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RKBEN WO C November 2002 H Test: 16-Gauge ®

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W A R D Y IT E O L D F Q UA IT OR ’S CHOICE FinishFinish NailersNailers

Eight Popular Models go Head to Head

hen we set out to evaluate pneumatic finish nailers, we quickly chose 16-gauge nailers as the category to compare. Our belief is that 16-ga. nails are small enough for most wood- Wworking projects, but large enough for installing molding.That makes them the perfect dual- purpose nailer for the woodworker and remodeler. Also, finish nailers in this size are made by several manufacturers, they’re readily available, and very affordable when compared to even the next larger-size nailer.The nails themselves are just as available and also reasonably affordable. So deciding which nailers to compare was easy.Figuring out how to evaluate the quality and useful- ness of each nailer took a bit more time.After all, we expected every one of these nailers would fire a nail into a piece of wood each time we pulled the trigger — and we were right. So what separates the good from the bad? Here’s how we found out.

From Workbench Magazine page 1 ©2002 August Home Publishing. All rights reserved. HOW WE TESTED To guarantee a level playing field, we con- ANATOMY OF A nected each nailer to the same compressor 16-GAUGE with the same air hose for all of the per- AIR NAILER formance tests. A pressure regulator was installed just ahead of the tool to maintain exactly 90 psi.Also, the same brand of nail was used in each gun. The most important thing we wanted our testing to reveal was how precise each of these guns were.For instance,could they be “dialed-in” to set a nail at exactly the depth we wanted — whether flush with the sur- face or countersunk. Also, how accurately could we position a nail? Could we get into tight corners with the nailers? We also wanted to see what kind of mark the nailers left on the workpiece. And we gave some consid- eration to the range of nail lengths the tools accepted. Throughout the testing, we paid atten- tion to see which nailers “jumped” the most, which could result in a double fire or a nasty mark on the workpiece. We also changed nails frequently to see which tools are easy to load and unload. Finally, we deliberately tried to jam the nailers to find out which ones were easy to clear. NLINE As similar as these nail guns appear to be, Extras our tests revealed some very important dif- ferences in the way they perform. Cordless finish nailers from Senco and . Plus, Craftsman’s combination nailer/stapler. WorkbenchMagazine.com

WHAT WE TESTED

{ plACCURACY & JUMP { NOSE PAD CLEARANCE { NAIL SETTING { DEPTH ADJUSTMENT We aimed a nail directly on a This test showed us whether With the depth setting at neu- In this test, we tried to set a cross hair to measure accu- there was any interference tral, we nailed into pine and nail perfectly flush to deter- racy and how far the nailers when nailing into the contours maple to see how the nailers mine how adjustable the “jumped" from the target. of crown molding. handled different material. depth settings are.

From Workbench Magazine page 2 ©2002 August Home Publishing. All rights reserved. 4 Details That Make a Difference

DEWALT PASLODE SPOTNAILSPORTER-CABLE 1 Nose Pad Sizes and Shapes Air nailers lead with their nose.And the shape in tight corners and size of the noses on these tools, as well as the non- and in spaces mar pads that come standard on all but one of the where the large nailers, is a defining characteristic among this group (see nose pads just photos). A good design offers a clear line of sight for won’t go. On accurate nail placement.At the same time, it’s important the other hand, that the nose not mark the workpiece, creating a blemish this is the only SENCO that you’ll have to repair later. nose in the The best nose in the bunch is on the DeWalt.The bunch that didn’t have a pad on it swept-back shape of the contact trip creates a wide-open (and no visible means of attaching view of the workpiece underneath.The pad on the nose one).As a result, the nose did have a is a thin,hard plastic that does an excellent job of protecting tendency to mark soft materials. the wood without blocking the view. The nose pads on the remaining Another good, though very different design, is on the tools were large, which limited these Paslode.What makes this design unique are the beveled nailers’ability to fit into tight corners edges of the pad.These make it easy to seat the pad at and also obscured visibility.Of these, an angle, such as when toe-nailing or working in tight the Porter-Cable, Craftsman, and CRAFTSMAN corners. Bostitch pads offered a slightly better The only other standout nose is on the SpotNails. view and tighter fit into the corners The slight profile of this nose made it very easy to place than the large nose pads found on the nails precisely. It also allowed the nailer to fit Hitachi and Senco nailers. 2 Loading/Unloading Given the wide range of nail lengths that these nailers can fire, it’s important that changing nails is as easy as possible. So while we were interested to see how easy these tools were to load, we were just as interested to see how easy they were to unload. The DeWalt was by far the best on both counts. It was the only nailer in the bunch that we could consis- tently load and unload with one hand. The Hitachi and Paslode are easy to load, but a bear to unload.The other nailers have their own idiosyncracies that, once learned, are reasonably easy to execute.

