Nail guns

[Don]

Hey, Guys. My very first day on the job at a "real" architectural millwork plant. The foreman says, "Have you ever used a staple gun to put drawers together?"

"Of course," I replied (I hadn't)

"Good, there's a stack of them over on that bench, get to it."

I put glue on the rabbet joint and held it together carefully, positioned the staple gun, pressed down for a snug joint, and pulled the trigger. Just as the gun fired it slipped off the edge onto my fingers, shooting the index, middle and third fingers together.

"We can pull it out here or you can go to the clinic."

I should have let them pull it out at the shop, the clinic simply used a chrome pair of pliers.

Needless to say since that time long ago I've used just about every fastener known in the business. What's your favorite? Have any stories?

All the best, Don

Welcome to WoodworkingBuzz.com, the newest Woodworking forum and community. Use this area of the discussion forum to post about fastening systems, nails, screws, dowels, biscuits, etc.

[Dagster]

Personally I try to avoid all mechanical fasteners when building furniture. Not poo pooing them, I just like jointery is all. I use bisquits quite a bit, mortise and tennon, dovetails, and box joints mainly. I wish I was better at hand dovetails, I usually use a machine for that.

My single favorite method of mechancial fastening has got to be my Kreg Jig. This is my fastener of choice for sytles and rails for cabinetry etc... That is if I decide I want to use mechanical fasteners.

[Don]

I agree on that method for furniture, something that's portable and needs to withstand time and usage well. Stuff that's fastened to the wall or cosmetic stuff, well - it's a trade off between time and money.

I know that many disagree on this.

What do the rest of you think?

dawjr

[Dagster]

I agree on that method for furniture, something that's portable and needs to withstand time and usage well. Stuff that's fastened to the wall or cosmetic stuff, well - it's a trade off between time and money.

I know that many disagree on this.

What do the rest of you think?

dawjr


I agree, I have many different nail guns, framing, finish, brad, tack... I use them all for one thing or another quite often. I find the tack nailer especially useful when building items that will be veneered... the small nails are great for holding pieces in place while gluing and clamping, doesn't slide around.

[Terry Mac]

Really depends on what I need fastened, and whether it matters if it shows or not. For the small whatnot boxes I'm making its all joinery, hence the reason for the box/finger joint jig. I've used corner keys, dowels and biscuits before, but I like the look of the dovetail and finger joints.

On projects like bookshelves, and the like, I have a Brad/Stapler Combo nail gun from Horror Freight that,believe it or not, works really well. It holds the pieces together for screws.

I guess in the end, I'm a pneumatic kind a guy. If it just needs to hold together, the Brad, finish or framing nailer gets the call. Second line of offense is the trusty DeWalt battery operated drill (14.4 v). Then comes the glue or Gouge.

[Don]

Horror Freight :)

[Jammin]

Almost all of my guns are Bostits guns. They work great and are not to expensive. I am ruff on my nail guns at job sites and the guns seem to take the abuse. When they do break DONT take them in for repairs, they never come back as good as new and will break down again soon

[Jerry]

I use lots of different methods for joining. I used to use dowels a lot but once I got my DeWalt biscut machine, it became a favorite tool for furniture. If im doing built in cabinets where the fastener won't show, I'll use something like a dado w/ glue and an air nailer or a a couple quick screws to hold it together till the glue dries.

[bogydave]

Don
Sorry I had to laugh at your staple story.
One of my buddys took the guard off of his cut off saw (to speed up the process) while making birdhouses.
He was cutting small blocks, when he notice a hammer starting to fall from a shelve above his saw & hit him on the head. Natural instict to throw you hand up to block the hammer. Lost a little finger. His wife found the finger but not able to be re-attached.

When he still tells the story it's funny but serious lessons can be learned from his experience.

[Don]

Sounds like the three stooges music should have been playing at your buddy's house. One needs to train themselves early on to quell quick movements around the saws. I've seen several guys get hurt. Our first instinct is to catch something that is falling, this can be a problem around chop and table saws. The only quick movement that I'll allow myself is one I call the "snatch back" technique. That's a simple movement involving pulling one or both hands to the middle of the chest. Kung Fu has nothing on me.

dawjr

[woodman43]

MY favorite fastener is my Dewalt brad nailer. I have all sorts of fastener guns that are used when we are remodeling. My least favorite is my Paslode, biggest piece of crap I have ever used, convenient but a pain.
I use alot of screws where appropriate. Mainly square drive screws from McFeely's.
Biscuits and pocket holes are also high on my list.

[bogydave]

I picked up a Bostich N88RH, Framing nail gun at the pawn shop for $100. Looks almost new. Have used it to build my shop & my buddies. Got my money's worth. About every 3rd reload I had to spray it with light oil (not WD40 it gums up after a while). It would let you know when it was time for a shot by not feeding the next nail. I'd spray some in the air chuck also. Shot 3 boxes of 3-1/2 & 3 boxes of siding nails with no problems. I used a buddies Porter cable roofing nailer for the shingles. Same deal with the oil.
I was happy with the performance of both guns.

[JasonB]

One day at work I was attaching some face frames on some boxes, we dado our frames on and staple through the backside of the frame, so you got to push down on the front of the frame to keep it tight as you do so. well one of the guys borrows my staple gun, wich has 5/8 staples in it and brings it back with 1 1/2" staples in it so when I shot the first staple I stapled my hand to the box. I learned a couple leasons that day!

[dpmcreations]

Fasteners are one of those things that are for me at least, dependent upon what type of project I am doing... Alot of times like in cabinets and/or built ins, I use them a temp holder while gluing and screwing... To tell you the truth, I use them for extra oomph when I use biscuits if it is in a location that I can use them...

Truthfully everything is dependent upon what I am doing with the project... have a great day all...