We’ve been talking about cordless nailers recently, and so this question seems appropriately timed: which do you prefer, air nailers or cordless ones?
Cordless power tool brands – Dewalt and Milwaukee to name two – have steadily increased their breadth of cordless 18V/20V Max powered nailers.
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Cordless nailers are better than ever, and there are more options than ever before. But is it time to buy one?
A couple of years ago, I bought a new set of air nailers during winter holiday promos, so that I have consistent options for project use and for a baseline when it comes to air vs. cordless comparisons.
Air nailers require an air compressor of course, and these days you even have a couple of cordless air compressors to choose from. In case you missed it, Milwaukee recently announced their new M18 Fuel cordless air compressor.
An air compressor usually means having one more piece of equipment to tote around, regardless as to whether it’s powered by AC or battery power, plus an air hose and quick-release fittings. There’s also compressor noise to deal with, maintenance requirements for some models, and regardless of the style, you also have to drain moisture from the tank. Most air nailers also require regular oil lubrication as well.
Despite all that, pneumatic air nailers are often lighter than cordless nailers, and less expensive too. Depending on the brand, you can get going with an air nailer with a lower investment than you can with a cordless battery-powered model.
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I would say that air nailers’ smaller sizes and lighter weights are what drove my decision to upgrade to air nailers again. Plus, there’s the expense over time.
Cordless nailers are surely more convenient. There’s no air hose to drag around. You don’t have to mess around with transporting or maintaining an air compressor, nor do you have to listen to one cycle when the pressure drops in the tank. A cordless nailer is ready to go, as soon as you attach a charged battery and load some nails.
Some users rely on cordless nailers exclusively these days, others use them for smaller tasks. And yes, there are still many users who continue to use air nailers and portable compressors on an everyday basis, even for minor tasks.
Cordless nailers are better than they have ever been, but they’re still larger and heavier, which can make them cumbersome.
Milwaukee’s newest cordless framing nailers are said to weigh 9.4 lbs, presumably without battery. Hitachi/Metabo HPT’s 21° nailer ($279 via Amazon) weighs 8.8 lbs, or 9.1 lbs with rafter hook. That’s not a big difference, or at least not as much of a difference as with smaller gauge nailers.
Cordless nailers are convenient, but that convenience comes at a price – literally and in terms of size and weight.
It’s a hard choice for some, and much easier for others.
While I have my quartet of workshop air nailers (stapler, pin, brad, finish), I very much enjoy the use of cordless nailers on occasion.
Cordless air compressors bridge the gap a little, offering greater convenience and portability compared to traditional AC portable air compressors, at least when you have the option. If you want a medium-sized air compressor with more than 2.5 gallon capacity, cordless operation isn’t an option just yet.
For driving a quick couple of nails, it’s so much quicker and easier to use a cordless nailer, and for such task you might not endure the larger size or greater weight for long enough to be bothered.
There’s no quick and easy answer to any question about whether cordless or pneumatic nailers are best or even better. It all comes down to intended use or circumstances, personal preferences, and cost.
I find myself in the middle. I like air nailers, and will on occasion use and test cordless nailers. I might eventually buy a personal-use cordless nailer, but not so quickly. For what I use these tools for, cordless operation is not a necessity – yet.
What are your preferences? Do you see yourself buying any new equipment this year, and if so, cordless or pneumatic? Why?
Graham Howe
I’ve never owned any air tools and have no compressor (although I have recently bought an HVLP setup for spraying finish), so I have only had cordless nailers. For a long time I just had the DeWalt 18V brad nailer, then eventually I sold that and bought the 20V Max equivalent just to get rid of my last NiCad tool. Then a couple of years ago I bought the framing nailer because I had a pair of sheds I was building. I have no real complaints with any of them, the brad nailers continue to get regular use in hard and soft wood with brads anywhere from 5/8″ to 2″. I haven’t experienced any problems with jamming or nails not seating properly and the larger batteries last plenty long enough. The only issue I suppose is that the guns are larger and heavier than their air driven equivalents, so can be fatiguing. However I can imagine that having to maneuver a thick air hose around a piece when adding trim for example is not the easiest operation either.
Graham Howe
Bad form responding to my own post I know, but while I do have a 16GA finish nailer on my future purchase list, what I really want is a 23GA pin nailer and that seems to be the one version that DeWalt hasn’t released. Their reasonably new cordless stapler (DCN701) is pretty compact and looks light weight, if they could do something similar with a pin nailer that would be excellent.
Bob
Dewalt does make a 23ga pin nailer now. It looks very nice with good reviews. Thats the one I want to get.