From Workbench Magazine page 3 ©2002 August Home Publishing. All rights reserved. Nail Depth Adjustment < The Paslode 3 nailer has direc- Since it takes more force While not having quite the range tional arrows next to drive a nail into white oak than it of settings that the Senco does, the to the depth does into a piece of pine, a nailer Paslode could be set for several dif- adjustment wheel, should allow you to change the depth ferent heights. One particularly nice so there’s no setting to best match the material feature of this system is the direc- guessing at which you’re working with. tional arrows that make it easy to way is which. Every one of these nailers has figure out which way to turn the such a device.Again, they are quite wheel to adjust the depth. different (see photos at right). The most unique depth setting Interestingly enough, these depth system is on the DeWalt.Rather than setting devices do not change the the wheel that’s common on the other < DeWalt’s depth force applied to the nail, but rather tools, the DeWalt has a sliding lever stop isn’t as change how far the contact trip stands with five detents.The system is easy adjustable as off the end of the nose. By adjusting enough to work.To change the set- other systems, but the setting so that the contact trip is ting,there’s a button on the side of the it has all the at its furthest point from the nose,the tool that unlocks the slide. Set the range you’ll need. nail should not be driven as deep into slide in one of the detents and release And it’s easy to the workpiece. Or, at least that’s the the button to lock it.The slide doesn’t use. theory. offer the same wide range of settings The one nailer that showed excep- that the wheel type adjustments do, tional depth adjustment was the but in our trials it proved to have all Senco.This gun uses a wheel type the adjustability we needed. And it < Hitachi’s depth adjustment with several detents.Each was simple to operate. adjustment detent set the nail at a different height. Our least favorite adjustment is required a We were able to leave nails standing the Hitachi. This one required a to make any 3 /4" proud of the surface or drive them wrench to loosen a bolt just forward changes. 1 as deep as /4" and all points in of the trigger.Although effective,this We prefer the tool- between. system was the most troublesome to less variety. Another excellent depth adjust- adjust and fine tune. ment can be found on the Paslode. 4 Nail Jams A jammed finish nailer isn’t a common occur- rence, but when it happens, you need to be able to clear the jam without disassembling the entire tool. We fired nails into the head of a screw with the goal of intentionally jamming the nailers.We were only able to cause jams in two of the nailers this way: the Paslode and the Porter-Cable. Some of the other tools we were able to jam by purposely misloading nails. The Porter-Cable cleared easily.That’s due to the way the front hatch on the tool swings open to allow access to the area where jams occur.The Craftsman, Senco, SpotNails, and Bostitch, though never actually jamming, all opened in the same manner as the Porter-Cable. The Paslode was a bit trickier to clear as the front hatch only opens about 45 degrees. The DeWalt suffers the same trouble as the Paslode in this area,though it should be noted we had to go to great lengths to get the DeWalt to jam in the first place. { Porter-Cable’s nailer offers easy { The Paslode would be easier to clear The Hitachi never did jam, though we noted that the access for removing nail jams with a if the front hatch opened up nose opened only slightly beyond 45 degrees. front hatch that swings well out of the further. Also, the driver blade had to be way of the nail channel. pushed in to reset the tool.

