Which masonry nailer do I buy ?

I need to buy an air powered masonry nailer PDQ, ie a 16g nailer firing hardened nails which will fix skirtings and 19mm strapping to brickwork and blockwork.

As far as I can see the choice is between the Axminster AWMN Air Masonry Nailer at £80.00, and the Tacwise Rapesco FCT50LHH Timber to Masonry Air Finish Nailer 50mm
at £108.00

I would be eternally grateful for any opinions, comments which could assist me in making a decision.

 

Well, I have ordered the Axminster one.

They say they have not had any complaints from customers (well they would, wouldn't they) but I have always found Axminster reliable in the past, so fingers crossed.

The main factor in choosing the Axminster one is that it will fire 64 mm nails, whereas the Tacwise appears to be able to handle 50mm max.

I will post details as to how it performs, if there are no first hand reports on this thread .

 

chippie, most compressors will handle 100 psi, surely it doesn't require more pressure than that ?

 

> It's not just the pressure that matters, its also the
volume of pressure available. For example you could
have 100psi in a chamber of a size (lets say 1 Litre
capacity)
the nail gun may use half of that capacity in firing
in one nail. The chamber will then only have half
capacity available to fire the next nail, which will
probably be at a lower pressure. If the compressor
can't replace that capacity quicker than you can use
it, then you arn't going to fire anymore nails til
the volume of pressure increases.
The larger the tank on the compressor, the better or
more likely that you won't have any problems.
The nail gun capabilities are completely different
and separate from the compressor.


I am having a problem understanding this.

Are you suggesting that the volume of air in the nail gun chamber is somehow a factor?

I could see that being the case if the volume of air inside the nail gun were somehow separated by some kind of valve, but this is not the case, the pressure is equal throughout the system, at least as far as I understand it.

So if I am correct, the nail gun would work the same whether the volume of air in the chamber were 1 litre or 1/2 litre.

It's the back-up pressure in the compressor that is significant imo.

I could be totally wrong of course and as always, would be grateful for further elucidation.

 

> what they are saying is the importance of the tank on
your compressor,this iswhere the volume of compressed
air will be held,meaning get the largest tank you can
man handle and have space for in your van so
thecompressor motor is not forever running trying to
keep up with your nailing.simple example is large
bodyshops they have huge tanks for the compressed air
so when there are alot of tools connected and being
used there is signifcant volume of compressed air to
keep up with them

that I <u>do</u> understand, and was well aware of, what I didn't grasp was the statement that the volume of air in the actual chamber of the tool was of some significance, and that is the issue which I would like clarified.

 

> The gun needs instant local access to compressed air
or it cannot provide a hammer action. Air from the
compressor tank (however large) is slowed down
appreciably by having to travel down the hose
connector before it reaches the gun.

This makes no sense to me.

The pressure throughout the system is equal, are you suggesting that somehow the pressure at the nail gun end of the system can be significantly different (in any meaningful sense) from the pressure in the compressor reservoir ?

 

I still don't buy it.

I can see that theoretically, if you had an air tool with say, a 2 liter chamber capacity and a mile long air line with a bore of 0.5 mm, then when you fired the gun there would be an appreciable time lag between firing the gun and getting the chamber back up to pressure.

however, in real life, given the relatively short length of air hoses and the relatively large bore, the system can be considered as instantaneous for all practical purposes, and the drop in pressure in the tool chamber equates to the drop in pressure in the compressor reservoir.