Hi guys, names Jesse and I am enjoying your site so I thought that I would get your oppion on which nailers you all like the most.
Currently I am using a Powernailer 45. I am considering upgrading but don't want to waste my $$ on one that is a piece of junk.
Would appriciate anyones likes and dislikes
Thanks,
Jesse
Northern Idaho

Do you wish to stay with a manual nailer or are you looking to go pneumatic?

I think that I am going to stay with the manual for now. they are cheaper and I hear that the pneumatic don't always get the wood as tight.
Jesse

Absolutely wrong! The pnuematics are far, far superior in nailing up a floor tight. Take it from someone who has used both for 24 yrs. But you are correct, manual nailers are less money+ no hoses or compressors to deal with. If you now have a Powernailer Model 45, you have the best manual nailer in the industry. Maybe just needs some maintenence.

Jesse,
There is no manual nailer better than the 45. That is what I learned with and used for a long time before I bit the bullet and bought a compessor.

I think you would be well served to stash some cash and buy an M-111 and a decent compressor. You will make more money. Having used a 45,you are a better nailer than those who learned with an air tool.

Trust me. I have seen those guys try to use a powernailer. They look like monkeys trying to open a can of peas.

Got jack?

That's very interesting, now I am more interested in looking into an air nailer I already have an air compressor and hose. The guy I used to work for wouldn't even consider buying an air nailer. So I figured that he probably had good reason not to like them.
Thanks for your imput.
Does anyone else have any like's/dislikes about different nailers????
Jesse

Stanley-Bostitch M111 FS. There are others though none better!

M-111 FS
Question does the FS stand for Floor Stapler? And if so does that mean that you prefer staples over nails?

The FS does stand for floor stapler and I do prefer staples over nails. Staples will hold much better. This is a FACT, not my opinion. Since the Stanley-Bostitch nailer/stapler can do both (one can get a model the uses cleats), it is user preference. However, talk to any Bostitch rep; they will tell you the same thing; staples hold much better than cleats. If today's subfloors were all solid lumber, it probably wouldn't matter but since many are OSB, one needs all the holding power you can get. If you work in the gulf coast, cleats may be better (to allow more give in the floor before cupping). Learned that from Daniel Boone (who's from Florida and was at one time technical director for the NWFA)

Dang,Gary.
We keep having more and more in common. Daniel and I go way back. He was a freind of a friend when I was a kid. I met him 20 years ago and thought, "Wierd. A guy named Daniel Boone."

Many folks don't know that he is a direct descendant of his namesake. No bull.

He has come a long way. He earned every bit. I met him again about a year ago. We did not recognize each other. After he heard my name and I heard his,we reminisced. Kind of neat.

I can't claim to know him. But I have been around him enough to say that he is a man among men.

Small world,
CHU

Have you seen him do Elvis? "Thank ya, thank ya very much!"

Gary, Maybe tyou can help me.

I just received my new Bostitch MIIIFN floor nailer but it didn't come with an air connector fitting. I went to Home Depot and the guy gave me some fittings that were wrong and I think started stripping the threads on the MIIIFN.

The Bostitch instructions are the worst ever and don't even say what fitting is needed. Does anyone know what I need to buy to fit the nailer?

Thanks,
Scott

The M-111 has a 3/8 bore . Most folks use 1/4 stuff. You need to buy a 3/8 to 1/4 in coupler before you screw in your 1/4in npt fitting. The reason they do it that way is for those folks who use 3/8 fittings. I have heard they are better,(no leaky)but it would cost me about 500 dollars in fittings to switch over.

Trying to help,
CHU

Thanks Chuck. I did have a 3/8 inch to 1/4" coupler in there but it didn't seem to thread correctly. I was expecting to screw it all the way down but I could only tighten it about half way down. I took it out and that is when it looked like I had started to strip the threads or at least compress them.
In particular, I used a HUSKY 3/8" NPT(M) x 1/4" NPT (F) reducer. Is this the correct part?

Scott

A few months back we met with the owner of a flooring store in the area and during the course of the 2 hr "interview", he asked us which we use.
We told him 2" staples and he about had a fit. Told us how wrong that is, that they don't hold good enough, and that all his guys (hourly employees) use cleats. So incase we ever run into something like this again, where do I get the info that backs this up as fact & not just opinion, that staples are better?



That may have been the "problem"; this guy was 73 yrs old and we got the feeling from other odd things he said that he was not open to anything "new". A few days later, though, we were talking to a friend who used to be in the business and he told us he'd been called many times to repair floors that were originally installed by this guy's company.
Go figure.