M18 2740 reviews don't lie

[Fbmoose48]

I have the 16 ga and like it, so I thought regardless of the reviews I'd give the 2740 18 gauge nailer a try when Home Depot put it on sale.

I ran 180 nails through it split between 90, 30, and 45 degrees. Cranked all the way up and 126 sat proud. Had it less than 24 hours because its back where it belongs at Home Depot being RTV'd.

Save yourself the trouble. The reviews are for real.

 

[ptgarcia]

It's shame considering the Ryobi works fantastic. I have the Craftsman version of the Ryobi and it is wonderful. And it was only $100 or so.

 

[Fbmoose48]

I ended up getting a refurbished Ridgid. It doesn't recover as quickly or fire as rapidly as the Fuel - but all that extra speed doesn't make up for the time spent resinking nails flush by hand.

 

[mobiledynamics]

FBMoose -

I'm all red but got the Yellow Brad myself....

Interesting enough, I posted in the Milwaukee thread stating I waited for the red nailers and seeing how they were duds I skipped on them and there was more than a handful of GJ posters that said they like their red nailers....

I've actually got the yellow framer as well too.

All I need now is cordless to replace the grex and a cordless finisher. Ahhh. the wait

 

[dnschmidt]

With respect to tools I'm as red as it gets but this just reinforces the fact that everybody makes duds as well as winners. That's why I have both Makita and Milwaukee cordless systems. What one fails at the other knocks out of the park. No one company does everything right.

 

[Fcvapor05]

I seriously have no idea where this stuff comes from.

Mine has been perfect and never left a nail proud, not a single time. Ever.

 

[BMack37]

I got rid of my 18G nailer. It was consistent in depth but it would jam a lot, 1" would jam after about a dozen, 1.5" would jam about 5-8 nails and 2" wouldn't make it to 5 nails...and I tried several brands of name brand nails. It's the only M18 tool I've gotten rid of

 

[Fbmoose48]

I'm not a fan of the Ridgid's delayed fire, or that it looks and feels like a plastic Transformers toy. It also only sinks between 90-95% of brads flush, its not perfect. So I got a second M18 2740 to test.

Similar test, 104 brads, 52 at 90° and 52 at 45°. 3 90s and 10 45s sat proud,much better results.

Some observations: I inadvertently used an extra stable 2 hand grip the first few shots, the resulting intial nails sunk well, so I continued to use a very stable and precise grip. I've never had to do this with a pneumatic but the M18 responds well too it. The depth screw seems prone to loosening, so I really cranked it down good when it loosened up after the first few shots. It did not loosen again.

Maybe the first was a super-lemon, maybe the 2740 is exceptionally sensitive to being held just so, maybe the depth gauge needs frequent checks.

Either way I now have both a Ridgid and M18 that seem to sink flush at about the same rate. I'm leaning towards the Milwaukee, but haven't decided yet.

FWIW I've owned about a dozen pneumatic Hitachis, so I have some vague idea of how to operate these things.

 

[Fbmoose48]

Also, after almost 300 nails the 2740 has not jammed once. Small sample size, but I point that out as that seems to be one issue I have not faced. All my nails are Hitachis.

 

[Fbmoose48]

And I still think there's some truth to the negative reviews. These things aren't as straight forward to operate as a pneumatic. I have a Ridgid and M18 and have used a Ryobi, none are perfect.

At 90-95% flush sink rate it may be quicker than setting up a compressor for quick or rough jobs, but in a production setting pneumatic certainly still has a place.

This is all in regards to 18 ga electric nailers. I have the 15 and 16 ga Fuels and I could see replacing my pneumatics with them, they work as expected without hesitation or caveat more than 99% of the time.

 

[kctyphoon]

I dunno why people are so against the paslode nailers.. they've been around forever at this point.

 

[6PTsocket]

With respect to tools I'm as red as it gets but this just reinforces the fact that everybody makes duds as well as winners. That's why I have both Makita and Milwaukee cordless systems. What one fails at the other knocks out of the park. No one company does everything right.

There was a recent thread about runout on Milwaukee drill chucks. They were looking for a replacement chuck. A Rohm chuck seems to fix the problem. There is no perfect brand. Since everything is on batteries now, it tends to lock you into a brand even if a particular tool is not the best choice. You save on batteries and chargers but they get most of your business.

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