Nailers - 23 ga pinner

[rodster_67]

Shopping for a pinner and thinking I would like one that shoots slight head pins as well as headless but it seems the slight head pins aren't too common?

HF has a super cheap headless only pinner and I may give it a try but also found some other big brand name tools that won't break the bank.

My thought is with a slight head pin, at least there will be some holding power for the little trim pieces or shoe molding I don't want to glue.

Anyone use a pinner with slight head pins?

Thanks

 

[kylefitz]

IMO the main advantage of a pin nailer is the tiny hole they leave. Having a head would negate that. A couple dots of glue should hold small trim easily.

I own a porter cable 18ga brad nailer and a 16ga trim nailer both very nice with no problems. That being said the $10? pin nailer from hf is a great value. We had one in the shop in high school that was used and abused and just kept working.

 

[dnschmidt]

Grex, these are very good. Senco makes some too.

 

[TheGrooveking]

I have three 23 ga. pinners, Grex, Bosch and Harbor Freight, the Habor Freight has been flawless, the key is a drop of lube in the air input everytime i use it and quality pins - I've used Bostitch pins and have never had a jam or a pin not fully flush.

TheGrooveking

 

[Deej-79]

Very happy with my hitatchi pin and brad nailer. Got the pin on amazon for about 80 bucks. I use them a few times a week for work and have had zero problems with either.

 

[rodster_67]

Thanks for the info. I'm definitely going to pick up the HF pinner since it's so cheap and seems to get good reviews. It's a lot more than $10. More like $24.99 less 20%.

I'll be installing vinyl shoe molding which is why I want a slight head pinner. I'm thinking that will be the perfect tool for this application. I tested 18ga using my Bostitch Smart Point and the hole it leaves is a tad large and even with the Smart Point technology and the no mar tip, it leaves a small mark in the vinyl when pressed on.

I want to make sure I can find a source for the pins first before I buy a gun.

 

[bcradio]

Just make sure it will shoot long enough fasteners for your application (and future applications). The cheaper ones shoot shorter pins only.

 

[rodster_67]

Yea I noticed that. At least the cheap HF pinner takes 1/2" - 1".

I'm guessing slight head pins and pinners are being phased out

Slight head pins are impossible to find. So much for my logic using a slight head pin to attach my vinyl shoe to pine base. Might have to use the 18ga.

 

[Crazyjake8493]

I wouldn't bother with slight head pins. I mostly use my pinner for small mouldings, so I use glue and just a few pins to hold it while the glue dries. If you need more holding power I'd go up to 18ga brad nails.

I have Ridgid's 23ga pinner, Home Depot's website has them on sale from time to time for $49, normally $99. Great quality, shoots up to 1-3/8" pins instead of just 1".

I had bought the HF pinner and as soon as I got home I had an email from Home Depot that the Ridgid pinner was on sale, so I never got a chance to use the HF to see how it was. Only downside with the Ridgid was no case, but for $49 I can't complain too much.

 

[beamrider]

As a painter who gets stuck caulking/filling all the damn nail holes, I am ALL for pinners. Brad/Finish nailers should be illegal.

 

[rlitman]

IMO the main advantage of a pin nailer is the tiny hole they leave. Having a head would negate that. A couple dots of glue should hold small trim easily.

Ditto. If I need more holding power, I'll use the brad nailer, OR, I'll shoot two pins at opposing angles.

Just make sure it will shoot long enough fasteners for your application (and future applications). The cheaper ones shoot shorter pins only.

+1
My Grex will shoot up to 1 3/8" pins. You can get a longer model too.

I wouldn't bother with slight head pins. I mostly use my pinner for small mouldings, so I use glue and just a few pins to hold it while the glue dries. If you need more holding power I'd go up to 18ga brad nails.

Ditto.

A word of caution regarding pin nailers.
ALWAYS load the pins in the correct direction. If you accidentally drop them in backwards, the points will permanently damage your hammer.

 

[ryan20021982]

I have this but have always shot headless for the same reason as above, if I wanted a head I would jump to the 18ga

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0049ZBOUM/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[rodster_67]

As a painter who gets stuck caulking/filling all the damn nail holes, I am ALL for pinners. Brad/Finish nailers should be illegal.

LOL But it's so quick and easy (and fun) to shoot lots of brads! Being both the 'carpenter' and 'painter' I tend to hold back on the trigger a bit.

I may have to jump up to 18ga since it seems slight head pins are next to impossible to find. My thought is since they are 'slight' head, the hole shouldn't be much bigger than a pin and certainly smaller than a 18ga brad.

The fact that the slight head pins are so hard to find, tells me they probably aren't used much. Sounds like a good idea but probably not too popular.

I am going to start with the HF pinner and see how well it goes shooting two pins in at opposing directions as suggested. Hopefully that will work as I don't look forward to filling lots of 18ga holes in the shoe molding.

