Nail Guns

Feature Article

 Nail Guns Versus Hammers

    What you need to know! by Beej

 

About 8 years ago I developed a severe case of "Hammer Elbow". Same as it's cousin, "Tennis elbow". Very painful and couldn't lift a hammer. That's when I gave into the world of nail guns.

Old carpenters and framers pride themselves on their ability to drive a nail straight and with as few strokes as possible. And you will need to know how to run a hammer so get one. No, get two. A framing hammer, with a waffle head and a finish hammer with a smooth face.

The waffle face helps catch the hail head, even if you are not striking it exactly straight. However. it will mark the wood, so rough lumber only. The smooth face will not mark the wood and allow you to drive the nail nearly flush and then can be set with a nail set.

Now learn how to run them as you go. You'll get better. But this brings us to the main point of a nail gun. How many nails does it take to build a house?

A lot! The last house I built, 2700 sq. ft. took about 65,000 nails. All sizes and function. Many virtually impossible to drive with out a nail gun. A nailer will allow you to nail in spots where you could not swing a hammer. You will put more nails into a house than you would with a hammer and that's all that holds your house together. Nails ... and a few bolts here and there. And it is bolted to the foundation. But, Otherwise, you are attaching big sticks together with wire! That's basically what nails are. Pieces of wire with a head. So use a lot of them.

Finish nailers will allow you to nail trim you could not otherwise nail easily with a hammer. 16 gauge or 18 gauge. Either will be adequate.

Framing nailers are for big nails. 16s and 8s. This will be your "hammer" to frame and sheet the house. They will shoot a nail, about 3.25" long into solid lumber. And it will just as easily shoot that nail right through bone! These are very dangerous tools and demand the utmost respect.

They are made to depress the nose and then the trigger, firing the nail. There is a setting for "multiple" nails. This allows you to hold the trigger and just "bump" the nose of the nail gun to fire a nail. It is how most nail gun accidents happen. When one losses their balance, the normal reaction is to "grab" on to something. If you are all ready holding a nail gun when you loose your balance, the instinct is to "grab" the gun tighter, usually depressing the trigger. Every time you bump the nose of the gun, you will shoot a nail. Check out this article about the two fellows trying to catch each other and just shooting one of the poor guys full of nails. So once again, just because I'm telling you to get a hammer and nail guns, remember, these are dangerous tools and you assume responsibility for your own injuries.

You will need a compressor to run the nail guns. Don't get a toy. Something with 120 lbs. pressure and relatively portable. Once again, wheels are nice, but go ahead and get two 50' air hoses. This will allow you to move freely without moving the compressor. Why two 50 footers? You don't always want to drag around 100'. Use 50 till you need more. They hook together.

Palm nailers are very cool. It's like a little jack hammer in your hand and you can drive nails in the tightest spots.

 So, If you are really on a budget and have a hundred square feet or so to add on, hammers will do fine. If your putting up a larger room, get set up with nail guns. Besides, your doing it yourself and saving a lot of money. You're investing in tools that you will allow you to keep building.

Tools and Parts

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