Nail gun ?

[sailor55330]

What is your experience with edge nailing into 1/2"ply? I have a 16 and 23gauge. I'm thinking one will split it and the other won't do much. Just some basic butt joints that will be supplemented with glue but would like some mechanical fasteners also. Should have used dados but too late now

Thanks

[atgcpaul]

If you had an 18, I'd say that was ok. I'd be worried the 16 is too thick. The 23 will hold it there and the glue will do the rest. Go with the 23.

[capncarl]

I haven't had any problems with splitting with the pin nailer (23). Even the oldest, dryest, antique heart pine that you can't do anything with!

[radhak]

I suspect you fear the 16 might split the ply, while the 23 might be too ineffective.

As far as I remember, I have never seen a board of ply split easily, particularly by a nail gun. The 16 might do okay.

At the same time, if you take some care with the glue, the 23 too might hold it just enough for the glue to grab and cure. Recently when I had to do butt-join particle board, I 'sized' it very nicely : applied a nice layer of glue on the edge part of the ply and allowed it to dry. Then I applied a fresh layer of glue, joined the two pieces, then used my 18 gauge nails. Still standing strong! So long story short - the 23 might also be good enough to hold long enough for the glue to work.

[Condoman44]

My problem is the nail sometimes will peek out where I have not been perfectly straight holding the gun. I made 13 drawer boxes with 1/2 ply and butt joined edges. These were paint grade and I probably had 5 nail errors making these. Mind you these are not as pretty as dovetailed joints however, they are solid and functional.

[LCHIEN]

If you don't have an 18 ga brad nailer, I'd get one. That is to me the most flexible nailer of the lot. Make sure to get one that takes up to 2" brads and don't get a "2-in-1" combo nailer/stapler - they leave a wide striker indent instead of a little hole!

HF has them on sale for $20 all the time it seems and using a 20% off coupon will be 16 bucks or so... can't beat it
Like this:

http://www.harborfreight.com/18-gauge-brad-air-nailer-68021.html

FWIW, I find holding the gun body parallel to the piece of wood being nailed (as opposed to having the gun body at right angles to the wood) makes it easier to line up the nail so it enters vertically. Also, brads are easily influenced by grain - I would think the plywood, having no real grain except for the laminations would not be influenced in that way!

[atgcpaul]

FWIW, I find holding the gun body parallel to the piece of wood being nailed (as opposed to having the gun body at right angles to the wood) makes it easier to line up the nail so it enters vertically. Also, brads are easily influenced by grain - I would think the plywood, having no real grain except for the laminations would not be influenced in that way!

I find that when I hold the gun parellel to the edge of the board, the brads have a higher tendency to shoot out the side. I use the gun perpendicular to the edge to prevent this. I suspect the reason is the brad is thinner than it is wide so it has less meat to resist following the grain. Additionally, in the wide direction, the brad is supported in the rear by the brad behind it, but in the thin direction, there is no side support.

Regardless, when I shoot brads, I always keep my fingers a good distance from where the brad is going just in case there is a side blowout. If I really do need to apply pressure in the immediate vicinity, I'll use a stick or something long.

[JimD]

23 gauge hold surprisingly well. you could try it on scraps and see what you think. But I agree an 18 gauge is very useful. I used my cordless 18 gauge and my 23 gauge for returns only when trimming out about 600 square feet of our house. I have a 16 gauge but the 18 worked well (and it's nice not to have the air hose limiting me.

[sailor55330]

Thank you all for the good advice. I will get an 18 in the future, but for now, it looks like the 23. I did do some tests with gluing hardwood strips onto the edges of plywood and with glue, they are pretty tight, especially with a little help from a clamp during drying. I was finding that the 1-1/4" brads tended to shoot out the sides on occasion, but the 1" seem better. This project is for a jewelry armoir, so it's not going to be holding much weight. I think I'll be fine some titebond, a few pins, and some clamps. I'
m buiding from plans and they didn't call for dado's, although now I wish I had at least tried----maybe next time.

[LCHIEN]

Keep in mind, I think the general rule of thumb for fasteners - nails and brads - is to have 1/3 of the nail in the top piece and 2/3 of it in the bottom piece. For me nailing 1-by material (3/4" thick) means I should use a 2.25" brad but I consider 2" to be enough.

If you are going to glue then that relieves some/much of the holding power requirements and you are just using the brad to temporarily hold it together in position while glue sets up then you might go with 50:50.