 

[gsmith22]

they way I understand it is that the hole made by the 23 ga pinners is due to the driver and not the pin diameter or head on headed pins. thus the hole is the same size for the headed or headless pins. I didn't see Cadex mentioned earlier but they are widely considered the gold standard for 23 and 21 ga pinners and shoot both the headed and headless pins. I believe Grex only shoots headless pins. Omer is another name I see mentioned for 23 ga pinners. Also, may want to consider a 21 ga pinner. Partway between 18 and 23 and using headed pins gives more holding power while keeping the nail hole small. Search jlconline or finehomebuilding websites for some threads on the subject

 

[gsmith22]

forgot to mention, look online for woodworkers specialties. they have everything you could ever want in pin diameter and length. they have their own website: http://woodworkerspecialties.biz
as well as on amazon and ebay

 

[rodster_67]

Interesting, I'm curious to see the size of the hole the HF unit makes. Should be picking one up shortly.

I've seen the other brands you mention and they are kind of out of my league as a DIYer. Probably great tools but hard to justify for one project. I'll experiment with the HF unit and may step up to a better brand name if I like the results.

Thanks for the info.

 

[gsmith22]

see if this link works for hole size comparison

http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/filedata/fetch?id=1010222&d=1367538378

 

[rodster_67]

forgot to mention, look online for woodworkers specialties. they have everything you could ever want in pin diameter and length. they have their own website: http://woodworkerspecialties.biz
as well as on amazon and ebay

Great site, and see they have slight head pins on Amazon. Might still be an option since they have the pins and the Porter Cable and other pinners shoot both types.

>>update

Hmmm,they have a nice gun listed on ebay that sounds like what I'm looking for and won't break the bank.

CADEX CPB23.35 1-3/8" 23 GAUGE HEADLESS PINNER & BRAD NAILER with 8,000 NAILS

 

[rodster_67]

see if this link works for hole size comparison

http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/filedata/fetch?id=1010222&d=1367538378

It works and I like the 23 ga hole size!

 

[gsmith22]

for the vast majority of users, the guns shooting up to 1 3/8 nails will do everything they need. I did the same thing figuring I was already going to spend ~120 on a bostitch, hitachi, max, etc. so might as well get the "best" for a few more bucks. I know you mentioned a HF pinner earlier but my personal opinion is to avoid HF like the plague for any tool I expect to use more than 1 time (and sometimes you don't even get through the 1 time use!) I've heard bad things about Senco's pinner too - always jamming. Only praise for cadex, grex, omer, nickel (names that come to mind currently)

 

[Todd.Brock]

I bought the HF pinner and some Porter cable p1" pins this past week. I was hoping to get small nail holes and not split. I learned Pins won't hold if there is any tension. Like trying to contour to a wall that isn't perfectly flat or a board that has a little twist. I was doing wainscoting and ended up using my 16 ga Paslode. Fort. It does not mar the surface and leaves a clean- slightly larger than pin- nail hole. I was lucky it didn't split the edges.

Be careful b/c my HF pinner does not have a safety on it so you can fire at will and not have it pressed against your work

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I bought a cheap $C65.00 23 G. pinner at the local specialty lumber yard and returned it after trying to fire it 4 times. It jammed twice! I then spent $C300.00 on a Cadex 2" pin nailer and haven't had a problem since. It hurt monetarily but it beats poor or not working tools.I like the 2" because after going threw 3/4" baseboard and 1/2" drywall there is still 3/4" left to hold into the 2x4 wall stud. It's surprising how much holding power there is with these small pins.

 

[rodster_67]

forgot to mention, look online for woodworkers specialties. they have everything you could ever want in pin diameter and length. they have their own website: http://woodworkerspecialties.biz
as well as on amazon and ebay

Great site and Bob Gadd was very helpful!! Just placed my order for a 23ga pinner!

Thanks for the link. I won't be buying/trying the HF pinner now, I'll apply the savings toward my new gun.

 

[gsmith22]

congrats. he is very helpful - see his name all over the web related to the cadex pinners and attempting to help people who didn't even buy from him.

 

[Cope]

I bought the HF pinner and some Porter cable p1" pins this past week. I was hoping to get small nail holes and not split. I learned Pins won't hold if there is any tension. Like trying to contour to a wall that isn't perfectly flat or a board that has a little twist. I was doing wainscoting and ended up using my 16 ga Paslode. Fort. It does not mar the surface and leaves a clean- slightly larger than pin- nail hole. I was lucky it didn't split the edges.

Be careful b/c my HF pinner does not have a safety on it so you can fire at will and not have it pressed against your work

I saw a tutorial on the Bostitch site on pin nailers. If you need to be sure the piece doesn't move, you can tilt the nailer at an angle before setting the pin.

 

[Todd.Brock]

Thanks for the info- I think I was expecting too much of a 1" pin - or any pin for that fact. I was focused on not splitting edges . After a few test shots with my 16 ga- it held and didn't split.

 

[rodster_67]

Got my CADEX CPB23.35 and it's a very nice gun. Worked perfect for installing shoe molding. The gun uses headless pins and slight head brads. For the shoe molding I used the slight head brads. Tested it first on scrap pieces and it wasn't too easy to remove so the molding isn't going to fall off!

One or two places I used my 18ga Bostitch where I thought a bit more holding power might be needed.

Sure was nice not to fill all of those pin holes, simply touched up with some paint and they disappeared. Probably wouldn't have needed to paint but ***** to be a perfectionist.

Thanks again gsmith22 for the lead.