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Never, and I repeat NEVER, run the Hitachi-brand nails through it (can you say nightmare). The rafter hook is useful, but it's plastic and WILL break off - so be ready to buy an aftermarket hook. I personally had a machinist make me a new hook out of heavy aluminum and it's working great. I'd suggest getting some milk and cookies and crying that whine to your mommies. Like I said, I'm only a creature of habit.Why three stars. However, I broke one of those too, so I'd suggest going with a softer steel design, like the Paslode's hook.All the horror stories of plastic in the eyes.
Then you'll love it. I love this gun, I hate it,.I own two of these guns. They both are durable (miles of abuse on the job and in the toolbox). It'll crunch the nail strip and cause misfires. at a time and you'll love this gun as I do. Bought one before the metal connector tip was available. I'm a general contractor, I use a framing nailer for approx 8000 nails a month (2 cases of plastic coallated on average).I love this gun. There's a temporary fix I've found you can do, but I won't suggest it here as it involves modifying a magazine component.Because of the nail feeding issues I've had, I will say you will not get production out of this gun, compared to others.
I only use plastic coallated nails out of habit now - there was a day when the only other option was wire coallated (which WILL injure you) and paper strip clipped heads. In most cases it's the "Coallated" brand carried by Lowes. My eyes are fine though, after 18 years of plastic coallated nail use with (GASP). They do alright, but don't slam the magazine carrier against the nails too hard. Let the rest of us build.
Well, I guess it happens. While the first one was in the repair shop for a worn-out anvil (from use, not defect), I bought the second one.They both have great power. Unfortunately, as a contractor in a rural area, I'm kinda stuck with what I can get. Too much of a cheap bastard I guess.No matter what the nail you use, only run one strip at a time through it. I know this sounds stupid, but I've never tried the Bostitch-brand nails. no goggle use.
Misfires. I keep using mine because the problem is relatively balanced against the good features of this gun (durability, weight, smart trigger, depth adjustment, etc.). I hate this gun. The second string tends to ride below the first string and cause a misfire. Two strips at a time is a crap-shoot. That said, a few times a year (as I am now) I find myself shopping for a different brand of gun.
Then you'll hate it. The thicker, the better. The push-button depth adjustment is a technology that every gun should have. Stick to runnin heavy galvanized nails one strip (not two). Now, paper strip are commonly available in full round head, and make better production because each gun holds exactly twice as many nails as the plastic coallated nailers. This gun is picky about the nails it's fed.
I never buy another because they lack the features of this gun. Then you'll hate it.
Metal hanger attachment works well also. No more having to pull out bent over nails or having to finish nailing by hand. This nailer has the power to drive ring shank fasteners through Hardy plank into engineered lumber all day long. All my nailers/staplers are Bostitch. My standard framing nailer needed max pressure to drive these nails without problems. This nailer doesn't seem to notice a pressure drop. Same high quality as all the others I own. Amazon service was excellent as always.
It does seem a little touchy and sometimes will not fire unless you hold it at a different angle. I even checked at a specialty fastener store. After nailing thousands of nails, I had one misfire where it fired 2 nails instead of 1. Both seem to work great. So far this nailer has worked great. So if you have the depth adjustment exactly where you want it, and you remove the tip to change to the metal connector nails, it's difficult to get it back where it was when you reattach the tip. I couldn't find the metal connector nails for the other tip at any retail store so I had to order them online. The longest galvanized nails you'll probably find at a big box store for this nailer are 3 inch for the normal tip.
I found the cheapest option was to order online through my local hardware store and have them delivered to the store so I avoided the high shipping cost of the nails.If I was going to add a feature to this nailer it would be to add markings for the depth adjustment on the tip. I also noticed that it seems to depend on the user. I got a refurbished one several months ago, and I've used it both with the standard tip and the tip for nailing into joist hangers and brackets. So if you're planning a project, make sure you order your nails far in advance. This could possibly be the safety mechanism. It almost always fired for me, but my neighbor had more of a hard time with it.The only difficult part about this nailer is finding the nails. The depth is adjusted by setting the tip in one of several unmarked notches. This is more of a nit and doesn't really affect the performance of the nailer.Overall, I'm satisfied with this nailer.
I would not want to do it 'a lot', and it does mark up what you are nailing, so it should be avoided where practical.So, unless you really like hammering, get a framing nailer if you are going to be doing much framing. Would I buy it again. And this one is a good choice, particlarly if you want the capability to use the largest nails available and/or do a lot of metal framing brackets. And once I got around to it, was pretty easy to accomplish.It is a bit difficult to tell when the last nail has been fired, which makes not being able to slap in a new stick when you get near the end a problem.
Also, because it had the capability of nailing frame brackets such as joist hangers, which I would be doing a lot of.Boy, did it make the construction go quickly. They really made projects requiring staples, brads or finishing nails 'fly', so when I had to rebuild my patio, I went for a framing nailer.I chose the Bostich because it had the widest range of nail sizes while still being at the low end of the price range. Is it the best value. And it works pretty well for regular nails as well.
It does not seem to be able to handle any 'discontinuity' between sticks. Yes, for the same reasons I got it the first time. Probably. Is it the most usable one out there. I've been intending to get a framing nail gun for a while, particularly after receiving a set of 'small' nail guns as a gift.
The major annoyance I had was that the largest sized nails seem available in 'indoor grade' only, so had to use a size smaller for rust resistance.It does seem to jam and misfire on occasion. To keep these to a minimum, never put in a new stick of nails when there is a stick already in there. Usually a jam can be cleared without dissembly (besides sliding off the nose piece), but the 'last' jam ended up with a nail upside down and I had to remove the magazine to get it out. Fortunately, this happened with only 2 or 3 more nails to go in the project, so I didn't have to worry about clearing it until later. The special nails are hardened, and the nose piece makes it easy to get the nail exactly through the hole. And relatively painlessly (the unit did wear a blister on one finger). If you have enough light, you can just look in the nose to see if there is the tip of a nail there, or if you have good concentration, you can count nails.
Maybe, but probably not.It really shines when nailing framing brackets. And to go to regular nails, just slide off the nose piece and slide on the standard nose piece. In any case, it does not appear to do any significant damage to the unit to fire it 'dry' on occasion. If neither of these are needs for you, then perhaps you could find one which is a little easier to use.
For weekend warriors such as my self an all day project may make you fatigued.2. Me being prone to errors I figured it would be easier to pull nails out when I screw up. I bought this gun for the full rounded nails. The rubber grip is not tight on the tool. That turned out to be true.This nailgun certainly does the job, but I had 2 issues:1. It was a little heavier than other framing nailers I've used. This means if I don't grasp it firmly the grip slips around easily on the handle. This may not be the case with everyone.Other than these 2 things I haven't had any problems like jamming etc.
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