From Workbench Magazine page 4 ©2002 August Home Publishing. All rights reserved. PASLODE T250-F16 By all accounts, Paslode builds a this nailer easy to fit into the tight molding in a corner or toe-nailing superb finish nailer. Our testers spaces you’re likely to be faced with into a tight space. found this gun to have several supe- whether building cabinets or Complaints about the Paslode rior qualities that earned it our installing trim. It also means you included difficulty unloading nails Editor’s Choice award. won’t get tired of lugging it around from the magazine and the otherwise First, this tool is among the most as quickly as some of the bulkier excellent nose pad was large enough compact designs — only the tools in the test. to interfere with placing nails tightly SpotNails was smaller. That makes In addition to its compact size, into a corner. this nailer was the smoothest oper- BENCH RK ® ating tool we tested. It fired rela- O At a Glance: W tively quietly,didn’t jump at all, and

Y T Price: $180 I set nails flawlessly every time. A L 3 1 W A Nail Size: /4" to 2 /2" AR Q U The depth adjustment on this D OF E IC Nail Capacity: 100 E HO nailer was also better than most, DITOR’S C allowing us to fine-tune it to set the Fire Modes: Sequential, Bump nail at just the depth we wanted. Weight: 4.2 lbs. Another outstanding feature of Operating PSI: 80 - 120 the Paslode is its unique nose pad. It’s Warranty: 1 year not one of the smallest, but still offers Virtues: Smooth operation. a clear line of sight for accurate nail Compact size. Beveled nose pad. placement. Reasonable price. The best thing about this nose pad, Vices: Unloading nails is difficult. though, is the beveled shape. We Nose pad is large. Small opening noticed that the bevels made it much for clearing nail jams. A superior tool with all easier to operate the nailer at an odd Verdict: the best traits for pro or DIY’er alike. angle, such as when installing crown

BOSTITCH SB1664 Bostitch put all the right features on For instance, the depth-setting limits the tool’s usefulness in close this nailer at just the right price to system on this nailer was fully quarters. The flat shape of the pad get our nod as a Top Value. adjustable and responsive to each also kept it from fitting well into the Although one of the least expen- small change in the setting.We were elaborate profile of crown molding. sive tools in the test, this nailer is able to set nails well above the sur- Nonetheless,this nailer is a smart buy solidly built and performs well face of the wood (though I can’t because of its overall quality and out- beyond its bargain price. imagine why you’d want to), as well standing price. 1 as countersink nails /4" deep. BENCH W RK ® Once adjusted, the depth stop O At a Glance: W provided nearly identical results in a

Y Price: $160 T variety of soft and hardwoods.This I A L 1 W A Nail Size: 1" to 2 /2" A U means you won’t have to mess with RD OF Q Nail Capacity: 100 UE the settings when going from one TOP VAL Fire Modes: Sequential, Bump E project to another. Firing the nailer was smooth and Weight: 4 lbs. jump-free. A clear sight line and Operating PSI: 70 to 120 alignment marks on the nose pad Warranty: 1 year made it easy to predict exactly where Virtues: Passable sight line. the nail was going. Loading nails was Highly adjustable depth settings. simple; unloading nails was passable. Excellent price. However, this gun has one of the Vices: Nose pad is large and most accessible jam clearing hatches didn’t fit into crown molding well. in the group. Verdict: A capable tool for home or professional use at a price that Our only complaint is that the can’t be beat. nose pad is a bit oversized, which

From Workbench Magazine page 5 ©2002 August Home Publishing. All rights reserved. PORTER-CABLE FN250A This affordable nailer from Porter- of the tight confines we tested it in. up to allow plenty of space for easy Cable makes a strong case for paying We also found this tool to be jam clearing. a little and getting a lot. Only two extremely well built, with the best fit Overall, the Porter-Cable is a other tools in this test matched the and finish of all the nailers we tested. well-balanced nailer that performed bargain price of this nailer, and few The depth setting wheel was easy commendably without drawing any others could equal its user-friendly to operate and very effective.This significant complaints from the demeanor. allowed us to adjust the nail setting testers. First off, the Porter-Cable is well across a wide range of depths,from sit- sized. It’s not the smallest tool in the ting well proud of the surface to about 1 bunch,W but it tucked nicely into most /4" countersunk. BENCH At a Glance: RK ® O The medium-sized nose pad on W this tool offers an excellent line of Price: $160 Y 3 1 T I Nail Size: /4" to 2 /2" A L sight, and alignment marks on the W A A U Nail Capacity: 100 RD OF Q pad aid in accurate nail placement. UE Fire Modes: Sequential, Bump TOP VAL In our test to determine how well E the nailers could squeeze into cor- Weight: 4.25 lbs. ners, the nose pad on this tool put it Operating PSI: 70 to 120 right in the middle of the pack. Warranty: 1 year For loading and unloading nails, Virtues: Effective depth adjust- the Porter-Cable ranked second in ments. Medium-sized nose pad. the group.This is a valuable trait if Decent sight line. Front hatch you undertake a variety of projects accomodates easy jam clearing. requiring various lengths of nails. Outstanding price. We were able to intentionally jam Vices: No significant complaints. A reliable, no-nonsense this nailer during our tests, but found Verdict: tool that’s value priced. that the front hatch of the tool opens

