I bought my brad nailer from Harbor Freight for about $20. It's worked fine and it's driven a lot of nails for me. Will it last me for years? Probably not. But it's done more than $20 worth of work.
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Seriously, I cannot pound a *$%!#& nail!
- Thread starter blastoff99
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Apart from practice and perfecting technique, just like everything else in life...are you sure your nails are up to the job?
I recently got a bargain 250g pack of panel pins - about half of then were unusable after one tap...
and as a former cabinet-maker's apprentice I know it wasn't my technique!
I've no idea how nails get made but these certainly weren't tempered right or something.
Also, just to add, there's nothing mortifying or embarassing about it.
It's like any skill.
Some people find it easy, some don't.
If you stop and analyse all the hand/eye coordination and forces involved it's quite an complicated action.
So don't do that!
I recently got a bargain 250g pack of panel pins - about half of then were unusable after one tap...
and as a former cabinet-maker's apprentice I know it wasn't my technique!
I've no idea how nails get made but these certainly weren't tempered right or something.
Also, just to add, there's nothing mortifying or embarassing about it.
It's like any skill.
Some people find it easy, some don't.
If you stop and analyse all the hand/eye coordination and forces involved it's quite an complicated action.
So don't do that!
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buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Like most things, don't try so hard. Swing easy, and let the weight of the hammer do the hard work.
I own a pneumatic brad nailer, but I tried this stuff when I installed trim in my daughters old mobile home.
Paneling & Trim Adhesive PL 505 from Loctite Adhesives
It worked well, and eliminated the task of filling nail holes.
I might even use it on a real house sometime.
Paneling & Trim Adhesive PL 505 from Loctite Adhesives
It worked well, and eliminated the task of filling nail holes.
I might even use it on a real house sometime.
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It's a simple task that takes a lot of practice to do it right.
If you can't pound a nail and don't have time to practice, use a nailer or screws. There is nothing more to it.
If you can't pound a nail and don't have time to practice, use a nailer or screws. There is nothing more to it.
Lots of great ideas here; thanks everyone.
Ok, so let's talk nailers. All I need to do is trim work (this 11/16" quarter round, and then heck I might get all excited and do baseboards too. So what gauge, and I assume I want a finish nailer - not a brad nailer. Looks like I can get a nailer and compressor for <$200 easy. Not interested in battery-powered because I don't need it (and the weight and cost are unwelcome).
Suggestions? Home Depot, Lowe's, and Harbor Freight all exist in my fair city. I hate Lowe's, but will go there if I have to.
Ok, so let's talk nailers. All I need to do is trim work (this 11/16" quarter round, and then heck I might get all excited and do baseboards too. So what gauge, and I assume I want a finish nailer - not a brad nailer. Looks like I can get a nailer and compressor for <$200 easy. Not interested in battery-powered because I don't need it (and the weight and cost are unwelcome).
Suggestions? Home Depot, Lowe's, and Harbor Freight all exist in my fair city. I hate Lowe's, but will go there if I have to.
Given your specific constraints and aims, if you can't find what you want used on CL, HF would be the head of your list, I think. I cringe at the "quality" but they happily exchange broken crap for as long as they claim it's covered, so you can get a "good one" eventually if you keep breaking them. And I presume (being a hammer guy, I don't actually look at nailers) that the stuff at the end of the market you'll be trolling is made in the same place for all 3 stores, so you might as well go for the cheapest, and hope you get one made on a good day by the time your replacement coverage runs out. The main difference is price, and somewhat less quality control before it hits the store.
Likewise, being a hammer guy, I can't really tell you what sort of nailer to buy for what you are doing. I generally put away the 24 oz waffle-face before doing trim work ;-) but that's the extent of my sophisticated nailing technology changes.
Likewise, being a hammer guy, I can't really tell you what sort of nailer to buy for what you are doing. I generally put away the 24 oz waffle-face before doing trim work ;-) but that's the extent of my sophisticated nailing technology changes.
A brad nailer will work for light trim like what you are installing, and leave a smaller hole that you might not even have to fill if you are painting the trim.
Base, and crown molding require a finish nailer. A finish nailer can also do the smaller trim, but will leave a hole that will require filling before painting. Very small pieces may split when a finish nailer is used to fasten it.
Arrow makes a decent electric nailer that handles 1 1/4" nails.
Base, and crown molding require a finish nailer. A finish nailer can also do the smaller trim, but will leave a hole that will require filling before painting. Very small pieces may split when a finish nailer is used to fasten it.
Arrow makes a decent electric nailer that handles 1 1/4" nails.
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Not ignoring you, but it's a kind of long answer.
