A real workhorse nailer!
Written: Jul 27 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Very reliable and has low kick.
Cons: Does not have a variable depth control feature.
The Bottom Line: Rugged, fairly light and easy to use.
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| tarf's Full Review: Hitachi Framing Nailer NR83A |
I am not a professional framer, carpenter or roofer. With this said I have done enough of these jobs on my friends homes, volunteer works and my place that it seems I have a second career!
My first encounter with the NR83A was when I reroofed my house. I had to nail down 3600 square feet of half inch CDX and my brother let me use his Hitachi. I was impressed. So much so that I bought one! That was nearly 15 years ago. Since then I have used it to nail subfloors, shear walls, packing crates, fences, concrete forms, roof sheathing and more. During that time it has seen nearly 100,000 nails and only a few jams; mostly from hitting something hard while nailing. It has not been repaired during that time with the exception of the rubber grip.
It has been dropped, kicked, fallen into buckets of water, piles of sand, you name it! Clean it off and it keeps on going.
It has enough power to drive 3-1/4 nails into 2x material and is thrifty enough on air that my 2HP compresssor can keep up while I'm driving 8 penny nails into roof decks. I should mention this is a FULL ROUND HEAD nailer and not a clipped head nailer. The clipped head version is called the Hitachi NR83AA. The NR83A drives nails from 2" to 3-1/4" inches. This should cover most nailing jobs..... In case you are wondering, nails are available nearly everywhere at retailers such as Lowe's and Home Depot.
I wish I could tell you that it was easy to repair but it has never need to be repaired. It does come with metric allen wrenches to tighten the screws on the gun and this should be performed on a regular basis. One thing that I replaced out almost immediately was the rubber grip. It reminds me of the stuff you might wrap around the handle bars of your bike. To me it was not durable and didn't last. The nailgun was taken down to the local leather shop and I had a custom leather grip made. It was about 20 bucks and works great. I wish somebody had those for sale on the internet!
Also, and this is a biggie, is the fact it does not have a variable depth control. Over driving nails is a good way to fail a building inspection. Flush to slightly countersunk is fine... I found one at a local tool supply shop but I wish Hitachi included one with their guns.
I recently purchased a Senco SN-60 but I seem to go back to the Hitachi NR83A. Both are good guns but I find the Hitachi to kick a little less than the Senco.
If I were remodeling a home or doing a large project and needed a really good nailgun, this one would be it. No doubt about that. Forget renting, buy this nailgun and have it handy for all your projects!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
tarf
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Reviews written: 14
Trusted by: 1 member
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