A few months ago Porter Cable came out with a new maintenance-free pin nailer, the PIN138. Pin nailers are designed to offer holding power with minimal fastener visibility, and the PIN138 is no different. With a maintenance-free long-life motor, the PIN138 requires no occasional oiling.
The PIN38 can drive 23 gauge pins 5/8″ to 1-3/8″ long. Users can choose between headless pin nails or slight head pin nails for greater holding power. There’s also a dry-fire lock-out, 130 pin magazine, automatic fastener length adjustment, low nail indicator, rear exhaust, narrow nose for improved visibility, and a removable non-marring tip.
To sum it up, the PIN138 is a lightweight headless or slight head pin nailer that is maintenance-free for reduced oil contamination on finished work surfaces.
MSRP is $149, and street price is about $140.
Check Price or Buy Porter Cable PIN138 Pin Nailer via Amazon
But how does it work? We use our Grex pin nailers on hardwood rope moldings and other decorative details – and find that you need to fine tune things a bit to get them to fully sink some pins in oak.
Okay, you’ve twisted my arm, I’ll try to set up a review to see how well it works. I’ve actually been meaning to do a brad vs. pin comparison, so I should hopefully be able to answer your question sufficiently. I should have a few small boards of oak to test it out on.
Thanks Stuart
Even though we find less of a problem with blowout with 23ga. pins – you may still want to be mindful of orientation of the pinner versus the wood to see if it matters especially with longer pins