Stuart
I might be suffering from a lapse in recollection, but I don’t seem to remember such a nailer, and I can’t find any listings for it online. Do you happen to know the model number? Where did you see this?
Steve
Dewalt DWFP2350K 23 Gauge Pin Nailer
Steve
The DeWalt DWFP2350K is air powered. Just realized your comment was probably in regards to not finding a cordless version from Dewalt.
Lukas
Cordless 18ga here and 23ga for soft woodd. For precision and stain grade I use sir 23ga.
Greg
As a General contractor we use millwalkee 18 ga and ryobi 23 ga cordless on site 95% of the time. Ryobi is the only one that makes 23 ga cordless nailer. We do mostly kitchen and bathroom remodels. i have never had any issue with cordless. If i find myself doing a large Install of say shiplap or bead board i break out the compressor and hitachi air guns.
Dennis Wong
Hitachi now Metabo HPT has a 23 gauge cordless
Greg
Didn’t know that! Ill stay with ryobi since i have a few other of their tools and don’t want to add another platform. Love their air tools though.
Nils
Caution- it is nice, but has some reliability problems. I was contemplating it vs the ryobi.
Metabo apparently better at sinking longer pins into hardwood.
I had several months of error free firing and loved it.
Now occasionally it doesn’t want to fire. It acts like it doesn’t sense the wood? Tech support says there are only magazine sensors. When I absolutely need it to fire I open the magazine adjust the pins, shut and usually can get a few shots.
Blocky
My hitachi 23ga jams if I try to use the pins all the way to the end. I generally have to toss the last 15 pins or so on a strip.
But otherwise, it sets them very quickly and reliably. Balance in the hand is good.
Rafe
Makita also has a 23 gauge cordless. They’ve had two generations of them actually. The newest one is pretty good.
fred
That’s good to hear because Gen1 was pretty bad – could not sink pins consistently even in pine
BlueCraft Workshop
Milwaukee is coming out with an M12 23 guage pin nailer soon hopefully.
https://patents.google.com/patent/US20190143498A1
Derek
Homeowner/amateur woodworker here and I only have a compressor and air nail guns. Still on the Dewalt 18v for my cordless drills or else I might have purchased an 18 gauge cordless one for the crown molding I just put up in the entire first floor of our house.
So hard to justify the cost though. My $200 Bostitch compressor and 3 nail gun kit has paid for itself already. I’m tempted to buy a quieter air compressor.
JD
I’m just a DIYer but I don’t really use nails for larger fastening projects anymore. I use screws and cordless drills/impacts. I use nails for finish carpentry and fine details. The ability to get a nailer into position and confidently put the nail in the right place is my top priority.
The smaller the nail, the bigger the advantage for air tools. Once you get to 16ga or lighter, the air tools handle so much better.
I used to struggle with maneuvering my air nailers into position because of the hose. I recently switched over to the swivel connectors and they almost let you forget the hose is there.
A quality pin nailer with a light hose and swivel connector is a joy to use!
My biggest grip about air is the noise of the compressor, but some of the new low DB compressors mute that issue.
Paul
It seems like the guys that are using the little cordless Dewalts are finish nailers. They’re running a ton of little brad nails and that’s it. For that kind of work I don’t think it’s so much an ergonomics thing dragging around the hose vs. battery but the shear bulkiness of the cordless nailers. Sure the M12 helps a lot but the air brad nailers are just so darned small and get on top of the trim no matter how hard it is to reach. So I would expect them to take notice of the Milwaukee because it’s so quiet it seems like it’s just made for this specific market.
Juxtapose that with the roofers and framers. Here it’s all about brute force and most of them seem to be using corded compressors with large framing air nailers. On a big tank corded air compressor you can do a few rows of shingles before waiting for a recharge. I can’t imagine what would happen with a 2-3 gallon tank. Second It takes 8 HP of “energy” to make 1 HP of compressed air. So a cordless framing nailer should run circles around an air nailer on a cordless compressor.
https://www.efficientplantmag.com/2011/05/how-much-is-your-air-system-really-costing/
So what about the rest of us?
Big Red is asking $300 -350 for cordless nail guns. There are already several compressors in the $300 range and I’m sure true to form Milwaukee is going in at $350-450. So say you’re a homeowner with really deep pockets or a carpenter just starting out. The compressor is going to set you back $350-450. A brad nailer will set you back under $100 and the framing gun will run close to $250 new, and lets just assume (big assumption) that batteries and hoses are a wash. So we’re looking at around $750 to go all in on cordless air nailing. Or buy a $300 cordless brad nailer and a $350 framing cordless nailer and we’re all set at $650. Plus nothing else to maintain, lubricate, no hoses, no extra stuff to lug around. But if you already owned any of that stuff chances are you are going to continue down the path of pneumatic or cordless because the cost of switching is just way too high.
