Can Power Be Adjusted On A Nail Gun

eight Types of Nail Guns You Should Know—and How to Utilize Them

Speed through any carpentry project with tips for using the best-suited ability tool for many home comeback jobs: the smash gun.

Photo: istockphoto.com

Whether you're looking to add together shiplap, install trim, or tackle one of the hundreds of other carpentry projects, a boom gun (also called a "nailer") volition speed upwardly the project and improve nailing consistency. We're not downplaying the role of the hammer and nail, but the sooner yous can complete a project, the sooner you lot can move on to the side by side one—or enjoy a lilliputian downtime for recreation and relaxation.

Nail guns are powered by electricity, compressed air, or combustible gas and, similar many other power tools, they can be dangerous if used improperly. If you're new to this type of tool, keep reading to observe out how to use a nail gun safely and correctly.

Parts of a Nail Gun

Photo: istockphoto.com

For a nail gun to office properly and safely, it has a lot of moving parts. Beneath is a guide to some of the parts of a nail gun and their functions.

• Nose: This is where the boom shoots out of the gun. Almost smash guns have prophylactic mechanisms on their noses that prevent the gun from firing unless the nose is pressed against a surface.
• Magazine: This is the part of the boom gun that holds and feeds the nails. It has a spring-loaded latch on the lesser to open the mag.
• Trigger: It's a finger-activated switch that fires the nails. In well-nigh cases, the trigger will only function if the olfactory organ switch is depressed.
• Air fitting: This fitting is the port at the bottom of the handle where the user connects the air hose.
• Exhaust port: The place where air exits the nail gun each time information technology fires a blast.

8 Types of Nail Guns to Know

Like about tools, boom guns come in a few variations, each with a specific chore to do. These tools will range in size, power, and even the type of fasteners they fire, so exist sure to choose the right one for the task at hand.

1. Framing Boom Guns

Framing nail guns are for heavy-duty structure projects, like edifice walls and securing plywood sheathing to a construction. They're bachelor in unlike sizes, just almost shoot nails betwixt 2½ and 3½ inches long. They have straight magazines that accept sticks of nails, and barrel-shaped magazines that accept collated nails. Framing nail guns are also available with "bump-modes," which allow the user to concord the trigger down and bump the nose of the gun against the surface for faster nailing.

Our Recommendation: Metabo HPT Framing Nailer – Get it at Amazon for $169.
Metabo HPT's legendary blast gun is a favorite among pros, cheers to its large magazine, light weight, and quality construction.

2. Roofing Nail Guns

Roofing blast guns are all nigh working quickly and efficiently, and without damaging the new shingles. These nail guns characteristic big, broad olfactory organ pads that roofers tin bump against the shingles without denting them, and tin can shoot nails with heads large enough that they won't pull through the shingle. They're more compact and lightweight than framing nailers, and the nails they fire are commonly relatively short. However, they near exclusively have barrel-shaped magazines because they need to hold a lot of nails.

Our Recommendation: Metabo HPT Roofing Nailer – Get it at Amazon for $229.
The Metabo HPT Roofing Nailer features a wide nose pad, weighs only v.five pounds, and has rubber pads that hold the gun in place on a roof when not in utilize.

iii. Siding Boom Guns

Similar other boom guns, siding nail guns have specific features that make them useful for driving nails into wood siding. These nail guns fire nails with wide heads and characteristic padded noses that prevent damage to the siding. About of the time, they have butt-shaped magazines and fire collated nails without driving them so deeply that they shoot through the siding. This allows siding crews to work quickly and accurately.

Our Recommendation: BOSTITCH Coil Siding Nailer – Become information technology at Amazon for $279.
This siding nailer from BOSTITCH features toolless depth adjustments, a soft prophylactic nose to prevent damage, and a lightweight aluminum blueprint.

iv. Finishing Nail Guns

When it comes to nailing crown molding, baseboard, window casing, or door trim, the tool to reach for is a terminate nailer. These finishing blast guns fire thin nails through the trim and into the structure behind the wall. When adjusted correctly, the head of the blast sinks below the surface, leaving a pocket-sized rectangular depression that the user can hibernate with wood filler. Because finish nailers often have to fit in tight or bad-mannered angles, they're usually compact and feature straight magazines that take sticks of nails.

