I just received the Woodtek 23 ga. pin nailer and have a comment and question. The tool appears to be well made, although the color is a bit goofy (sparkle green). The “safety” is a spring-loaded guard that you must slip your finger behind to depress the trigger. All my other nailers (four of ’em) require that the nailer be in contact with material before firing, but not the Woodtek. Just point and shoot…the dog, the neighbor, my foot, whatever.
Is this typical for a 23 ga. nailer?
Also, the nailer will not set the nail, regardless of wood (hard maple or soft pine), length of nail (1 3/16″ or 5/8″) and pressure setting on the compressor. Took it up to 115 PSI without effect. If I press the nailer HARD against the material, the pin will lay just below the surface of the material (maybe one or two 1000ths) but then there is a nice mark left on the wood from the nailer’s tip.
Do other 23 ga. pinners set the nail better than this? I saw an earlier post indicating the Senco’s depth of set is less than desired, but I don’t know what this means. How about the PC?
I want to use the pinner to attach 3/4″ square trim to the edges of plywood cases while the glue dries, and find 18 ga. nails require filling. I’d also like to use pins to hold frame and panel doors together (pin the tenon into the mortise from the back of the door) while the glue sets up. Ditto on 18 ga… the holes need filling.
The Woodtek appealed becasue of its low price ($99) and its ability to shoot 1 3/16″ pins. Senco and PC shoot 1″ max. The other option for longer nails will be the Omer, which runs about $275.
Does the 3/16″ additional length really matter for what I’m doing, especially attaching trim? Or will 1″ do the job?
I appreciate the benefit of your collective wisdom.
Replies
I have only used the Duofast pin nailer. This nailer shoots pins up to 1" max if I remember correctly. I never had any problems like you describe with the Duofast pin nailer. I would send it back and try another brand.
mike
I've had the Senco 23ga pin nailer for a few months now and haven't had any problems. The 'pins' usually go ~1/32" below the surface and the only mark I can see is a small 'pinprick'.
The Senco doesn't have any kind of 'safety' so I have to pay attention when I'm using it - lol
The first thing that I would do is test the nailer by firing the nailer once, and don't release the trigger. the metal "hammer" that drives the nail into the wood won't retract if you keep the trigger depressed. see how far below the nose of the gun this "hammer" is extended. this is what controlls how far the nail is set, so if it is flush with the nose of the gun when it is at the bottom of its cycle then nothing will set the nail any further, and you will have to replace the gun if you want to change that.
I hope that my explanation is clear enough
Andrew
Thanks, Andrew. Actually the Woodtek people suggested this and I folowed their instructions. Indeed, the driver did not extend beyond the tip of the nailer. I replaced the drive with the one they provide with the nailer and had the same results. My option, as suggested by Woodtek and the kind folks over at Breaktime was to file off the tip of the nailer so the driver would extend further. Tis did not appeal to me but I was ready to fire up the grinder when I realized the width of the driver was way greater than that of the pins, so I'd be creating a larger hole with the proposed solution. So why not grind down the driver? Well, I just don't trust that the steel would hold up and I'd wind up with an unusable, unreturnable $99 piece of junk. I already own several of these and don't need another.
BTW, woodworking shows are a really great place to purchase worthless, semi-expensive items that seem like a good idea at the time. Shame on me! And to think I used to be in Marketing! Maybe we should start a thead on worthless items we've bought at woodworking shows? To be fair, we should allow listing of the good things as well.
I located and ordered the Omer. Thanks for your support.
It's probably too late for this but I would lean toward the Porter Cable rather than the Omer. At one of the shops I worked at, we had 3 or 4 Omer headless pin nailers. It seemed as though they were always jammed, broken or being fixed. My opinion is that they are not very reliable. I have since purchased my own PC and haven't had trouble with it. The only time the nail does not set is when the tip of the gun is in a tight area where I can't get the tip perfectly flush with the workpiece. I typically apply small moldings with it and am always trying to hide the fastener in a recess or lip of the molding so the fastener becomes "invisible". One precaution is to remember that the nail is very fine and not to depend on it for strength to hold the parts together. Depend on the glue for this.
For jobs with many doors I like to use 5/8"- 18 gauge pins, glue and clamps. I glue, clamp and nail, then set aside the door. I do three or four doors and return to the first and unclamp and start over. If I am doing fewer doors, I leave them in the clamps for two hours and use no fasteners.
The guard system on the PC is a two finger operation like the Omer.
Thank you for the response. Indeed, I did buy the Omer...it arrived yesterday. Hopefully in my shop (one person: read: low volume of work) it will hold up. I tend to favor PC nailers (I have three) but did not get any positive responses on the 23 ga. I guess I was also convinced I needed that extra 1/8" that the Omer drives.
In any event, 23 ga is great. The pins I drove yesterday were almost invisible after the finish was on. I use your method when making doors, and have used 18 ga in the past. I'm hoping the 23 ga will work just as well, without holes to fill.
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