Of course there is always wood screws and drill/drivers. It’s not as fast but it holds better. It’s not a viable alternative for finish carpentry where brad nails rule though. In my own line of work which is mostly metals we use wood for temporary things and cribbing. Screws work better than nails except speed.
Hoser
Any trimmer that is just running around shooting brad nails is not a carpenter, he’s a hack.
Not too “Homeowners” spending $450 on a compressor, maybe $100. You can get kits with 2 guns, stapler, and compressor for under $300. Yeah, it’s absolute garbage stuff, but it will last a happy-homeowner a lifetime.
Derek
Honest question, what makes the under $300 kits like that garbage? Just that it won’t last as long as nicer stuff or am I missing out on something?
fred
You can always try a scrails:
https://www.stapleheadquarters.com/ItemForm.aspx?Item=F58AC%20RHN20-90B
I also like the Tiger Claw screw nail system for hidden deck fasteners:
https://www.amazon.com/Tiger-Claw-Pneumatic-Installation-Gun/dp/B071NRTJTR
Hoser
The absolute fact is, pneumatic nailers are better. There is no ramp-up time, they are more consistent, smaller, lighter, cheaper, and just all around better. I have many pneumatic guns, the full gamut of cordless nailers and staplers so I have experience with them all. I shoot thousands of nails a week. However, does that mean there is no need for cordless? Absolutely there is. But when I’m unloading tools to trim out a huge house with tons of moldings, and solid wood stairs, I’m not going to be using cordless nailers. When I come back for a few punch-list items and have miscellaneous trim to install, then sure, pull out the cordless guns. Personally I feel the “noise” associated with compressors is irrelevant, all nailers are loud enough that you should have hearing protection in. If you’re a happy-homeowner or DIY type that shoots 20 nails a month and want to brag to everybody about your cordless nailer, then The cordless option is better.
Lewis
What Stone Age tools are you using? The new generation of cordless tools are now a near zero ramp up time. In the case of my Ryobi 18ga that I use at work, what prevents me from firing it faster is the trim not being in place. I spend more time trying to get my wood in the correct place to nail, that I do waiting for it to shoot a nail. Your type of comments do nothing but show your ignorance for a growing market.
Rafe
I basically agree that pneumatic nailers are better, but not to the extent that they used to be. Modern cordless nailers have come a LONG way. The only significant downside to their use is their size. If you’re blind nailing things close to walls or ceilings or other objects they can be impossible to use. The quality of the action has comes leaps and bounds in the past 6-7 years.
fred
We have indeed come a LONG way. When I started working – a cordless drill was a hand-cranked brace bit and Yankee spiral ratchet screwdrivers were seen on the jobsite. The first Makita cordless 7.2V tools looked like toys – then their crop of 9.6V NiCad tools started filling some small niches. As we transitioned from NiCad batteries to NiMh and then LiIon – I think that cordless tools – in many (not all) categories have pushed corded and pneumatic tools into the “niche” category. Corded and pneumatic tools will still have their place – but the amount of R&D that the manufacturers are apparently pouring into cordless technology should continue to extend their capabilities and market share. The next generation of battery technology (assuming we have some breakthroughs) – will likely further push things along. How about a cordless 3.5Hp router to replace our current corded models , or a cordless production sander to replace a pneumatic?
Perry
While I don’t agree with how hoser stated it, I do agree that pneumatics are still better. Work a full day putting up crown moulding and you’ll be happy to have the precision and lighter weight that an air nailer will give you. Cordless nailers work fantastic though for punch list items or doing a room or two without having to drag hoses and a compressor off the truck
Hamish Milne
I bought the Ryobi 18 ga and 15 ga for homeowner finish work before I owned a compressor and have found them fantastic for trim work. I’ve now got a compressor in my workshop and bought air staplers, 18 ga and framing nailers. For finish work, the Ryobi tools do the job well (and more quietly) without the hassle of pulling the compressor etc. up the road from my off-site workshop, but when wanting to put multiple brads or staples into something quickly, I find the air tools best.
I live in New Zealand in an old house framed with very hard native timber. Here’s an interesting review by Scott Brown Carpentry (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVYaScEtKWk) of a DeWalt cordless framing nailer failing because its “not designed for hard timber”. He’s got a discussion of the types of nailers (air, battery and gas) commonly in use on his site too (as well as a Hikoki review too), and I recommend his site as a great watch (it’s not a commercial site), especially if you’re stuck in a COVID-19 lockdown!