DEWALT D51256K The DeWalt nailer is clearly a pro- And the no-mar pad, which is vir- with five indexed positions. It’s an fessional-grade tool. It’s priced a bit tually invisible from the operator’s easy system to operate, but the slide higher because of that, but it has sev- perspective, grips the workpiece well, doesn’t offer as much adjustability eral features that justify the extra cost, even when toenailing. This slim as some wheel-type systems. depending on your needs. design also allowed the nailer to fit Ultimately, the high price kept First of all, this tool has the best into corners better than the other this tool from earning a top spot. nose design, hands down.The swept- nailers. back contact trip offers a wide-open Additionally, the DeWalt boasts view of the workpiece underneath. enormous nail capacity — 160 nails At a Glance: compared to the 100 that’s typical of Price: $200 1 1 this group. All that capacity does Nail Size: 1 /4" to 2 /2" require a long magazine, though.And Nail Capacity: 160 our testers were split as to whether Fire Modes: Sequential, Bump* having to reload less frequently is Weight: 3.9 lbs. worth the extra length. Operating PSI: 70 to 120 The magazine itself is nylon Warranty: 1 year instead of the metal magazines on Virtues: Superior nose design. the other tools. The advantages of Loads/unloads effortlessly. Easy the nylon are less overall weight and depth adjustment. Lightweight. a magazine that flexes instead of Vices: Limited range of depth bending if it gets stepped on or adjustment. High-priced. Large size. dropped (and yes, those happen Verdict: Pro-grade tool that may enough to be important). be worth the high price to some. Depth setting on this nailer was *Firing modes are changed by changing also unique. It uses a vertical slide triggers. Both triggers are included.

From Workbench Magazine page 6 ©2002 August Home Publishing. All rights reserved. SENCO FINISH PRO 32 The Senco nailer had several features that At a Glance: impressed us during our performance testing. For instance, it demonstrated the widest range Price: $160 1 1 of adjustment in depth setting among this Nail Size: 1 /4" to 2 /2" group of nailers. It operated smoothly and qui- Nail Capacity: 110 etly,and it set nails cleanly. Fire Modes: Sequential, Bump Unfortunately,it also had a few shortcom- Weight: 4 lbs. ings that caused us to move it down the list. Operating PSI: 70 to 120 First of all, the depth adjustment had to be Warranty: 1 year changed between hardwood and softwood — Virtues: Smooth operation. Wide the only nailer in the bunch that required this. range of depth adjustment. The nose pad on this tool is also quite bulky, Vices: Required frequent depth which created a poor line of sight and made setting adjustments. Large nose pad precise setting of nails a bit challenging. restricts sight line. Additionally,the padded grip on this tool was Verdict: A middle-of-the-road nailer at a reasonable price. tearing by the time our test concluded.

HITACHI NT65A2 Hitachi’s nailer is a rugged, high-capacity tool At a Glance: with a disposition for mass production. The heaviest tool of the bunch, this nailer Price: $210 1 holds a lot of fasteners and is capable of firing Nail Size: 1" to 2 /2" them much faster than most DIY’ers would Nail Capacity: 150 care to.The tradeoff is that it takes a firm grip Fire Modes: Sequential, Bump to control the jump when the gun is fired. Weight: 4.6 lbs. Considering how large and heavy this tool Operating PSI: 70 to 120 is, we can’t recommend it for hauling around Warranty: 1 year the job site. It seems best suited to a “set-it-and- Virtues: Large nail capacity. forget-it” environment, such as a production Rugged construction. Rapid cycling. cabinet shop.This is especially true when you Vices: Expensive. Heavy. Wrench consider that changing the depth setting required for depth adjustments. requires a wrench. Verdict: Perfect for production This is not a bad tool by any means. But it’s shops. Look elsewhere for a DIY finish nailer. specialized and expensive.

