Power Tools You Need: Nail Guns
November 27, 2011, By Andy Hinds 0 comments
Okay. You may not need need a nail gun (or “nailer” as it’s often called in the store but never on the jobsite). But on a spiritual, psychic level, you know you “need” one. Allow me to help you rationalize owning one. Or several.
When I was starting out as an apprentice carpenter, we drove nails using chunks of granite strapped onto mastodon tusks with saber-tooth tiger hide. (I’m old, is what I’m saying.)
All right—it wasn’t quite that primitive…but almost. When I was 20, I swung a 24-ounce framing hammer all day every day. When I woke up in the mornings, my fingers were curled into the shape of a hammer handle, and it took about half an hour before I could unclench them.
Nail guns existed back then, but they were more of a novelty than anything else. They were finicky, jamming and leaking air all the time; and compressors, hoses and air fittings were just more things to buy, haul around, set up, tinker with, lose, break and replace. They hardly seemed worth the trouble.
It wasn’t long before the technology caught up to the needs of the jobsite, however, and the equipment got reliable enough to use without fear that you would spend half your day digging bent nails out of the firing chamber of the nailer. Nowadays it’s extremely rare to see a framing crew driving nails by hand.
But I’m not a framing crew, you say. I’m just a dude who does occasional projects around the house.
Sure. But don’t you want to complete those projects as efficiently and professionally as possible? And don’t you want to minimize wear and tear on your body?
Of course you do.
But are nail guns safe?
Yeah, pretty much. I mean, if you use them correctly and don’t get all manic and try to fire them as you’re sprinting across a rickety scaffold like you’re Jet Li. In fact, I haven’t shot a 3½” framing nail clear through one of my digits since 1993.
Seriously, though, nail guns make any carpentry job easier, not only because you can drive so many nails so quickly, but because shooting a nail in one blast is so much more graceful than pounding it in with several blows from your medieval mallet. I can hardly believe that there was a time when I used to nail blocks between ceiling joists by holding the block over my head while somehow getting the nail started and bashing it into the joist as the whole mess bounced and vibrated above me. Even harder to imagine is hand-driving nails into crown molding while holding it perfectly still in the exact position it needs to be in.
Nail guns are the norm on jobsites and in workshops, and they’re finding their way into the basements and garages of weekend warriors as well. Manufacturers are getting smart about selling nail guns to homeowners, and this affords you a chance to start building your arsenal.
NEXT: What You Need