James McDavid
Agreed, we sold a dewalt 20v framing nailer to a guy wanting to install cement board siding, and it would not power through the initial hard siding. It would jam every time. Take it inside and try it a fe few times on studs and it bangs nails in like no tomorrow. Put it back on the hardie siding and the nail gets stuck about halfway into the wall.
Flotsam
I agree i really like Scott Brown’s YouTube channel. He is entertaining and it is also interesting seeing how things are done in New Zealand. He has featured an air powered Nail Gun i have never seen in the US. It is called an Air Bow but if i recall correctly it had a problem or something.
As an aside he was not able to work for a while with their own COVID Crises. He discussed that in one of his videos. New Zealand was particularly severe with their restrictions but it is appearing they are emerging without the severe economic penalties and deaths that a lot of other countries have suffered.
Norcal84
I was reorganizing my garage a while back when I rediscovered my 15 ga. Hitachi and 18ga. Grex. I’m strictly cordless to this point. Have the Milwaukee framer on order too.
Jared
I use nailers around the farm and for building projects. For air tools I have a framing nailer and a 18ga, but I honestly don’t use them a lot. I really like my 16ga cordless nailer though – and it’s my go-to for most of my wood projects these days.
I’m not using these nailers professionally so, while I appreciate the speed and consistency they offer, I am happy to ditch the cords, weight and extra noise of the compressor. It’s a huge benefit for me to be able to grab my cordless nailer, slap on a battery and drive a few nails immediately.
Robert
Everyone should have a cordless brad nailer. Ryobi can be found for dirt cheap and should be the only Ryobi tool you own.
Pneumatic for everything else.
There’s always that piece of trim that falls off, or you need to throw up something quick. Nice to just grab the cordless.
But if you need a pin nailer, reliable brad nailer, finish nailer, narrow crown stapler, etc. You will save $$$ by sticking with pneumatic.
Rob L
It’s one of two required Ryobi tools – their cordless hot glue gun is the other.
Alex Peel
So as a diyer/hobbiest/tool collector I try not to buy anything that I don’t use very frequently with batteries.
They just never work when you need them after 6 months of sitting around. Also if a lithium battery is sitting around unused it looses 20% of its capacity per year according to popular mechanics.
This means for me I only have a cordless drill, impact driver, and just recently a couple cordless screwdrivers. Everything else I buy corded.
Thinking about buying a hammer drill soon but I am not going to buy cordless. I will probably need to tool tops a few times a year. Its also not worth getting a cordless tool of the same brand as I already have in drills (makita and bosch) as I dont feel like it would unnecessarily tie me to that brand even for a tool I mare barely use.
Derek
I feel the same way. My cordless tools have a limited lifetime, maybe it’s 5 years, maybe 15, but the corded angle grinder I just bought will probably still be in use 60 years from now with how frequently I expect to need it.
Adam
That’s an interesting analysis. On point in favor of going with the same brand is that it would introduce a fresh battery into your rotation of frequently used tools, though. You needn’t dedicate the battery to the new hammer drill it came with.
Gerald
No pro here, so take it for what its worth. Have both air and cordless, all I use is finish and brad nailers, Air nailers are Rigid and Senco, cordless are both Ryobi.
Havent used the air nailers in probably a year. Most of the time I just dont feel like setting up the compressor for an hour job up stairs.
That and I get tired of the compressor noise when in the garage. I need to get new fittings on my hoses I think, just enough leakage if I’m not heavy using it I get annoyed.
NoahG
I’m not a framer nor am I on a trim crew. I’m a bench/shop carpenter with a fully plumbed compressed air shop. From both a size and cost standpoint, pneumatic makes far more sense for me.
At home, I use my nailers so infrequently that I don’t mind dragging out my compressor. Also air has enough other uses that I like having a compressor in my possession.
If mobility was a key motivating factor I’d go cordless, but for me, it isn’t.
William
90% of the time I am using nail guns in my shop, I already own a compressor and a decent assortment of pneumatic nail guns and staplers. For the rare time I need to use a nail gun out of my shop, I have a tiny little compressor that I take.
I’m just a hobbyist woodworker/DIYer, so I do t see the point in spending a few hundred dollars to replace each of my nailers and statelets when they serve me well. If I was starting from scratch I’d consider getting all Milwaukee Gun and find a decent 23g cordless.
fred
My go to nailer is a Cadex 21ga. Since retiring – my typical at-home use is for furniture building in my shop. I sometimes grab a Grex 23ga for tiny moldings – or a PC 18ga or Hitachi 15ga if I need more holding power. Most of the time the pin or brad – is just being used in lieu of clamps before the glue sets up. I seldom have need for a framing nailer. I sometimes also grab a Fasco pneumatic 3/16 crown staple gun for things like plywood backs. I have other pneumatic tools – and some Paslode gas nailers – but they were bought for specific projects – most at my kid’s houses where portability was an issue – and they now tend to gather dust
My compressor is outside the shop in its own room – with a black-iron piping system (including drying) feeding my shop and garage. I have a portable compressor – but it seldom gets used.
