Framing Nailers

[sxk122]

So... Framing nailers...... someone want to educate me on the significance of 21° Angle versus a 28° Angle?

Also, how hard are the sticks of nails to locate at lowes/ home depot? I'm looking on their websites but I can't seem to find anything smaller than 2000 packs...... I don't need $40 of nails at a time....

 

[JonBoy81]

I framed houses but we didn't use stick nailers. Hitachi nv83a2 I believe. The benefit was that the coil rolls hold more nails. The versatility to be able to shoot .131 framers at 3 inches all the way down to 1.25 by 0.99 case hardened nails for nailing furring to concrete made a big deal to us. Our current nail rep is selling some decent grip-rite guns that shoot strip nails. The retail is around d 1/3 of Hitachi iirc. From what I remember of strip nails, the plastic collated nails tend to blow a lot of plastic shrapnel that the paper collated don't. Paslode also makes good guns.

Most of the cases Lowes sells are going to be in the thousands. If there are any 500 count boxes, the selection will be very limited. I see guns all the time used but in new shape for a fraction of retail ($35-$100) you might buy used and pick up more nails.

If you plan on buying new, I know my paslode rep was always great about giving us demo guns and some free nails as an incentive for buying a gun

 

[Hank McMauser]

I work in a lumberyard, and it seems that the different nail angles tend to be regional, I live in Idaho and the only people who buy 28 degree nails are the ones that bought the gun for $79 from Harbor freight. In our area the 21 degree nail is the king, We buy them several pallets at a time. I only order 28 degree nails in when someone asks for them, and then usually get a box or two at a time.

 

[sxk122]

Is there a difference between the two as far as application and use? Both seem the same, and here in dallas lowes and home depot seem to have a selection on 21 degree. And yes, I was considering the haror freight guns. I have their brad nailer and its never done me wrong. With a coupon, the price is about $68........

 

[sxk122]

Also, I'm just using this for some basic stuff around the house small shed etc. Nothing major

 

[chevelle67]

A 28 tends to fit into some tighter spaces due to the the track being at a more acute angle.

 

[metaldad]

Is there a difference between the two as far as application and use? Both seem the same, and here in dallas lowes and home depot seem to have a selection on 21 degree. And yes, I was considering the haror freight guns. I have their brad nailer and its never done me wrong. With a coupon, the price is about $68........

I bought a HF framer when doing my garage.
Mechanism blew apart during the job. Luckily, there's a hf store 5 minutes away. exchange/ no problem.
For the limited use I use them, hf is acceptable. (I also have their roofing nailer)

 

[rlitman]

So... Framing nailers...... someone want to educate me on the significance of 21° Angle versus a 28° Angle?

Unlike what was stated above, I must point out that there is a big difference in the angle, and it is not just the angle that the gun fits in (which is the least important difference).

The angle is determined by how the nails are stacked in the strip.

In 28° nails, the shanks of the nails are all next to each other in the strip. In order to allow one nail shank to lie next to the next, they originally clipped the heads of the nails to a "D" shape. That had code compliance issues, so you can now get nails with offset heads, that still have an "O" shaped head, but work in the clipped head style nailers.
This arrangement just happens to stack at 28°. They can be held together with wires, or paper tape. Some nailers prefer wires. Some prefer the paper. Get the one that your nailer is supposed to use.

In 21° nailers, the head of one nail butts up against the shank of the next. Plastic spacer strips keep the shanks apart to make this arrangement work.
These always use full round head nails, with centered heads. I find that I get hit a lot with chunks of plastic, so with my new nail gun, I find that I tend to turn my head as I pull the trigger. This is something I never did with my paper collated nails.

 

[mrjaw14]

Main difference is ergonomics and availability of nails. In some places clipped head nails are against codes, and for me it's been a lot easier to find 21 degree full-head nails than 28 degree, so I got a 21 degree Rigid nailer that I've been thrilled with

 

[KnurledNut]

Paslode uses 30˚ nails.
I would highly recommend (from years of use) their cordless nailers.
They offer a combo pack of 1,000 nails w/ one fuel cell. Available at Lowes and lumber yards.

 

[rlitman]

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention:
With 28° nails, you get a lot more nails per strip, than with 21° nails, because there's no space between the 28° nails. That could be an extra 1/3 capacity in the magazine, but in truth, if you really cared about this, you would be looking at coil magazines.

 

[MrMark]

Everyone uses 21 degree. Use safety glasses no doubt.