Are There Any Good Electric Nailers?

[Verdeboy]

Is there such a thing as an electric finish nailer or just a "good" high quality electric brad nailer--both for occasional use.

All I find on the web are pneumatic nailers, which need compressors and hoses, and cordless nailers, which are expensive and heavy.

Eric

[jimbo]

I have not seen anything other than a brad nailer. The cordless are pricey but the convenience is worth the price. I have a Porter Cable cordless finish nailer....bought it as basically a "luxury toy" for projects at home, but I love it. Other people have posted on this topic that they love other brands even more than the Porter Cable.

[hilliap]

you may want to check out the Arrow fastening company...they make a brad nailer for brads up to 1.25" long, electric....not sure what gauge though.

I've seen these at the big box stores, as well as local hardware stores.

[Verdeboy]

My understanding is that Porter Cable has discontinued their cordless nailers and that Arrow electric brad nailers tend to be underpowered.

Anyone had any luck with either the Dewalt cordless finish nailers or the Black and Decker cordless brad nailers?

I see Paslode also makes a cordless finish nailer for under 300.00. It requires a fuel cell, and the others I mentioned do not.

[dgold]

I've used the DeWalt cordless 16ga nailer to do all kinds of trim work. The nail heads are a little large for what I was using it for, but the convenience factor was worth it. I think 18ga nailers are now available too, which would have smaller (preferred) nail heads.

(FYI, I work for DeWalt, so I am biased, but the tools do come with a 90 day satisfaction guarantee. You can return it for any reason if you're not happy.)

[Verdeboy]

I tried the Black and Decker cordless finish nailer, but returned it and bought the DeWalt 14.4 volt cuz I already had a pair of 14.4 volt DeWalt hammer drills.

The DeWalt cordless finish nailer quickly became my favorite tool. I also bought a Stanley electric brad nailer and staple gun for those little jobs.

Any idea when they (you) will come up with a cordless roofing nail gun?

[dgold]

I have no idea. Sorry.

[prashster]

I tried an electric nailer.

It sucked.

I'd go pneumatic.

I'd get a cheap and "quiet" compressor like the Husky Air Scout ($89) or (if you have the $$) the Makita MAC700 ($170). You'll find lots of uses for a compressor, so don't be afraid of one. A 1 or 2gal compressor takes seconds to fill and are not that unwieldy to use. You'll find many uses for a quality compressor.

Then you can get any array of brad or finish nailers. I've had good experience with Porter Cable, Bostich, and Dewalt.

Kobalt (through Low---es) sells a regulator ($100) and CO2 cartridges ($10/ea) that can replace your compressor. Nice for quick jobs. Honestly, my Husky is maneuverable and quiet enough that I don't mind whipping it out even for a 30min job.

If you have Dewalt 18v tools, you could get a refurbed cordless finish nailer from Tyler/Toolking/eb--ay and use yr current batts. I don't think they make a brad nailer, though, just 16/15ga nailers. Am I wrong? This is the only cordless nailer that I read a lot of good press about. However, with everything going Lithium Ion, unless yr reasonably certain Dewalt'll make new batteries backward compatible w/ it's tools, I wouldn't invest in this unless I had other 18v NiMh's that this thing could share with.

[Verdeboy]

If you have Dewalt 18v tools, you could get a refurbed cordless finish nailer from Tyler/Toolking/eb--ay and use yr current batts.

I have several DeWalt 14.4 V XRP tools, including the finish nailer. So, I don't need the 18 V version. The 14.4 V's are about as big and heavy as I care to lug around, and they are plenty powerful.

[prashster]

If yr really against compressors, you could get a pneumatic and the CO2 regulator above. Paslode makes some nice nailers that use gas cartridges too. Those are available all the way up to framers.

But these are pretty hard on the wallet.

[Verdeboy]

If I was in the construction industry, I would definitely have a nice compressor and an assortment of pneumatic tools.

I do a lot of small jobs that entail installing baseboards, moldings, and other trim. My 14.4 V XRP DeWalt cordless finish nailer is perfect for those jobs.

[chel_in_IL]

I have the DeWalt cordless finish nailer - I LOVE that thing... It was costly, but well worth the investment.

Michelle in Northern IL

[dgold]

I tried an electric nailer.
However, with everything going Lithium Ion, unless yr reasonably certain Dewalt'll make new batteries backward compatible w/ it's tools, I wouldn't invest in this unless I had other 18v NiMh's that this thing could share with.

The DeWalt Nano batteries are a Lithium Ion based battery and they're backwards compatible with the tools that were sold w/ Nickel based batteries. The DeWalt Nano tools are also backwards compatible with the old Nickel based batteries. The only thing that isn't backwards compatible is the chargers. Anyway, NiCD and NiMH aren't going away anytime soon.

Hope that helps.

[The nailer]

Guys,
The way I see it, the pneumatic tools will not be useful for most of the people which needs to run from place to place and carry the heavy air compressor with them.
By the way, the electric tools, especially the Dewalt tools, have a powerfull batteries and also an extraordinary battery life.
I've just reviewed the Dewalt 618 which is an amazing tool, look over my blog.
About your bad experience with the electric tools, I think you'll find some good article on this site too.