Rudy Hostetler
I do roofing. We have a smaller 3 man crew so Most jobs we tear off one day install the next, this means having cordless for repairs means not getting out the compressor for edge nailing and repairs. We do some porch framing, siding and decks as well. I have air nailers for the shingles. But cordless for everything else. I have used the MetaboHPT framers hard enough to overheat 6.0 batteries. They have worked very well, we are in 2 full years now. We now have the 8.0 batteries. I have worked with all air nailers, gas nailers and Dewalt cordless nailers, about 3 years in each platform. Milwaukee Framers have big shoes to fill if they want to replace the Metabo. I would love to be on one platform, but the reliability of the Metabo, and the .4 lbs lighter tool plus the .3 lb lighter Metabo 8.0 batteries are making me consider keeping them. I like the m18 1/4” crown and 18 gauge brad nailers though.
Paramount
I own a remodeling company, and we use both. For larger jobs with plenty of trim, compressor and pneumatics come out. I use 22ga pin nailer (old Harbor Freight ones, to be truthful. For a period of time, they were about the best one out there, IMO. I don’t know how or why that was, but I picked up several at the time. The first one still works fine and the others are NIB.) I have 18ga by Dewalt and Hitachi…both are good. 16ga Paslodes and 15ga Hitachis.
Now for smaller stuff, I have Paslode gas finish nailers in 16ga. 16 seems to be a good generic size that works in most situations. It’s noisy and smelly, but it’s been reliable.
Punch list framing, I have some Paslode gas framers. One is finicky for some reason, but 2 of them are flawless. I don’t even clean them, because it seems like if you mess with them too much, they get more finicky.
I don’t know about the battery framers, but the Paslode ones will sink a nail into about anything. They are pretty slow, if you are accustomed to bump-firing your way down a wall, but are handy to have around for little bits of this and that.
Jay T
Homeowner/remodeler here. If I have just a few fasteners, I use GRK screws s – wonderful stuff. I make a lot of mistakes and screws are so easy to fix. But for bigger projects I have a Bostitch compressor and 16 ga & 18 ga nailers, plus a Paslode 30 degree compact framing nailer which are wonderful. Toting the 6 gallon compressor around is easy – and nailers save me so much time and labor. If I used nailers every week, I’d consider investing in the expense of a battery nailer. But for something I use less than once of month, and more for specific large projects, I’m really happy with the air nailer!
Bob Hinden
I have a number of cordless nailers in my home shop. While I don’t use a lot of nails in my projects, they are nice when I do because they don’t require any batteries. They are called hammers 🙂 Remember those? Works well for a small number of nails.
I have an air compressor on order (found a good deal on Amazon Warehouse), I am getting it for cleaning and inflating. At some point I might get a brad air nailer.
BR
Hammers: the original cordless nailers.
Ha! Good one, Bob!
High & Mighty
As a framing and finishing contractor and carpenter for the last twenty years, there’s no right or wrong way of looking at how these tools have both helped and hurt the way things are built. Personally, there’s no comparison between the two. Pneumatic nail guns are the best for any fastening application. Even if you gave me one hundred batteries and cordless nail gun, I’m still going to use my pneumatic. They are easier to operate and they feel more natural and comfortable and are more controllable than cordless guns but most importantly they run circles around anything that is battery powered. Have you ever tried to run sequential fire on a cordless framing gun? It’s slower than non sequential fire on a pneumatic. Just horrible. Not only that but pneumatic guns are more powerful. I don’t have to use a nailset with my pneumatic guns. I generally always have to when I use my cordless guns. Cordless guns are much heavier compared to even the biggest pneumatic guns. Especially the framing guns. I remember when the first paslode came out and my brother bought it and he was convinced that cordless nail guns were the future. Then he started having to buy the gas for the tool. Paslode gas cartridges aren’t cheap. Then he had to buy the nails. Paslode nails aren’t cheap either. Then he kept having to charge the battery because it would die right in the middle of a job. Paslode batteries aren’t cheap. A lot of the work we did was fixing nearly condemned houses where power wasn’t always available. Meanwhile I saved up for a generator cuz I knew that his paslode gun wasn’t optimal for what we were doing and I was never convinced that cordless nail guns were the way of the future. Turns out that I was right. He kept that orange hunk of sh#@ for years and I cursed that thing every time he brought it to work until he got hurt and couldn’t do the work anymore. Fast forward ten years later and it came time to build an addition to his house. I told him that I wouldn’t help him unless he bought a real nail gun. When he was done he finally