Nail Gun Safety

[Stormbringer]

Tips and reminders from "This Old House" online edition:

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/phot...053900,00.html


Hope nobody here is represented in the photos

Greg

[lebomike]

GOOD to have this reminder, I just purchased a PC pin nailer. Never got nailed with any of my other nailers, as i said a good reminder.
Thanks
Mike

[Ed62]

One of my sons shot himself in the leg while we were shingling a roof (roofing nail). He was unable to bend his leg, and couldn't stand on it. It was a real job getting him down the ladder. The nail had to be cut out because of the barbs.

Ed

[unclecritic]

Yuck... I have a friend who learned the hard way not to hold the trigger on a roofing nailer when you not nailing... he set it down on his leg to grab another shingle and shot himself in the side of the knee...

I watched another guy working on a knee wall have a nail deflect from his framing nailer and it went right into his stomach...

Scary stuff... its amazing how careless one can get when they think they are comfortable with a tool.

[smorris]

Just a wild guess here, but I'm thinking a nail to the brain can't be a good thing.

[leehljp]

To me, the highest percentage of accidents to usage is with nail guns. While most of it is not a serious as what a saw can do in general, it is a dangerous tool. Part of its danger is because it does not seem dangerous and people are not on guard as much.

[jonmulzer]

I have shot a 15ga finish nail into the end of my finger. Easy enough to do while holding something flush while nailing. How do you put a nail in the roof of your mouth though????

[Pappy]

I have shot a 15ga finish nail into the end of my finger. Easy enough to do while holding something flush while nailing. How do you put a nail in the roof of your mouth though????

A bit easier than in the back of your head!

[jackellis]

Owners of retractable gear airplanes have a little saying about landing with the gear folded that's very appropriate here:


"There's them that has and there's them that will." A warning against being complacent.

About the only difference is that the risk of injury is lower with a gear-up landing than shooting yourself with a (nail) gun.

[rnelson0]

A bit easier than in the back of your head!

As the comments on the page said, boy, does he have some great friends!

Nails shoot. You not only have to be careful when you're holding a gun, you have to be careful when someone else is, too. If you miss a stud, they'll fly through drywall and still be speeding when they come out the other side. If you're up on the roof and you bump it on the ladder, those below should be below. Or, as in the case of the photo you're talking about, do NOT climb up a ladder right behind a putz who is carrying a nailgun with his finger on the trigger and the gun pointed at you. In fact, don't even let the guy climb up the later with the hose attached to the gun while he's carrying it. You should be unplugging it when it's not in use.

[crokett]

I learned to keep hands away from where I am nailing when using my finish nailer. I had a nail turn and come out into my finger. I was not seriously hurt but it was scary.

[Crash2510]

I think this is a great reminder remember this doesn't just include air nailers but also the gas hitachi and paslode nailers which i consider to be the most dangerous due to their power

[JimD]

I have the FWW or FHB where the nail in the head was originally published (somewhere). The guy was OK - but lucky. They took him to the hospital, pulled the nail, and he went home. He had a ball cap on which may have reduced penetration.

I have not used a framing nailer but have not done more than a scratch with my finish, braid or pin nailers (or stapler). Sometimes I hold too close to where I am nailing and get nicked by a nail turning at right angles. My nailers will not bump nail. You must lift them off the workpiece, take the pressure off the trigger and then compress the nose safety and pull the trigger before it will fire again. I think bump feed is part of the problem. If I use a framing nailer, I plan to use the same method. It may be a bit slower but also safer. Holding the trigger down and then slaming the nailer into the work is just dangerous. Gets you in the habit of holding your finger on the trigger and keeping it depressed. I treat the trigger like one on a gun - keep your finger off until you are ready to fire.

Jim

[Carlos]

Treat a nail gun like you treat a real gun. Finger away from the trigger until you're ready to shoot something.

Just a wild guess here, but I'm thinking a nail to the brain can't be a good thing.

While not "good" in any sense, it's actually mostly a fairly trivial injury. The real risk is from infection, but it's unlikely to cause critical brain injury unless it enters some specific and small areas. You'd probably have more long-term issues with a shot through the kneecap than into the top of the head, strange as that may seem. I had a brain surgeon client a while back and he had some interesting stories, as well as giving a perspective on how much the brain is both strong and fragile.

[Sid]

Habitat for Humanity (at least our chapter) considers nail guns so dangerous that they don't allow them on a site with amateur volunteers. I have a shingling gun, but helped shingle a Habitat roof by swinging a hammer.

Sid