Finished! Nailed the Payoff!
Written: Oct 11 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: light, easy to use, simple to operate
Cons: no dust cap
The Bottom Line: Here's a tool that's both simple to learn and easy to use. If you're tired of swinging a hammer, get one for yourself!
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| scmrak's Full Review: DeWalt Heavy-Duty 16 Gauge 1-1/4" - 2-1/2" Finish ... |
If you've ever had a job that meant you had to do the same task over and over and over and over... You've probably learned the meaning of true tedium. Darned if I haven'e had jobs like that from time to time -- several years working the assembly line at a General Electric plant, for instance. But one that I won't soon forget is a summer spent working as an assembler in a cabinet company. The smells of fresh-cut hardwood, sawdust, and wood glue; the scream of the bandsaw and the scrape of the huge belt sander; the intermittent pop!-shhh! of the air-powered staplers and nailers -- I was in heaven (except the time I got sawdust in my eyes). it was there that I learned to use and to covet air-powered tools.
You see, hammering nails is one tedious task. Tedious, tedious, tedious. So when you have to put up a board fence, frame a building, or put in siding or roofing, a powered nailer is going to be a tool that you suddenly find you can't do without. I already have a framing nailer (a nice Porter-Cable that came packaged with a 4-gallon P-C electric compressor), but when I found myself getting hand cramps nailing the siding onto a little remodel project, it was time for a trip to the Toy Store (in this case, Lowe's). I'd have been perfectly happy with a Porter-Cable finish nailer, but they were out. The DeWalt had pretty much the same features and cost a paltry three dollars more, so it's the one I brought home with me. Ms scmrak just shook her head and smiled...
The Kit
The DeWalt 16 Gauge Finish Nailer (model D51256K) comes with a sturdy, compact carrying case; instruction manual; small bottle of lubricating oil; and a pair of fashionable safety glasses. It doesn't come with a male quick coupler (which surprises me) or a dustcap. Frankly, I'd have rather had those latter than the safety glasses (I already have a dozen pair or so). You also get a pair of allen wrenches for making adjustments to the nailer, and a second trigger that lets you fire in "bump mode" instead of "single-shot." Mine, by the way, is a straight nailer; a 15-gauge angled nailer is also available.
The Features
The D51256K takes 16-gauge finish nails of from 1-14 to 2-1/2 inches length; the rear-load magazine holds 160 nails (three sticks and a few of the nails I picked up at the same time). Its magnesium frame reduces the unit's weight of 3.9 pounds, about 90% of the weight of the competing Porter-Cable.
Special features include:
* "lock-and-load" or "load-and-lock" filling of the magazine: you can load in the nails and then pull back the follower (load-and-lock) or pull back the follower and then load (lock-and-load).
* nail depth adjustment using an indexed thumb slider on the barrel, just beneath the trigger
* no tools needed to to clear jams (I wouldn't know - it hasn't ever jammed)
* a safety trigger lock
* a removable belt hook -- a good thing, since it's in a relatively awkward position
* exhaust vent adjustable through 360 degrees (the first time you get the exhaust in your face, you'll see why)
* rubber handgrip for additional comfort
* no-mar rubber contact pad, which is removable for toenailing or in tight quarters
DeWalt supplies two triggers (and instructions for swapping them out). One trigger is for sequential firing - hold the trigger, press the contact pad to the work, fire one nail, release trigger, repeat -- the other allows you to hold down the trigger and simply "bump" the contact pad against the work piece.
Using the Nailer
My first use of a framing nailer took me some practice, what with proper placement of the contact pad and coordinating use of the trigger. So I was expecting a bit of a learning curve with this guy (my last experience in the cabinet shop was over thirty years ago). No such problem: the instructon manual is clear on the loading process and, once I'd hooked up the hoses and cranked up the compressor, I was setting nails in that siding immediately. Although a little more than twice the weight of a hammer, the D51256K is easily manageable, and the depth adjustment is simple and intuitive. Loading is a breeze, too, and you get redundant safety by disconnecting the tool and using the trigger lock. Although none of my nails jammed, I tested the mechanism for removing jams and it, too, was simple to use.
My 4-gallon compressor (Porter-Cable 2-Hp electric) had absolutely no problems keeping the nailer running; under near-continuous use it was cycling about every two to three minutes (for heavy use, you probably need a larger compressor capacity). The nailer, by the way, runs on 70-120 psi.
Before I bought the nailer, I spent about twenty minutes pounding in the two nails each to secure twenty-five or so seven-inch lengths of siding (between window and corner). Using the nailer, the same task took a minute and a half -- and I wasn't sweating, either! Gotta love them labor-saving devices!
Nail Costs
A 16-gauge nail is about the same diameter as a 4d nail; you can buy a pound of bright finish nails for about a dollar and get, oh, maybe 600 nails. A box of 4000 paslode nails cost me just under nine dollars. You pay a bit more for the fasteners, but Man! do they go in fast!
Overall
This is a handy tool for putting up siding outside or molding and paneling inside. I suppose it would work for fencing, but I think I'd rather have nails with heads on them unless it's a picket-style fence instead of a privacy fence (less wind pressure). It's one that I'm sure I'll be happy to have in my arsenal when I start in on building my retirement home in a couple of years (anybody want to help)? Highly recommended!
Current Project
gracef and redlass have pressed me and the nailer into service as the books and magazines crew crate our supplies for our rescue mission. Beware, H&G, that it doesn't turn into a search and destroy mission! Free the Eps Kids!
Recommended:
Yes
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