said to me that I was right all along about the paslode and how inefficient it was for the work that we did for a living. I never did help with building his addition though. A year later Dewalt came out with their cordless framing gun and I bought it. Big mistake. I should have spent that four hundred dollars on something worth four hundred dollars. That 15 lb piece of junk was and still is one of the worst tools I’ve ever bought. I did the same thing my brother did and brought it to work for a week for some framing just to see if I liked it and after two days everyone said to leave that piece of sh*# at home. But the Dewalt cordless trim gun is nice. Although not as good as my Hitachi trim gun, it’s a much better experience than their framing gun. It was worth the price. Dewalt invented the first cordless trim gun back when they were under b&d and it was nicad powered. They still know how to make them right. Today I use the paslode f325r and there’s no better framing gun out there for what I do. My Dewalt cordless framing gun weighs 10 lbs more than my paslode. Although it does see some occasional use, it mainly collects dust. So to make the comparison of pneumatic versus cordless nail guns, there really is no competition. Cordless nail guns are in their infancy aside from trim guns which in my opinion Dewalt reigns supreme. Cordless framing guns are currently slow and inefficient and they weigh as much as a compressor. But there’s nothing wrong with using one for small jobs around the house where time isn’t money. However for professional use, the best cordless nail guns are no match for any pneumatic nail gun. Not even the worst ones.
Boggsy
One of these days, a multivolt/flexvolt framing nailer and medium crown might change things… But it’ll be even heavier.
The hilariously oversized dewalt brad nailer has been a lifesaver, fired 1k 3/4″ nails in about an hour, and tore thru two batteries… But power is almost always scarce, and on a project with many moving parts (not just pro construction types) generators, hoses, and excessive cords are additional hazards. I’ll take excessive weight/size, as long as they get the functionality right… But I don’t see it happening in 18v for framing/m2…unless of course they add gunpowder again, lol.
Matt
I’m not framing up houses for a living but I have a couple friends that do. They’re using old Hitachi pneumatic nailers. I have one I rarely use but I keep it around and will pull it out here to put a shop up. For everything around the house I use my C3 (ryobi style) battery nailers. Baseboards, cabinet trim, laminate flooring trim and pretty much anything I need to run a quick 16 or 18g nail in. I bought them years ago and actually preferred them to literally every other battery nailer at the time due to the size. The Dewalt’s and others were so bulky. They’re the only C3 tools I have left because the new V20’s are just massive.
The new MetaboHPT battery nailers are nice and compact. As are those new Milwaukee’s. I played around with the hpt at Lowe’s and just loved it due to the size… If I were buying new I’d just go air though. I’d have to switch battery platforms to get a compact battery nailer and it’s not worth it to me.
Jbongo
Do you think there will ever be corded electric brad/pin nailers? I imagine it’s not a far step from battery powered to corded.
I haven’t invested in nailers or air compressor for my garage/workshop yet (though it’s probably one of the next things). I wouldn’t use them very often, so I hesitate to get one that requires batteries becuase I would need replaced those over time. And air compressors are noisy and take time to set up.
fred
There is (or was) the corded Arrow ET-100 – 18ga brad nailer
https://www.amazon.com/arrow-et100-heavy-duty-electric/dp/b00004z2kg
I have no idea if it is any good – but it seems to be mostly available on eBay – so I’m thinking it was not a big seller – and may have been discontinued
Carpet installers seem to use electric narrow crown staplers from guys like Crain, Duo-Fast , Fasco and Roberts. They are readily available,
Anson Maddock
Air Nailer
– Portable air tank(5gallon) for all jobs not in workshop area
– The whole setup is light
– One handed operation by small and medium sized hands
– Small devices so doing brads near a corner are simple
– Roofing
Converting the air tank involved switching the short hose for tires and putting an NPT female connector. Also a 25ft length of flexible hose.
We’ve found that the ergonomics for cordless air nailers are not appropriate for driving anything more than a small number of nails. Don’t scoff, if I want to enjoy this time with family and elderly relatives I need tools they can operate. It’s great to go shopping and either introduce them to tools at the store or hear the history of certain tools.
Thomas
Is anyone aware of a super flexible air hose (perhaps braided Kevlar) that could be used for the last 10 ft or so of the connection to a tool? I have a set of Kevlar hoses for my oxyacetylene torch that I use in this manner – for the last 8 ft after the stiff rubber hoses and it makes it such a pleasure to use. I wonder if there’s any similar product for compressed air?
