Buy or hire nailer for fencing (or screw it)
Al Reynolds
I need to do a fair bit of closeboard fencing, so I'm
wondering whether it's worth me buying or hiring a
nail (brad) gun?
My local B&Q only has a "Rapesco Master Nailer
PRO181EL" for Ł39.99 but it's electric powered
doesn't look particularly substantial. It does take
up to 35mm brads which is the length I need. Anyone
have any experience of this?
Should I be nailing at all? It seems like quite a lot of
screwing to me, and I'm unlikely to reuse the materials
very soon.
Thanks in advance,
Al Reynolds
Andy Hall
<ajr-...@bat400.com> wrote:
>Hello,
>
>I need to do a fair bit of closeboard fencing, so I'm
>wondering whether it's worth me buying or hiring a
>nail (brad) gun?
>
>My local B&Q only has a "Rapesco Master Nailer
>PRO181EL" for £39.99 but it's electric powered
>doesn't look particularly substantial. It does take
>up to 35mm brads which is the length I need. Anyone
>have any experience of this?
A brad nailer is normally 18 gauge.
This is completely inadequate for fencing - the nails will not hold or
will pull through.
For attaching the boards to framing, you need a 15 gauge or better.
Smaller numbers are thicker nails.
You won't get one of those for £39.99 though......
>
>Should I be nailing at all?
Yes, that is the way that fencing is normally made. It's difficult to
hide the screws, so looks a bit odd.
>It seems like quite a lot of
>screwing to me, and I'm unlikely to reuse the materials
>very soon.
>
>Thanks in advance,
>Al Reynolds
>
>
>
>
.andy
To email, substitute .nospam with .gl
Dave Liquorice
>> Should I be nailing at all?
>
> Yes, that is the way that fencing is normally made.
The other thing apart from brads havinf f'all head and pulling through
is that they are normally plain steel. Will rust very quickly...
--
Cheers new...@howhill.com
Dave. pam is missing e-mail
Andy Hall
<new...@howhill.com> wrote:
>On Mon, 21 Jun 2004 08:53:49 +0100, Andy Hall wrote:
>
>>> Should I be nailing at all?
>>
>> Yes, that is the way that fencing is normally made.
>
>The other thing apart from brads havinf f'all head and pulling through
>is that they are normally plain steel. Will rust very quickly...
You can get galvanised as well, both in 18ga brads and thicker gauge
nails, that's generally what I use for interior applications.
For exterior, I generally use stainless steel.
Al Reynolds
I'm going to get out of it. So, assuming I hire, I'm
looking for a 15g brad nailer and galvanised or stainless
steel brads. Does that sound right?
Al
Andy Hall
Finishing nailer, and try to get about a 13ga one if you can.
Finishing nails have a small head to them whereas brads deliberately
don't.
You would probably not easliy get stainless nails from a hire place,
but certainly galvanised.
Jerry Built
> I certainly can't afford to buy a nailer for the little work
> I'm going to get out of it. So, assuming I hire, I'm
> looking for a 15g brad nailer and galvanised or stainless
> steel brads. Does that sound right?
However much have you to do? I think it would have to be a
great deal to consider using a nailer, and probably not even
then. It won't do as good a job as a hammer and nails, either.
J.B.
Al Reynolds
news:CMINAIOKPUPSJSL2GKIL...@ziplip.com...
I'm thinking more of speed. I suspect I have only about 400 nails
to put in, but combining that with cutting the featheredge boards
to variable lengths(the line being fenced is not flat), I was looking
for a way to cut out some time somewhere. I suspect I will probably
end up just hammering it myself, unless I get the urge to try out a
new power tool (should that be power toy?).
Al
Jerry Built
> "Jerry Built" wrote...
> > Al Reynolds wrote:
> > > I certainly can't afford to buy a nailer for the little work
> > > I'm going to get out of it. So, assuming I hire, I'm
> > > looking for a 15g brad nailer and galvanised or stainless
> > > steel brads. Does that sound right?
> >
> > However much have you to do? I think it would have to be a
> > great deal to consider using a nailer, and probably not even
> > then. It won't do as good a job as a hammer and nails, either.
>
> I'm thinking more of speed. I suspect I have only about 400
> nails to put in, but combining that with cutting the featheredge
> boards to variable lengths(the line being fenced is not flat), I
> was looking for a way to cut out some time somewhere. I suspect
> I will probably end up just hammering it myself, unless I get the
> urge to try out a new power tool (should that be power toy?).
Oh! Um!! That's only about 12 metres of fence, then, or four to
five bays. I doubt you'll save any time at all. Nailers have
trouble dealing with fencing timber sometimes, as it varies
a lot from place to place re. how hard it is to get a nail in.
You may find that the nails go straight through the board, or
if you hit a knot, stay proud. Notes: pick your arris rails
with care to avoid weaknesses from knots. I have seen some
that snap when you hold on to one end and "bounce" the other
end on the ground! Use 50mm galvanised round nails in the centre
of the arris, not 38mm, which pull out easily. If you can use
gravel boards and level each bay you will get a much better
looking result and you will be able to use standard length boards.
If you face the fearheredge different ways in each bay you will
get a better result than if they all face the same way (less
look through, less boring than a single-faced run).
J.B.
Jerry Built
[ is the MIT server down again? (rhetorical question) ]
J.B.
Andy Hall
Bullshit. You can get much more consistent and better quality
results with a good quality nailer and a great deal more quickly as
well. For one thing, the head assembly on a good quality nailer is
adjustable to control penetration depth of the nails.
I have five of them, ranging from a 23ga pin nailer used for holding
small items in place during gluing (the pins are then virtually
invisible), right up to a framing nailer which I used in constructing
and roofing a wooden cabin. They are a huge time saver and give
great results.
Andy Hall
A nailer is far from a toy and needs to be treated with care and
respect.
I built a cabin last year which involved internal cladding and a
wooden roof. In terms of small nails (16 and 15 ga) I went through
about 1000 and a similar number of stainless framing and roofing
nails.
For 400, I would certainly use a nailer now that I have one, but
wouldn't use it as the sole purchase justification.
Andy Hall
<Use-Author-Address-Header@[127.1]> wrote:
>
>Oh! Um!! That's only about 12 metres of fence, then, or four to
>five bays. I doubt you'll save any time at all. Nailers have
>trouble dealing with fencing timber sometimes, as it varies
>a lot from place to place re. how hard it is to get a nail in.
Not if you use a good quality nailer like a Senco or Porter Cable.
>You may find that the nails go straight through the board, or
>if you hit a knot, stay proud. Notes: pick your arris rails
>with care to avoid weaknesses from knots. I have seen some
>that snap when you hold on to one end and "bounce" the other
>end on the ground!
Selection of good quality timber is always important. As long as that
is done, there is not likely to be a problem.
Al Reynolds
I've decided I'll skip the nailer for this job, but
look into it more seriously when I get round to
more serious construction in my garden.
BTW for info, I rang a couple of hire places, and
they said £20/day or £50/week for a 16ga nailer.
Neither had anything immediately available for
larger nails, but reckoned they could probably get
something from another branch.
Al