Pneumatic Finish Nailer and Oak?

[SFC Bulman]

I'm going to be making kitchen cabinets for my house. They will be constructed
of Oak and Oak Plywood. I was considering buying a finish nailer to speed up
the assembly. What I'm wanting to know is if anyone out there has tried using
a finish nailer on Oak? Do they have enough power to set the nails? Will I
have a problem with splitting -- or therfore should I just stick with the old
pre-drilling and using nails/screws.

Thanks Much
Kevin Bulman

[MP Toolman]

My Senco works in hardwood such as oak and maple. Buy a high quality, name
brand and you should be OK in that regard.

Another problem is the tendncy for power driven nails to sometimes be deflected
by a knot or coarse grain (which oak has.) Don't ever hold your fingers
adjacent to where the nail is going and don't use longer nails than necessary.

Mill

[Tom Koerner]

To answer your questions, you will not have any problem setting the nails in
oak with a Pneumatic Finish Nailer. You could split the oak if it is
extremely narrow, however, it is highly unlikely. That's one of the
benefits of the nailer. The point made by MP Toolman should be well taken
as you could wind up fastening yourself to your project, not to say anything
about the pain of the wound. One more must do when using a nailer, or any
other power tool for that matter. You should always, without fail, wear eye
and ear protection.

"SFC Bulman" <sfcb...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20011231081153...@mb-cs.aol.com...

[Larry C]

Shouldn't be a problem. I just used my $15 Harbor Freight brad nailer (5
years old now) in Oak with no problem (1" - 1 1/5" brads). Every single
brad set perfectly which has always been the case. I would expect a finish
nailer would have the same results. If you are using the nailer to assist
during glue-up you might want to consider a brad nailer rather than a finish
nailer to reduce (avoid?) the possibility of splitting the wood that another
poster mentioned. I've never had a piece split with a brad nailer.

--
Larry C in Auburn, WA

"SFC Bulman" <sfcb...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20011231081153...@mb-cs.aol.com...

[Greg O]

"SFC Bulman" <sfcb...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20011231081153...@mb-cs.aol.com...

> I'm going to be making kitchen cabinets for my house. They will be
constructed
> of Oak and Oak Plywood. I was considering buying a finish nailer to speed
up
> the assembly.

I have a cheap Crapsman 18 gauge brad nailer. I will drive a 2" brad all the
way into a solid piece of oak with the air pressure set at 60 psi.
Greg

[OffCenter]

Kevin, I bought the 'Airy' brad nailer based on a
recommendation in WOOD magazine a few years ago.
It worked so well that I bought a second one for my
business to keep in my truck.
No problems whatsoever. Will drive 1 9/16 brads with
no problem. Both of them are trouble free after 3 or 4 years.
I got mine at Woodworkers Warehouse. Might still carry them.

--
George, N2ELC
Just a little OffCenter.

High in the Hills of Northern New Jersey!
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Sawdust thou art and unto
sawdust thou shalt return
HE said that!
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[Jim Schlatter]

You may want to consider the 18 Guage finish nailer that Harbor Freight
sells. I had read several positive reviews from people who owned this
nailer and decided that for <$30 I couldn't go too wrong. I actually bought
mine for $15 on sale and picked up boxes of 5,000 nails for ~$3-$5each. I
couldn't believe this thing acutally worked! Not only that, it worked
pretty darned good. It left a bit of a mark when nailing cedar, but worked
very well on Oak/Oak plywood with no indentations in the wood except for the
nail hole. I've shot about 400 nails with it and no jams or other problems.
The nailer handles up to 1 3/16" nails and I have shot these into 2 pieces
of oak as well as oak ply into oak with no problems.

If it is a big project you may want to consider getting a pressure regulator
as the nailer doesn't have any on-board adjustments for depth.

Here is the address for the nailer: The current price looks likee it is
$30. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=42528
Don't mean to sound like an advertisement, just stunned that anything this
cheap actually works ;)

--
======================================================
This just in:
- Energizer Bunny arrested, charged with battery.
======================================================

[Steve]

I concur! That 18/19 gauge brad nailer works great!

I also got one on sale for $15 -- and was so impressed that I picked up the
HF 1/4" crown stapler when it went on sale for <$30. I'm completely
satisfied with both "finds".

Don't misunderstand me here, I *like* Porter Cable tools and prefer them --
but I just can't see spending a whole lot of money for an over-engineered
over-built tool when a viable alternative is "out there". (I have a PC 9xx
Router, 10 Amp Tiger Saw and a PC air hammer that (IMHO) there are *no*
alternatives for.)
--
Steve
www.ApacheTrail.com
Mesa, AZ
(remove -scalp-the-spammers- to reply)

"Jim Schlatter" <jssc...@spameng.delcoelect.com> wrote in message
news:Xns9189F4166AC2js...@209.43.4.41...
: You may want to consider the 18 Guage finish nailer that Harbor Freight

:

[Wayne Whalen]

No problem with air nailers sinking nails into solid oak and because the nails are
square they are less likely to split the wood.. But l use a Kreg pocket hole jig
extensively when constructing kitchen cabinets. Does a nice job.

Wayne Whalen

[ToolMiser]

I've been using a pneumatic 26 gauge finish nailer for home made trim for our
house. Most is around 7/8" thick plus 1/2" sheet rock, so I use 2 1/2" nails.
My gun is a Pasload, and to get them properly countersinked, the repair person
told me I could remove the rubber bumper off of the gun, and it works fine.