Stuart
Coilhose?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004HQGDYK/?tag=toolguyd-20
Polyurethane isn’t as flexible as rubber, but it is a lot lighter.
Thomas
I have air hoses of all different varieties. Traditional rubber, hybrid PVC, polyurethane, coiled nylon, coiled polyurethane. Of these the coiled polyurethane is probably the easiest to work with but nothing compares to these Kevlar hoses on the oxyacetylene torch. They’re expensive about 90 bucks.
I’m sure the braided Kevlar air hose material is available for purchase somewhere and quarter inch fittings could easily be put on the end. Maybe I’ll search for it online. it would not be a good option for something like a framing nailer but it’s not necessary for a framing nailer. It would be great to use for fine work like 18 gauge bride nailer or pin nailer. I agree with most of the other people that the air tools have the immediately available action and lighter weight which at times can be nice when working in the woodshop
fred
I recall that the guys in the paint spray booth always seemed to have a whip hose attached to the spray guns. I don’t recall brand – but they may have been ones from Graco or Titan.
Anyway – I see that there is a Flexilla – air whip hose:
https://www.amazon.com/Flexzilla-Swivel-Lightweight-Hybrid-ZillaGreen/dp/B003V5CCVG?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_1
Mike
Wouldn’t flexzilla hose fit that bill? I’ve never used a kevlar hose but the flexzilla air hose seem quite flexible to me.
Mike
I’ve got pneumatic roofing and finishing nailers that I’ve had for years. For what I use them for I don’t mind rolling out the compressor. But I just got a 23g ryobi cordless pin nailer and it’s already proved quite handy to in the shop for glue-ups and other assemblies.
rob
Bought a cordless Hitachi 16 gauge and cordless Hitachi 23 gauge and I swear they perform better than my pneumatic Omer, Grex, BEA and Hitachi ever did. YMMV.
Seth
When I’m the shop I prefer air powered, but I have been running dewalt cordless in the field for a long time. On site I prefer cordless hands down.
A point I would like to make that I didn’t see above and I think of as a major benefit of my dewalt nailers is that here in NH I would estimate we loose 5 days each winter to pneumatic guns freezing or cold related compressor problem. (I didn’t read all the posts above) There are many days where each winter where my guns are the only ones running on site.
fred
That’s a good observation. Our businesses were more interior work (residential and commercial plumbing and remodeling – plus shop/factory floor) – so cold was not as much a factor. But it could be problematical when we needed to bring a noisy (even the quiet ones are) compressor inside. That was especially true when doing commercial work where noise disturbance was an issue.
andy
We have both air and cordless in almost all sizes, 18 gauge to framer. Air gets the most use but there are still days where it’ll be cordless for a whole day’s work, if the work will be over a large area, or is mixed in with other tasks. The framer gets the least use. Even small scale framing, it’s hard to get away from air. 3 nails a second sounds fast but it messes with your rhythm. The added weight is fatiguing. 5000 nails in a day isn’t too hard. That’s a lot of batteries.
Stacey Jones
You could get one of these: https://www.findpowercord.com/18v-power-supply-and-ex-one-converter-package-to-ryobi-cordless-tools/ and convert a Ryobi cordless to corded. I’ve been considering getting one but just started buying into Makita too. Maybe Stuart or Benjamin could review this battery adapter for us?
Stacey Jones
Misposted…Meant to reply to Jbongo…
Jbongo
Thanks Stacey! I haven’t seen one of those before. While I don’t have any Ryobi tools, I’d be willing to get it know that an adapter would be a long term solution to maximize the nailers lifespan.
Sam
Have both corded and cordless for both framing and finish work. The cordless get, by far, the most use, but that is relative to the type of and size of the work. Big framing and sheeting jobs are almost exclusively pneumatic…no cordless can match the sustained speed of a pneumatic nailer, particularly with sheeting, it’s just not going to happen, period. You can argue that the framing aspect doesn’t matter much but reality and dollars at the end of the day falls on the side of pneumatic for those larger, time constraint jobs.
That said, again, most jobs are easily handled by cordless nailers. Condo remodels are particularly well suited for cordless cause that compressor will get on resident’s nerves and negate those inevatable stopwork orders…
Also, in the past, the time of the year played a roll…ya are NOT going to get much performance with a Paslode in cold weather…nature of the beast. That goes for gas-less guns also cause that battery is not going to cut it in cold weather either.
Now, ya straight forward trim job, well cordless is it, hard to argue with that. But as a backup, I will have that pnumatic pinner and small compressor in the truck…who hasn’t had that cordless take a dump on ya in the middle of a job…that backup has saved the day many times over.
