So don’t expect a pin to play a serious structural role. The holding power of a headless pin is pretty fair but not great. When using a pin nailer, the first rule is to match the tool to the right tasks. From my perspective, side loading gets the nod. Most nailers load from the side like a brad nailer, but a few load from the bottom. Arrows printed on the sticks indicate which end goes down (photo above). If you look closely, you’ll see that one end of the pin has a chisel tip while the opposite end is flat. Most nailers hold one stick while a few hold two.Īs I mentioned, the pins are headless but they do have a head and a tail end. Like brads, different brands of pins are pretty much interchangeable. Several of the other handy features you’ll find on different pin nailers are shown in the box below. Unless you have a very specific need, it’s probably not worth the extra investment. Increasing the upper end to 1 3 ⁄ 4 " or 2" can tack $100 on to the cost. And each model of nailer will handle a range. Pins are available from 3 ⁄ 8 " to 2" long (photo below). One feature that correlates with price is the upper range of the length of pins a nailer can handle. There are quite a few high-quality guns that fall in the $100 to $200 range. You can buy a bargain model for less than $75 or spend upwards of $300 on a top-of-the-line gun. Today, there are a dozen or more different brands of pin nailers on the market that offer a variety of features. This system takes some getting used to, but it’s not difficult to master. And the spring-loaded trigger lock will automatically reengage when released, preventing firing. With the trigger lock disengaged, a nail will fire each time the primary trigger is depressed. Then the index finger can pull the primary trigger to fire a pin. First, you use the middle finger to disengage the trigger lock or secondary trigger. All newer model pin nailers have a double safety trigger (second photo from the top). This inevitably leaves a noticeable dent, especially in softer woods, along with a good-size brad hole.Ī pin nailer avoids this problem by using a different mechanism to control firing. A retractable tip has to be depressed by pushing it against the surface of the wood before the gun will fire. The firing mechanism on a brad nailer is pressure-activated to prevent accidental firing. Since the goal is a nearly blemish-free surface, a pin nailer is designed to operate a bit differently than a brad nailer. The second advantage is that even when fired into the thinnest, most delicate stock, a 23-gauge pin won’t cause splitting. And if you do choose to fill them, the result will almost certainly be invisible. So filling the holes before or after finishing is often not necessary. First, the headless pins fired by a pin nailer leave a tiny, nearly unnoticeable hole in the surface of the wood (photo at right). Furthermore, unlike a brad, the pins don’t have an enlarged head. The shaft of a 23-gauge pin is about one quarter the overall size of an 18-gauge brad. The significant difference between a pin nailer (also called a micro-pinner) and a brad nailer is the size and shape of the fastener. I had to wait a few years before a tool came along that would fill this need - the 23-gauge, headless pin nailer. The large, highly visible holes left by the 18-gauge brads and their tendency to split thin stock amount to serious drawbacks. I soon discovered that although a brad nailer has a thousand uses around the shop, tacking delicate trim is not one of them. A number of years ago, I purchased a brad nailer thinking that it would be handy for installing small, hard-to-clamp moldings and other project parts.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |