in the $69-99 range. Unless you'd like to go cordless/compressor free then the $$$ go up.

 

[PoorUB]

Take it apart and see what it needs. I have a couple Craftsman air nailers and one failed. I took it apart and the plastic piston was shot. Bought a new piston from Amazon for a few dollars and it works like new. Parts break downs can be found online.

I also figured out the Craftsman air nailers were made by Bostitch.

 

[RTM]

It's really just a matter of finding the right o rings for most of them. And knowing Craftsman, if it wasn't Bostitch, it may have been Senco, or some other mainline maker. Oh wait, 351 is Colovos, whoever that was.

 

[The Cobbler]

often there's a silicone or rubber seal that is not available .
basically Craftsman nailers are junk, I would look at the trigger and see if it is just o rings, but seriously I wouldn't spend a lot of time on it

 

[finn]

My Bostitch sheathing stapler started leaking at the trigger cartridge. Found dozens of listings on eBay and Amazon.

New one cost $10. Works fine now.