Our Recommendation: Metabo HPT Terminate Nailer – Get it at Amazon for $127.71.
This End Nailer from Metabo HPT fires 16 estimate nails betwixt 1 and 2½-inches long, weighs just 3.7 pounds, and allows for tool-costless depth adjustments and jam clearing.

v. Brad Nail Guns

Like to finish nailers, brad nail guns are helpful for fine carpentry work. The main difference, nevertheless, is that brad nails fire thinner nails known every bit brads. Brad blast guns can nail trim to walls, but they typically burn down shorter nails with less power. The guns' noses are smaller and fit in even tighter spaces. They leave a smaller indentation that's even easier to make full than the nail holes left behind past finish nailers.

Our Recommendation: DeWALT Brad Nailer – Become it at Amazon for $84.
DeWalt's Brad Nailer features a compact design and pocket-sized nose for shooting brads into tight spaces.

half dozen. Flooring Smash Guns

Flooring nail guns accept one job to exercise: Secure hardwood flooring to the subfloor below it. They do this by registering against the natural language of a piece of hardwood and driving a staple through that tongue at an angle. But, rather than a trigger, they have a large button that the user hits with a rubber mallet to burn down the fastener. Later that, the user lifts the flooring nail gun with its large handle, scoots information technology upwardly confronting the tongue a bit further down, and fires again. This is much faster than manus nailing each board, and the fasteners are hidden in the tongue for a make clean look.

Our Recommendation: BOSTITCH Flooring Nailer – Go it at Amazon for $233.99.
This flooring nailer from BOSTITCH fires both staples and cleats, and information technology features interchangeable baseplates for floor of different thicknesses.

7. Staple Nail Guns

While most boom guns fire nails or brads, staple blast guns fire staples. These guns work the same way equally nailers, simply their magazines accept sticks of staples and feature wider noses. They're especially useful when firing structure staples through plywood and into wall and floor framing. They as well come in smaller versions called finish staplers, and these are useful when nailing trim to the wall. Fasteners for these tools are a bit more expensive than traditional nail guns, and they're often express in terms of length, but they offer a ton of holding power.

Our Recommendation: BOSTITCH Crown Stapler – Go it at Amazon for $112.79.
The BOSTITCH Crown Stapler features bump-fire mode, a comfortable grip, and tool-gratis depth adjustments.

viii. Pin Nail Guns

Pin nail guns really shine when an awarding calls for fasteners to disappear from sight. This could exist for a picture frame, an apron return on window trim, and a number of other applications. These guns fire tiny wire pins without heads, leaving almost no sign that they penetrated the wood. They're groovy for holding things together while gum is drying, or when attaching a small-scale piece that a brad might split. They don't provide a lot of holding ability, only they're not designed for heavy-duty use.

Our Recommendation: Pointer PT23G Pneumatic 23 Guess Pin Nailer – Become at Amazon for $40.25.
Pointer's PT23G Pneumatic Pivot Nailer features a precision point nose with a double-trigger safety mechanism for condom firing.

Nail Gun Safety Tips

Too often, DIYers buy a new tool only to flip through the manual'south illustrations so toss it bated, only that's not a practiced idea. According to the Centers for Affliction Control and Prevention (CDC), nail gun injuries are responsible for around 37,000 visits to emergency rooms annually. The more familiar you are with your tool, the safer you lot'll usually exist.

Many nail guns, both large and small-scale, characteristic a couple of different firing modes. The main two types normally found on DIY tools are "sequential" and "bump."

• Sequential mode: This firing manner requires the user to complete a sequence of steps before the gun volition fire the nail. The sequence involves depressing the safety nosepiece (a bound-loaded tip that retracts when the gun is pressed against the material) and and then pulling the nail gun's trigger to fire a nail. This two-step process is the safest manner to use a nail gun. (Some nail guns take a single-sequential trigger, which fires a second nail when the trigger is released over again without depressing the safety tip.)
• Bump mode: Some nail guns allow the user to save time by switching from sequential mode to crash-land mode. In the latter, the user can hold the trigger down and and so move the nail gun to a new spot, and every time the prophylactic tip is depressed, a smash will fire. You may have seen professional roofers quickly shooting nails to adhere shingles 1 right after some other with less than a second in between using crash-land style. Unless you're a professional person structure worker, you should probably stay out of bump mode—that type of speed is rarely required from DIYers and craftsmen, and there is a greater potential for mishaps in inexperienced easily.

Some nail guns, particularly the larger ones intended for framing, can be quite noisy, ranging from effectually 90 dB (similar to a lawn mower) to more than 100 decibels—in some cases, nearly as loud every bit a gunshot—and so wearable hearing protection while y'all piece of work. In addition, when a smash misfires, it can send fries of cloth flying, so you should wear protective eyewear at all times.

While today's nail guns are designed to be as safety equally possible, there'south nonetheless a gamble of a nail misfiring when the gun is existence loaded or when you're removing a nail jam. The best prevention: cut the power. Unplug a corded boom gun, remove the battery from a cordless nail gun, or disconnect the air hose from a pneumatic nail gun before you lot load nails or remove a jam. Similarly, if you use a less-common type of gun powered by butane cartridges, remove the boom gun cartridge before loading more nails or trying to remove a nail jam.

1 of the most common nail gun accidents occurs when the user is belongings two pieces of wood together while firing a nail virtually his or her hand. If the nail goes all the way through the material and comes out the bottom, or if, instead of the nail going in straight, it bends and shoots out the side of the board, it can puncture your hand. Use clamps when necessary to agree pieces of woods together to keep your free hand out of the way.

It's not unheard of for a boom to go completely through the textile being nailed, so ensure that no function of your body or others are standing on the other side in the line of fire.

If you're ready to climb downwardly a ladder or scaffolding after a completed job, resist the temptation to lower a pneumatic nail gun by the air hose connected to information technology. When a blast gun is in crash-land way and it inevitably swings and bumps the ladder or a nearby object, the safety nosepiece can depress and the gun will fire a nail.

• Don't skip reading the manual.
• Stay in sequential firing fashion.
• Protect your ears and eyes.
• Disconnect the blast gun's ability source earlier loading nails or removing a blast jam.
• Proceed your free hand out of the line of fire.
• Keep yourself (and others) out of the line of fire.
• Don't lower your nail gun by the hose.

Initial Setup and Calibration

Photo: istockphoto.com

Some nail guns come with air hose attachments, simply some do not. For those that don't, it's important to find a quick-connect fitting that fits the thread of the nailer. Be certain to wrap those threads with Teflon record to prevent air leaks that tin can compromise the nailer'south power and run the compressor down as well quickly.

With the nail gun attached to a hose and nails fed into the magazine, drive a nail through a test slice of lumber. For framers, cease nailers, brad nail guns, staplers, and pin nailers, the fastener should sit below the surface. For roofing and siding nailers, the nail should exist slightly proud of the surface. Suit the depth by twisting the knurled knob until the fastener is at the appropriate depth.

How to Load a Nail Gun

When it comes to loading mechanisms, blast guns are further divided into 2 types. In order to know how to load a nail gun, y'all demand to know your nail gun's loading mechanism blazon earlier buying nails and loading your smash gun.

• Slide type nail guns load past pressing a magazine release and then sliding the magazine (the long, narrow case that holds the nails) astern. You will non be able to pull information technology all the fashion out—only far plenty to driblet in a strip of nails with their tips pointed downwards. Push the magazine back into identify, making sure it clicks securely into place.
• Coil type nail guns hold coils of nails rather than strips. These are often reserved for professionals, such as roofers, so they don't have to load their nail guns equally often. If yous take this blazon of blast gun, open the cylindrical case that holds the nails (usually via a release button), then position a ringlet of nails facing downward in the case. You lot'll demand to position the start nail of the coil into the slot that feeds the nails into the gun. Shut the case. If the case doesn't close easily, you lot don't accept the nails positioned correctly; compare the position to the manual'southward instructions and try over again.

