How to NOT nail your hand

[davidtu]

I am doing some framing w/ a framing nailer and am wondering about the risks. Here is a picture I made to identify various places one might put their hand to hold the workpiece in position for nailing. Which positions (A, B, C) are OK, which are risky and why? Assume these are 2x4s.

[Timmah80]

A is the best place to have your hand. You should hold the board with your thumb and all fingers except your pointer, use that one to hold the boards flush. You should nail the bottom of the board first and then slide your hand away from the gun to put a nail into the top of the boards. B and C aren't so good because you have no control of the board you are nailing, it will slide away from the plate as soon as you shoot it, and there is no good way to hold the stud. B and C are both dangerous because it puts your hand in front of the business end of the nail gun. Thats bad cause they have a tendency to double shoot or bump and fire two nails. Just remember to keep your hand well enough back to protect yourself from misses or if the nail curls over and out from a knot. Sorry I don't have any pictures.

[Stytooner]

You can get blow outs if your hand is close on any position.
My hand was in position A and at least 18 to 24 inches away from the joint when the gun fired twice. Faulty trigger. First nail was as it should be. Second nail went back and to the left. Back and to the left. This house was not near a grassy knoll.
The 16D nail buried itself half way into my knuckle at the base of my left index finger. I think the wire hanging off the side of the nail in two places made for some most interesting extraction.

[Uncle Cracker]

Ouch, Lee... That description made me grab my chair, and without using either hand!

Seriously, though, you can get blowout in many different directions, due to small variances in the geometry of the nail points, or cracks, graining, knots, or concealed nails in the work. The only truly safe place for your "off" hand is in your pocket, or at least somewhere behind, or well to the side of, the gun. If I cannot keep my hand clear of the impact site, I keep a huge spring clamp nearby to hold the work (and even it has a couple of dents in it from stray nails). And I wear safety glasses, too, because splinters in the face are a reality, as well.

[LinuxRandal]

I have to agree about hands in the pocket. A friend of mine called about a month or two back (I work with his brothers), he intentionally made it sound worse (because he thought from the feeling it was). His gun double fired and the nail went into his index finger, diagonally, over the bone, across the knuckle of his middle finger, and ended by touching the bone in his third finger.
We keep the x-ray posted at work as a reminder (since we all like playing with tools).
However not knowing what your shooting into, can be a problem to, I've posted before about my mother getting to work on the guy who had nails rebound through his safety glasses and through the eye.

[movnup]

My choice is none of the above ... call me paranoid or safety concious but I don't want any body parts to be anywhere near a nail coming out at 90 psi. There's a number of easy ways I use such as another 2 x 4 about 12" long clamped in the joint vertical / horizontal in two spots on the "L" or butt one end against a solid object (e.g. house, wall, etc) and line the joint up with a speed square then clamp the joint. You can raise it off the ground for clearance just using scrap 2 x 4's from cutoffs.

It's quick, it's easy, and it's safe ..... I always have my safety glasses / ear plugs being used too as I have seen, felt, and heard what Uncle Cracker described!!!

[Tom Miller]

Second nail went back and to the left. Back and to the left....

I'd already repeated the phrase in my head before I saw you did.

And before I read your reply, I was picturing the same kind of accident, though I haven't personally had the pleasure.

I'd advocate setting up the shot such that you don't have to be holding too closely (if at all), and then, not in line with the shot.

Related note: if your nailer didn't come with a single shot trigger, you may be able to get one. (My PC framing nailer instructions said to call in for a free single shot trigger.)

And, though I've posted this plenty before, here's one of my nailing experiences (brad nails, though). The shot was meant to go straight down, but notice how it followed the growth rings on this soft wood:




Regards,
Tom

[TheRic]

If you HAVE to hold it with your hand. Position A is correct BUT about 12+ inches away. My brother frames houses for a living. He has shot his hand several times, until he learned to keep it further away from the end.

Some guns allow you to only fire when the head is down and the trigger is pulled. If it does hit the wood on a bounce it won't fire unless the trigger was reset (pulled again). If you can set the to this feature us it.

Some guns have a setting that you can hold the trigger closed and it will fire every time the head is pushed in. If the gun bounces from the first fire, it will cause a second fire which causes a bounce, which fires a third time which causes a bounce, which...... Saw one guy put 4 nails in a piece of wood before he even knew what happened. These feature also gets you in the bad habit of holding the trigger closed all the time. So when you are moving the gun it might brush against your leg causing it to fire, or any other object it might brush against. This is a VERY dangerous way of using it.

[scorrpio]

Yeah, no contact trip for me, strictly sequential. And I'd be wary of holding the work anywhere long the nail travel direction. Using a sequential trip, which does not fire on a bounce, I tend to hold at C.

[TheRic]

After taking another look I would say A or C depending on which way you are standing. As in the diagram I would hold the gun in the right hand, and hold the wood in position A 12+ inches away.

If the joists were turned 180 from as shown. Then I would be holding the gun with my right hand and holding at position C about 12+ inches away.

I would rarely hold the gun with my left hand, and hold the wood with my right. It just doesn't feel comfortable doing that, specially for a long period of time. For one or two here and there yea, I would hold the gun with my left hand.

I normally try to hold the wood 2-3 times the distance as the length of the nail.

[Hellrazor]

Come on guys, you worry about things too much. I've had a few interesting experiences framing things and not much blood. Hold the board about 6" below the joint. Framing nails rarely curl, let alone even close to what the finish nail does in Toms picture. You might get one to blow out the side and simple things like that. Your screwup is going to cause you pain, not the nailgun. Pay attention to detail in the same ways you do with tablesaws, etc.

I've gone through thousands of nails with my framing nailer and the worst thing I did was get a splinter from some side blowout or pinched my finger with the plywood.

[Timmah80]

Alright here are some pictures of what I was talking about. I used a pin nailer in the pictures, didn't have a framing gun in the house. I've been framing homes for 9+years and haven't shot myself with a nail once. If you watch what you are doing and pay attention and keep nails away from large knots and defects you will be safe enough.[IMG][/IMG]

[Timmah80]

Second shot, or top shot if wider lumber.

[Andrew Benedetto]

I would never use a bump fire trigger on any frame nailer, way too dangerous, and can waste nails and lead to sloppy work. I can go plenty fast with my Hitachi NR90AC2 with the seq. trip.
You rarely see blowout w. 16d nails unless the hit a metal object, double fire that is a whole different issue due to the bump trigger. Finish brads have problems with deflection as the photo showed.

[Hellrazor]

I bump nail every time I am sheathing, installing top plates or trimmer studs. Nail one end and bump nail the rest. Sloppy people are sloppy hand nailing, bump nailer or just about any thing else they do. Handling a nailgun isn't all that different than handling a gun. You don't aim at something you don't intend to shoot or pull the trigger to see what happens or point it at yourself or someone else.