floor nailer what is best to use?

Question

What are the best nailers to use , the nail or staple version? What are the pros & cons? What are some good brands ? I have seen no name brands on ebay that are under $200. are they any good? i have abotu 1,000 sf to do thank you

Answer 1

I use to rent a floor nailer whenever I put in tongue and groove flooring. I rented several different professional brands. I found the staple style floor nailers gave me a lot less aggravation and grief. The cleat nailers were a pan in the butt! They'd tear up a floor plank if they miss fired and you had to try and get them out. A staple you snip it off and tap in the prongs.

I started getting enough work installing floors, specifically Bamboo Flooring, that I decided to buy my own floor nailer. Renting them was about $25 a day and I usually had to split this cost with my customer. So I was out some money at the end of a job.

I bought a Grizzly pneumatic nailer (H7826 Flooring Nailer) from Grizzly.com. It was around $200 which was about half the cost of other "name" brands. I bought it as one to get until I could afford a Bostitch one. Turns out I bought a really good one after all. I've laid roughly 3500 SF of bamboo flooring with this nailer over the last 4-5 months without a problem.

I don't lay flooring everyday. I use this periodically when I get a job laying flooring. So I can't say how well it would perform on a daily basis. But when I do use it, it gets a 8-10 hr day work out for 4-5 days at a time.

I'd heard that Grizzly has excellent tools. I know a couple of people who make musical instruments (guitars, mandolins, dulcimers) for a living and they swear by their tools. They make up the bulk of the equipment in their woodworking shops.

Answer 2

Best Flooring Nailer

Answer 3

It depends what you are installing and over what subfloor. If you are installing 3/4" solid wood flooring over OSB (waferboard), you use a pneumatic floor stapler. It fires a 2" staple at an angle and seats the head just above the tongue. 3/4" solid wood floor over plywood or 1x6 subfloor requires the use of a power flooring cleater. The cleater fires a 2" cleat that looks similar to a cut cement nail. At no time is a solid wood floor installed with a trim, brad or framing nailer.

If you are installing an engineered wood floor (veneer wood over a poplar or plywood base), then you need a power floor stapler that shoots a 1 1/2" staple at an angle. At no time is a brad or trim nailer used.

A quality nailer costs over $800 used. Do not use a cheap nailer or stapler. Rent a one from your local tool rental shop. Purchase your nails or staples from the rental shop. Each brand of nailer uses a specific gauge fastener. Do not subsitute a different brand fastener if you run out because the "foreign" fastener won't work in the nailer, and the nailer can jam or be damaged. Purchase enough to do your job so you don't run out on a Saturday or Sunday when the shop is closed.

You will need a decent compressor with a water seperator in line that can keep up with the nailer. A nailer generally needs 96 - 98 PSI, but that varies with the species (hardness) of your wood. If your compressor can't keep up with the continuous demand, the nails or staples will fail to seat (countersink). It is really inconvenient to wait around for the compressor to catch up to you.

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
floor nailer what is best to use?
What are the best nailers to use , the nail or staple version? What are the pros & cons? What are some good brands ? I have seen no name brands on ebay that are under $200. are they any good? i have abotu 1,000 sf to do thank you

Answer 5

1

Answer 6

senco-bosch-dewalt- milwaukee are good nailers. i would use a finish nail thats ring-shanked so it dont pull out easily