Need nailer suggestions

[sweensdv]

Some of the HF guns have manual depth adjusters, other don't. The ones without depth adjusters require you to play with the PSI settings to set the depth while the others don't.

[JimD]

Depends some on what you are diving a nail into and some on how picky you are. Since I got my 24 gauge, I normally use it for anything that shows. The hole is small enough that driving it a bit deep doesn't matter as much and it also has a convenient depth adjustment on the nailer (Bostitch). When I used my PC brad nailer (18 gauge) where it would show, I played with the air pressure some to avoid over-driving the brads. Pine may need a different air pressure than oak if you care about how deep the nail or brad or pin goes.

Jim

[cgallery]

Okay, thanks for all the answers on PSI settings. Now another question (sorry, I hope someone else is at least learning from my ignorance).

Question: What hose should I get? The Bostitch didn't come with any hose. The Coleman had come w/ a 25' coiled hose that I would say was 1/4" in diameter.

While at first blush it would seem the coiled would be nice from a "keeping out of the way" perspective, I wonder if I'm missing something and would quickly want to replace the coiled hose with a straight one.

I plan on keeping the compressor on the stretchers under the bench most of its life and using the gun right at the bench.

Opinions?

[AlanWS]

I found that the coiled lightweight hoses are most convenient for using the nailers. The heavier rubber or urethante hoses are more durable, so if I need a longer hose than the coil, I extend it with a heavier one between the compressor and coil.

Some of the cheaper brad nailers do need depth to be set by pressure adjustment. Some compressors have a double regulator, where one regulates the tank pressure (which will cycle as mentioned) and the second limits the pressure delivered, keeping it very constant. Mine did not have the second regulator, so I added one of these: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=90590

This allows consistent pressure, and consequently depth of brad.

[LCHIEN]

Okay, thanks for all the answers on PSI settings. Now another question (sorry, I hope someone else is at least learning from my ignorance).

Question: What hose should I get? The Bostitch didn't come with any hose. The Coleman had come w/ a 25' coiled hose that I would say was 1/4" in diameter.

While at first blush it would seem the coiled would be nice from a "keeping out of the way" perspective, I wonder if I'm missing something and would quickly want to replace the coiled hose with a straight one.

I plan on keeping the compressor on the stretchers under the bench most of its life and using the gun right at the bench.

Opinions?

long hoses don't hurt the performance of Air nailers until you get way way out there.
If you get straight hoses don't get the cheap ones - polypropelene or pVC. They get so stiff below 50 degrees you'll be cussing. Get the goodyear rubber hoses at HF, they're a bit more but you'll thank me for it.

[movnup]

I have the PC 2 HP Pancake w/ both the 15 & 18 guage nailers and also a Nothern Tools 3 in 1 framing nailer. To keep the price down I bought the refurb PC combo kit and it was in mint shape and both guns are oustanding. I also didn't want to spend a ton on the framing gun and this one was only $100 on sale and had excellent reviews. I was used to the Bostich framer and you can tell the difference but not $150 worth for weekend warrior stuff. I have plenty of air to run any gun and dual regulators on the compressor that I normally keep at 90 psi and adjust the nail depth on the gun itself. I also built a sound enclosure with a 240 cfm fan for cooling that allows you to have a nornal conversation when it kicks on as that sucker is LOUD !!!

As to hoses I own the coil, plastic and rubber hoses and personally like the 3/8 50 foot goodyear rubber that I got at HF with a coupon for only $11 bucks.