Buying a framing nail gun.

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Author Message   Hagbard Celine Citizen Username: Umbert Post Number: 138 Registered: 3-2004 Posted on Wednesday, June 7, 2006 - 1:34 pm:        I’ve already decided on a factory reconditioned Porter Cable nail gun, but don’t know if I should get the clipped-head (paper collated) or round-head variety (plastic collated). They are the same price, but I get the impression the round head nails are more expensive. Does a round head mean a stronger holding nail? Will a clipped head meet my needs just fine for my many home renovations? Clipped… http://portercable.cpoworkshop.com/reconditioned_tools/nailers_and_staplers/fram ing_nailers/fc350ar.html Round… http://portercable.cpoworkshop.com/reconditioned_tools/nailers_and_staplers/fram ing_nailers/fr350ar.html Anyone have any thoughts on this?   Bob K Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 11754 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Wednesday, June 7, 2006 - 1:47 pm:        Unless you are personally framing a 100 unit townhouse development I can't see the nail cost being a big issue. The round head nails have more holding power because of the larger surface area of the nail head. I believe I have read that for some applications building codes require round head nails, but I am not an expert on the subject. For those who are interested (Handygirl and Sportsnut) a week or so ago COSTCO had a three nail gun set, including framing, finish and brad nailers for under $200. The compressor wasn't included. I managed to refrain from buying it. The manufacturer is Campbell-Haus (sp?)   Travis Citizen Username: Travis Post Number: 439 Registered: 6-2004 Posted on Wednesday, June 7, 2006 - 2:39 pm:        My $0.05. Campbell-Hausfield is junk. If you are talking about a framing nailer, a problem with driving nails in these old houses is the old wood is very dry and splits easily. Contrary to conventional wisdom, predrilling nail holes not only reduces the risk of nail splits, it actually improves the grip of the wood fibers on the nail. How big an issue is nail splits? I have removed studs that were literally split in two from top to bottom starting with a single nail split. I had a genius carpenter open up a dirty great split in a beam by banging in a 16d nail near the end without predrilling. If you want to predrill, you may be better off getting a palm nailer (and maybe a small cordless drill). A DIYer is also less likely to shoot themselves in the head with a palm nailer. You can get long drill bits at www.mcfeelys.com. The general rule is to predrill a hole 75% of the nail diameter.   Jgberkeley Citizen Username: Jgberkeley Post Number: 4591 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Wednesday, June 7, 2006 - 10:41 pm:        I have a Porter Cable Clipped head framing hammer. (Model 3540 or some number like that) Two years running, over 14 large cases of nails, dropped over 12 feet twice, and still running like it was new. Never have had a problem with a clipped head nail holding, nor and inspection problem. I will say that I use many more nails than my past life. In fact, when I have a new helper, I ask them to slow down with the nails. If they had to swing a hammer, the board would be in with 4 nails. With the Porter Cable, 9 nails ends up doing the same job. Do as you wish. Later, George   Bob K Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 11762 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Thursday, June 8, 2006 - 8:16 am:        Here is a discussion on clipped vs. round head nails. Since there isn't a code issue here I would just buy what I wanted based on nail cost and preference. However, if you are going to be doing visible work I like the round heads better. George moving up to pneumatic is the same as moving from a M-1 rifle to an M-16 in the military. In both cases there is a real temptation to waste "ammo".   Rock and Jock Citizen Username: Rock_and_jock Post Number: 16 Registered: 9-2005 Posted on Thursday, June 8, 2006 - 8:37 am:        ...what travis said   Hagbard Celine Citizen Username: Umbert Post Number: 139 Registered: 3-2004 Posted on Thursday, June 8, 2006 - 9:41 am:        Thanks for the input. It seems like neither one would be a mistake. I went with the round-head.