How to Use a Boom Gun

At present that we've gotten all the condom issues out of the way, let'southward load that new boom gun and go to piece of work!

Tools & Materials

• Hearing protection
• Safety glasses
• Nail strips or nail coils (to fit your specific nail gun)
• Nail gun
• Air compressor (if using a pneumatic nail gun)
• Scrap wood
• See total list «
• Pliers

Footstep i: Connect the nail gun to a power source.

Photograph: istockphoto.com

Subsequently putting on safety glasses, load the nail gun. Then, connect it to the power source, whether that be a battery, an electric cord, an air hose, or even a butane cartridge. Make certain no ane is behind the workpiece (or you) before proceeding.

Step 2: Position the tip of the nail gun and shoot a boom.

Hold the smash gun perpendicular to the surface of the wood so y'all don't shoot at an angle, and press the gun firmly against the forest to depress the safety nosepiece. While holding the nail gun steady, pull the trigger.

Pro tip: Until you get a experience for how your nail gun operates, do shooting nails into a piece of scrap wood, keeping the above safety tips in mind.

Step 3: Accommodate the depth of the nail.

In some instances, such as when you're attaching sheathing to the exterior of wall studs or you're framing a wall, information technology'southward not imperative that every nail head is sunk below the surface of the plywood. In these cases, yous tin can just load your nail gun and shoot without worrying as well much about nailhead height.

When you're constructing a project that will accept a smooth surface, however, such equally a cabinet or bookcase, information technology's platonic if the head of the nail is flush with the surface of the wood or slightly countersunk. Your nail gun has an adjustment for this. This push or knob is ordinarily located close to the trigger—bank check your owner'southward manual if you can't find it. Turn the depth selector until your gun shoots a nail to the depth you want.

Troubleshooting tip: If the nail yous shoot is crooked or the head sticks up even after you lot've adjusted the depth selector, it could be because you're lifting the nail gun as you shoot. Be certain to keep the gun pressed firmly to the surface of the wood until subsequently you've fired the nail.

STEP 4: Remove nail jams as needed.

Photo: istockphoto.com

Nails typically jam when they hit something hard, such as a knot in wood or some other boom. You lot'll know when your nail gun jams considering it won't fire anymore when yous pull the trigger, despite the tool existence full of nails.

Disconnect the power source and and so release the mag every bit described in Pace 1. It'due south of import to release the magazine to avoid putting pressure level on the rest of the nails. Then, flip open the safety encompass on the front of the nail gun and apply your fingers or pliers to remove the jammed nail. Close the cover. Reinsert the magazine, reconnect the power source, and the tool will be proficient to go again.

Nail Gun Maintenance Tips

Some nail guns require oiling in lodge to operate smoothly and properly. In most cases, the user simply needs to add a few drops to the air inlet port every few uses. If the gun seems to be losing power despite the compressor being at full pressure, or constantly jams, information technology probably needs oil.

Nail gun jams are usually pretty piece of cake to clear, but there are some things to know. Start, if a nail gun jams, be sure to disconnect the hose earlier attempting to articulate it. Then, simply flip the lever open on the top of the gun to open the nose. A pair of pliers is normally all it takes to remove the jammed nails.

Always ensure that the safety switch on the olfactory organ is working properly before using a nail gun. Accidentally firing a nail can be very unsafe, only these safeties help prevent that from happening.

• Exist sure to oil the nail gun every few uses.
• Disconnect the air hose earlier attempting to open up a jammed nail gun.
• Ever ensure that the safety switch on the nose of the nail gun is working properly earlier using it.

Final Thoughts

Learning how to use a nail gun might seem a bit intimidating at start, just the truth is these tools are relatively straightforward. With some consideration for safety, some basic maintenance, and the knowledge to select and conform the correct type of boom gun, DIYers can be more confident about putting these highly useful tools to the exam.

Source: https://www.bobvila.com/articles/how-to-use-a-nail-gun/

Posted by: augustineardess.blogspot.com

Share this post