SPOTNAILS WB1650 The unusual look of this nailer appealed to At a Glance: some testers more than others. But on the points that truly matter, most agreed that this Price: $235 is a decent tool — with a few weaknesses. Nail Size: 1" to 2" What we can’t forgive about this nailer is Nail Capacity: 150* its exorbitant price.Although the nailer fired Fire Modes: Sequential flawlessly, loaded and unloaded easily, and is Weight: 3.5 lbs. the most compact, lightweight tool we tested, Operating PSI: 80 to 100 the price tag is just too high. Warranty: 1 year Also working against this tool is an inflated Virtues: Small. Lightweight. Easy nail capacity claim (SpotNails lists nail capacity loading/unloading. as 150, we could only squeeze in 104).Another Vices: Expensive. Nose marks. downfall was this tool’s lack of a nose pad.The Verdict: Not a bad tool, but nose marked nearly every workpiece we nailed. nowhere near worth the price. *We were only able to load 104 nails.

From Workbench Magazine page 7 ©2002 August Home Publishing. All rights reserved. CRAFTSMAN 18441 At a Glance: Although nearly a twin to the Bostitch on the outside, there is something quite different going Price: $180 on inside the Craftsman. 1 1 Nail Size: 1 /4" to 2 /2" We tested two Craftsman nailers for this Nail Capacity: 160 review.The first one worked relatively well Fire Modes: Sequential, Bump with the exception that the depth adjustment Weight: 7 lbs. wheel had no impact on how the nail was set. Operating PSI: 70 to 110 We were curious if that was a fluke or a Warranty: 1 year common characteristic, so we purchased a Virtues: Large nail capacity. second nailer. Vices: Between two nailers, we The second was worse than the first. Besides were unable to find one that no depth setting control, it had the unpleasant performed well enough to even habit of firing two or three nails at a time. In consider purchasing this tool. between clearing jams, we also noticed that Verdict: Cannot recommend this nails had a tendency to fall out of the gun. Stay nailer at any price. away from this one.

RKBE O NC W H Final Recommendations ®

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W Editor’s Choice:Paslode’s T250-F16 Both operate trouble-free, have A R D Y O IT “nailed” the top spot with a tool easy,effective depth adjustment fea- F Q UAL T OP that is compact, fires smoothly and tures, and do a better than average VALUE quietly,and is easy to use. job of getting into the spaces where R The unique nose design and out- finish nailers need to go. Either tool standing depth setting characteris- is money well spent. Porter-Cable tics give this tool just enough advan- If we had to choose one over the FN250A tage to pay the extra $20 over the other, the slight advantage would Bostitch next two contenders. have to go to the Bostitch for its SB1664 RKBE O NC Top Value: The Porter-Cable better sight line, lesser tendency to W H ®

FN250A and Bostitch SB1664 finish mark a workpiece, and the fact that A W A R nailers parallel each other in both we weren’t able to make the nailer D Y IT Paslode E O L D F Q UA price and performance. jam. IT OR T250-F16 ’S CHOICE FINISH NAILER REPORT CARD

Nose Pad Depth Accuracy/ Jam Ergonomics Sight Line Marking Loading Unloading Model Size Shape Setting Jump Clearing Paslode B+ A A B+ A A A- B C B Bostitch B+ B B A B B+ A B B- A Porter-Cable B+ A B A- B A- B B C A DeWalt B A+ A+ A C B- A A A A- Senco A+ C A C A+ B A A B- A Hitachi B B- C A- D C A B B A SpotNails B N/A N/A B B- A D B B A Craftsman B B B C- F C C A B- A

From Workbench Magazine page 8 ©2002 August Home Publishing. All rights reserved.