Any experience?

[Bruce Branch]

I'm finishing my basement myself and am close to doing the trim work. I was looking at buying a 15 or 16 guage finish nailer to help with speed and quality. I also do many other DIY projects so the gun would not be wasted, besided I read a good quote here a couple days ago: "Every new project requires a new tool". I have never read more true words.



Anyway my questions are: Is a 16 guage ok for door, window and base moldings? And does anyone have any experience with a Craftsman nailer?



I was looking at Dewalt and the other big names which run around $170 for the 16ga. Then I found that Sears has a combo set with a 16 ga, 18 ga and 18 ga staple gun (all pneumatic) for $199. With the light use I would require I was thinking that this would be the way to go, unless someone has had bad experiences Craftsman guns.



Any input would be appreciated.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

We finished off our basement in 1999. About 900 sq ft; one french double-door, two regular doors, and a bunch of base molding. I did NOT use a finish nailer, and the quality turned out awesome, but then I am anal and used a nail set then wood putty, then touch up paint.



If you invest, I recommend Dewalt over Craftsman, as my experience with Dewalt power tools has been excellent.



Good luck. And, yes, NEW PROJECT = NEW TOOL.



TJR

 

[Keith McElroy]

I finished my basement (without a nail gun), but I would say that 16 ga. finishing nails would be fine. 2 1/2 " nails will hold the trim on fine.



I used to buy Craftman, but I found their quality to be going downhill, so I generally stick to Dewalt, Porter Cable, and Makita. Stick with the better brands and you will have it much longer. Check www.Northerntools.com to see if they are running any specials. I bought my father-in-law a new Dewalt finish nailer off of Amazon for Christmas and it only ran around $180.00 - Came with a carrying case and nails.

 

[scott farmer]

Senco is tops

 

[Bruce Branch]

Normally I love swinging a hammer, it's just a manly thing to do you know? Hammer in one hand and a cold beverage in the other. But last summer I borrowed a framing gun from a friend to build a 12 x 12 storage building, now that was great. Much faster and no foul language due to bent nails. The foul language was reserved for many other reasons.

 

[Chris P]

actually it depends on the thickness of the base molding and the trim in general, I usually go with a 2 1/2 if it is casing and for the base moulding anything thicker than 11/16 i would go a little bigger, as far as power tools, I have a firestorm make by black and decker who is actually associated with dewalt, a tank and a gun for 129 over at lowes gets the job done and its cheaper

 

[Chops]

Look at the origin of the Craftsman, I would expect China for that price.



I bought a 16g Porter-Cable a year ago, and it was one of the least expensive of top shelf brands.



I have installed crown molding in three rooms and hallway, fluted columns, plinth blocks, baseboards, and door frames.

It is amazing, don't know why I waited so long. Contersinks the nail to your liking. I handled 14' pieces of crown -- alone --, something that would have been impossible or very difficult with a hammer.



Construction here mandates interior metal studs, I can't imagine using a hammer with metal.



If you are only going to use it occasionally, go to Harbor Freight and pick one up for $20. If you do serious DIY like I do, the Porter is hard to beat at ~$150 on sale.

 

[j Schmidty]

I do a bit of woodwork and I use the craftsman combo gun. The downside to the combo gun over just a brad nailer is that it may leave a mark/indentation on your wood(it looks kind of like the indentation left froma staple). Since it is finish work you may just want to go with a regular brad nailer. I use staples for hidden structural stuff in furniture, and brad nails with maybe a little bit of putty if it is a piece that will be seen. That creaftsman combo gun is nice though.

 

[Todd Z]

For once in a while house work, i bought the el cheepo nailer's off ebay... I think my brad nailer was 15 bucks and the full head framing hammer was about 60 bucks...

All work mint and all of then have had at least 2,000 nails through them...

Air of course...

Todd Z