Blythe
The Ryobi 18g cordless has been one of my best tool purchases ever. As a remodeler, I often have only a bathroom and the hallway outside it as my workspace, so not having a hose tangled in everything, plus the space taken by a compressor is a no brainer. Plus, I’m almost always in occupied homes, so not having the noise of a compressor is a huge deal. Same reason why the m18 surge was something I should have bought much sooner
Nathan
hmm. So I have a slightly different tact. I wonder how long framing with nails will last. I see more and more use of construction screws and more steel work. To that end though as a DIYr I don’t own a framing nailer and the last shed I built was done with construction screws per code for occupied building. (20 x 24 building steel and wood). Now to that end I don’t see the appeal of cordless nailers at the 15 and under gage. Air nailes are smaller and I’ve yet to find a spot where I couldn’t place either of my nails. I also don’t see a cordless 23ga pinner but you’d think they would have one by now.
I’ve talked a number of people out of cordless nailers purely on cost vs performance. Not that they don’t perform but even if you have the batteries even a bare tool model will be more than competing air model. For the pro I don’t see much benefit either except for the punch list fixer. I mean you go in to fix some cabinets and need to redo trim – cordless would probably be easist in that bit. but so would a battery compressor or perhaps just an air tank.
So hard to say for me I don’t quite see the point. When you can get good run out of a cordless roofer and I think you might can today – That I see being a perfect usecase. Framer – similar on larger lots – but again framing nails might go away over the next decade.
Sam
As long as there is a market for stick framed homes, and sheeting, there will be air nailers, plane and simple.
Steve
As a home user who’s only going to be using the nailers occasionally for some trim and wall board stuff finishing my basement and dining room, I can’t justify buying two (16 & 18 Ga) nailers at $300+ each when there’s this available that will meet my needs for $200:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-6-Gallon-Single-Stage-Portable-Electric-Pancake-Air-Compressor-3-Tools-Included/1000595155
As a note, I have DeWalt 20V for cordless tools.
Jason S.
I’m in the same boat. I usually do some random trim work once or twice a year. I do use my brad/pinner when doing some woodworking projects. These cordless nailers look cool, but I just cannot justify the cost. I would guess that the typical DIY’er would get by with a $10 set of ear protection vs’ $300 of tools. And you actually need an air compressor. I invested in a decent mid-sized air compressor 10 years ago and it’s still going strong.
Derek
I just did trim in our house and have an extra hose so I can keep the compressor outside. Makes it a lot quieter and cheaper then buying cordless.
Steve
I have toyed with the idea of buying another 50 foot hose or two to add on the end of the reel to run from the garage compressor into the house for these projects. Although that kit is such a good price with the stapler and compressor for not much more than the price of the two naile guns and the hoses. But I have some time yet.
Matthew
I have air compressors and some air nailers. However, I don’t use the nailers very often. I could see the benefits in cost/convenience of the cordless nailers for someone who doesn’t have a compressor/hoses/fittings already (especially if they are only looking for one or two types of nailer). However, for my situation I don’t really see the convenience outweighing the cost since I already have the compressors/hoses/fittings and can get another air nailer for much less than a cordless (even if I am already on multiple battery platforms).
Pluses and minuses for both, but for me I’ll likely keep using air.
Flotsam
Interesting discussion. I probably mirror a lot of people in that i have primarily air nailers but have supplemented that with a 18 ga trim nailer from Ridgid. This is a godsend for putting up small trim pieces.
I looked into cordless nailers when i bought my framing nailer, but they were way too expensive for the number of times i would be using it. I had to put up a bunch of siding so i bought a siding nailer (Freeman) which is nice and also not too expensive. Funny i don’t know of anyone who made a cordless siding nailer. Don’t need a roofing nailer yet or actually would prefer someone else do roofing. But i do have a air powered 16 ga Hitachi nailer. So kind of feel i am good at the moment.
Brian
I think the tried and true hammer and nails is best. However, nailers have their application. Air nailers will work for years and the power source (air) is repeatable.
If I had a lot of major projects I would opt for a cordless or if I was in the profession.
As a weekend warrior only needing 1-few x per year and some years not at all? Probably stick with my air tools.
I think that unlike a cordless drill, there is a bit more that can go wrong with a cordless nailer and may take a while for them to be reliable. My brother uses them (carpenter) and he says they are great but always keeps an extra one handy and/or has his air nailer and a compressor with him in his truck.
Sam
Lol,
There are physically not many guys that can hand bang with the required finesse and speed needed for the professional builder anymore. Those days are about gone. Ya every once in awhile you see a guy, but that generation of carpenters from the Larry Haun era that can sink 16 pennies in a single lick consistently have passed.