The interior trim around my windows and doors is all this 11/16" quarter round. It's very sleek and low-profile and I like it - the wall comes up, goes around this corner, and there's the window. All three of my bidders for replacement windows said they would not have to touch the interior trim, so none of them included putting it back in their work.
Aaaaaannnnnnnddddd... yup. It all had to come out. The installer was going to leave me with studs and I said 'no way,' but he wasn't going to do trim work because he didn't bid it. I wanted to keep the same look, so I had him put 11/16" plywood around, leaving it 'short' enough that there's enough space for the replacement quarter round to end up more or less flush with the wall.
'More or less' is because my walls are a base of old-school wallboard (maybe 1/4" thick) with a good 5/8" of plaster over the top. So they're not perfectly flat. They look fine until you put a 4' level on one and squint at it. So I'll get the trim there, and then the wall magician will come and fill in and clean up. The window guys did a fairly neat job busting out the trim, but the edges aren't clean or even, so there's a lot to do that's more than just crack filling.
The old quarter round was not wood, but plaster encased in a soft dark metal which we won't name. I've decided to stop licking my doorframes.
I will bet that either the face of the hammer head is worn smooth and it's slipping sideways on contact, or you're using cheap nails (maybe aluminum) that are soft and bend when you hit them. Or both.
I'm experienced at nailing and rarely miss or bend nails, but I've discovered that either of the above conditions makes it difficult to avoid mistakes. If you have a worn hammer and are also using soft nails, you might as well give up.
The face of your hammer should have a cross hatch or waffle-like pattern on it. If it doesn't, then get one. And make sure you use good nails They're cheap and it doesn't make sense to save a few pennies per pound if you're just going to bend half of them and chew up your nice wood.
EDIT: Many people recommend a smooth face hammer, even though they slip more, because it won't do as much damage to the wood if you miss. I disagree. Having a textured face that won't slip is far more important. Just practice your aim a little bit and you will rarely miss.
I'm experienced at nailing and rarely miss or bend nails, but I've discovered that either of the above conditions makes it difficult to avoid mistakes. If you have a worn hammer and are also using soft nails, you might as well give up.
The face of your hammer should have a cross hatch or waffle-like pattern on it. If it doesn't, then get one. And make sure you use good nails They're cheap and it doesn't make sense to save a few pennies per pound if you're just going to bend half of them and chew up your nice wood.
EDIT: Many people recommend a smooth face hammer, even though they slip more, because it won't do as much damage to the wood if you miss. I disagree. Having a textured face that won't slip is far more important. Just practice your aim a little bit and you will rarely miss.
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You could go out to a jobsite and pound their bent nails into scrap wood... at least that worked for me when I was a kid.
I got your answer. You need a forceful swing to set the nail. Particularly with a finish nail. Problem is you are holding that nail so your brain won't let you swing the hammer forcefully. The answer.... Eliminate the nail holding hand. Simplest way is to use a split piece of wood maybe 1/8" thick. I'll wrap a couple of rubber bands around mine to hold the nail solidly for that first swing. Imagine the way a laundry pin holds wash on the line. It's the same concept. Once you set the nail with the first solid swing just remove the split board from the nail and drive it true.
I like the hammers that have the built in magnet that holds the nail so you can swing fingerless. I don't know if they have such a thing for finish nails, but I got one that works good on the 16d nails when framing 2x4s.
No. Just make sure you're using the right tool with the right nails with a compressor that's set correctly.
I did the trim in my entire house. Chair rail, base, cove, window trim, door trim, all with a gun and none of it split.
If you have predrilled holes and are doing finish nails (I believe both of these to be true, but I've been fooled before) you can drive it the whole way with a nailset, which will probably either solve or aggravate your problem, depending on what your actual problem is (This one is kinda hard to solve by internet, unfortunately.) That is assuming that the predriled hole lets you get the nail in the trim without the hammer doing much, if anything. Going waaaaay back, you can also hold the nail with a pair of grooved pliers (not too tight) if smacking your fingers is either a problem or causing a "fear of" problem. Use cheap pliers, since you'll probably hit them.
I'm the weirdo who won't use a nailgun even if they are provided (obviously not a pro, but an amateur with wide-ranging experience, and I prefer hammers...)
For general naildriving, nothing like scrap lumber, a hammer, and a bunch of nails....until you nail it.
This. If you're doing it by hand and using a finish-type nail. Predrilled holes using a drillbit that is the same or slightly less than the diameter of your nail.
The other upside to doing this is that your wood won't split. Which it often does on small quarter round when you bang a nail in without predrilled hole.
Then sink the nail a tad with a nailset.
Then putty the sunken nail hole...then sand and paint. If done right you don't know there's a nail there.