Woodworker's Journal 2004-28-4, страница 41

SHOPIEST

T

Brad Nailers for the Home Shop ¹

By Bill Hylton

For the average woodworker; the brad nailer is the most useful of the pneumatic nailers available. But a hammer is cheaper and it's not tethered to a noisy compressor... so what's the attraction of a brad nailer?

How about speed, consistency, and convenience? Position the tip of the nailer, squeeze the trigger, and it fires a brad — as long as 2" — into the wooci, setting its head just below the surface. It won't split the wood, either. That's pretty attractive, isn't it? Move the nailer to a new location, and fire another brad. Move it and fire again. In seconds, you can secure a molding or assemble a drawer.

Compare that to fumbling with clamps, trying to hold a tiny brad, and hammering it blow by blow Maybe splitting the wood. Or bending the brad. Or denting the wood. Oooo! I.ove the possibilities.

The Basics

Brad nailers are manufactured by lots of companies, many that are familiar to woodworkers — like Porter-Cable, DcWalt, Grizzly, Makita, Hitachi, and Craftsman — and some — like Ser.co, Paslode, and Campbell Hausfeld — that may be unfamiliar.

Brad nailers are very handy in even the smallest woodworking skop. They are lightweight, versatile, aoouratc and dependable.

P-ices for a nailer alone range from $80 to more than $120.

But unless you already have an air compressor, that isn't your only outlay. At minimum, you need a small air compressor and a hose. I think you'll want quick-connect couplers, which allow you to separate the nailer from the hose from the compressor without tools.

Several manufacturers sell entry-level packages tha: combine a nailer with an appropriate compressor and hose. A few examples:

• Senco pairs acute little compressor — just a 1 HP, one-gallon model — with a solid brad nailer for just under $200. The package includes

a hose and fittings.

• Campbell Hausfeld has a similar package, pairing a 1 HP,

two-gallon compressor with a bare-bones brad nailer/ stapler for about $100. While a hose comes with the package, fittings do not.

• Porter-Cable combines a brad nailer and a finishing nailer with a 2 HP, three-gallon pancake compressor and a 25' rubber hose with fittings. This package costs about $300.

Of all the air-power tools, a brad nailer is among the least demanding of air. If you have expansionists ambitions, a package with a diminutive compressor isn't for you. A small compressor that'll drive brads, staples, and even finish nails, that'll pump up basketballs and even auto tires, will lack the wind for a framing nailer, truck tires, an HVLP sprayer, or air-powered wrenches and sanders.

41 August 2004 Woodworker's Journal