Am looking for a nail gun, initially for two specific jobs: fixing horizontal shiplap cladding to a shed fixing cladding strips (maybe 500, with a few nails in each) to a fence (like this) I think I've decided on a compressor+air gun; a cordless one is expensive (I'm aiming for maybe £250) and a compressor will likely get more use afterwards around the workshop. But being new to both nailers and air tools, I'm a bit clueless: Is a 15g or 16g gun enough for these jobs? I don't really want to get a heavy duty first-fix; and ideally want the nails as discreet as possible, especially for the second job Is a small-ish compressor enough? I'm thinking of this Stanley vertical one which seems neat; will it drive most/all nail guns? What kind of hoses/adapters do I need? Coiled vs straight? Is there a realistic maximum length on hoses? Any advice much appreciated (and sorry to bring up a topic that has been around a few times!)
A coil nailer would be better, as the nails have a decent head, whereas 2nd fix nail gun the brads have fine head & on the shed cladding would most likely tear out. Go for straight hose every time, a lot safer than a coil hose.
Yep, Stanley Bostich compressor and coil nailer. Have a look around for a straight hose that's on a reel. Lugging a big hose about the work site can be limiting! Make sure you either squirt oil into the air connector before use or install an inline oiler. Never, ever use WD40 on a nailer. Gas nailers are OK but ever so expensive and I still don't believe the technology is good enough, that's my opinion. Get your coil nails from a trade outlet and make sure the box is not damaged otherwise you'll be forever undoing jams in the coil feed. If you're hoping to use your nailer on larger construction jobs then you'll need a framing nailer. These will put a 90mm nail into most woods and come with a strip of nails collated on paper. Good luck.
Quite agree, gas nailers are good, but the technology still has a long way to go, & the cost of the nails, nailer & gas especially is prohibitive. One other point about the compressor cfm's,some makers over inflate these figures, if you want to use the compressor in the workshop as well, then look for one with a 50 ltr air tank & higher cfm's, especially if you want to use a hvlp spraygun in the future, otherwise if commpressor too small it will continually be recycling.
Boom boom! Many thanks both for your replies - hugely helpful details - looks like the BOSN66C2E is the way to go. Not sure if I'll stretch to either 50l or Bostitch compressor - at least for now - but hopefully the Stanley one I linked to (here) should do the job - seems to have good enough specs. Only omission is the tank pressure gauge - it only has one for the output pressure. Is this an issue?
Let know how you get on with that compressor. Might get the BOSN66C2E through Quidco or similar & save a few more quid. One other thing make sure your air hose is brightly coloured, broke my nose & wrist years ago tripping over a clear air hose. I presently have a couple lengths of Draper 15.2M 1/4" BSP 10mm Bore High-Vis Air Line Hose 23191, the larger bore is useful for the longer runs of air hose, but I use it all the time. Clarke HV10 is a similar 10mm bore air hose in a 10 mtr length. Airmaster compessors, have been a favourite with me, had one for years.
Having said that, I'm now thinking of a smaller 12L IMPAX one - seems well rated and similar spec. From what I can tell, it should do most things other than spraying - which would be a stretch on 25L also - so may as well go lighter. Ouch! Point taken and noted! Again, huge thanks for the help - am feeling far less mystified.
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