Compressor/Nailer

[Dave13]

I was hoping someone could give me the skinny on Compressor/Nailers. I was planning on doing a bunch of things around the house and was going to purchase a Compressor and Nailer to help me out. What I'm not sure about (amongst other things) is, do you need a different gun or just different attachments for different nails? In other words, if I were using finishing nails for one job, then switched to roofing nails, how would that work? Also, is there a minimum PSI and Gallon capacity I should be looking at. I saw a Compressor which was a 150 PSI - 6 Gallon. Would this be enough for most jobs around the house?

[Rich]

Need to have different guns. Finish nailer does not shoot roofing nails or framing nails. Without knowing the scfm of the compressor I couldn't say - but most likely it's in the 6-8 range which should be fine.

[Dave13]

What exactly does scfm stand for?

[VALENT]

"something" cubic feet per minute. It is a measure of the volume of air the compressor can provide.

[Dave13]

Thanks Valent

[Rich]

Standard Cubic Feet per Minute

[joelpat]

Any opinions on the Porter Cable packages offered at Home Depot? I'm going on a tool shopping spree (the warden approved it!) and I want to pick up a framing nailer, a finish nailer and perhaps a brad gun. They have a compressor/finish/brad package for $299 and a larger compressor/framing package for $399.

I'm only loyal to Home Depot because I have a stack of 10% off coupons. If I should avoid PC or shop somewhere else, let me know!

This is for homeowner renovations. It doesn't have to stand up to daily abuse, just last a good long time with weekend use.

[Dave13]

Joel,

I was looking at the same package.

[VALENT]

I think those packages are pretty good for occasional use and will probably stand up well to some periods of heavy use. I have a cheapo campbell-hausfeld air compressor from home depot and it has impressed me.

[giddonah]

I have the PC brad/finish nailer combo. I love the thing. You can find it for slightly less online or maybe even at a local dealer. You won't be sorry about that one, the compressor is about as portable as one could get.

[giddonah]

And as far as nailing anything, the palm nailer is the damn coolest thing and will nail pretty much anything you can think of.

[joelpat]

Buying the framing package and adding on the finish and brad guns will cost about $700.

Buying the finish package and adding the framing gun will cost about $600.

The difference is in the compressor. The framing package has (if I remember) a larger motor.

I'm assuming that for light duty I can use the smaller compressor with the framing gun.

[woodall83]

Yes. That compressor will work with the framing gun. It just runs alot more than with a larger one. The pancake compressor will work well for you especially if you're moving around alot, like from room to room.

[Vector]

With the compressor and nailer in the P-C framing combo, you can shoot about 8-10 nails on a full tank before the compressor kicks back in. It's possible to nail faster than the compressor can keep up, but not really an issue.

With the pancake compressor, expect to have the motor kick in every few nails.

Pretty happy with the framing combo.

[joelpat]

I think I'm going to go with the framing combo, to get the larger compressor. I'm going to be replacing some sub floor and siding, and I don't want the compressor to cycle so much.

I'll get the finish nailer ala carte for now, and when I need the brad gun I'll spring for it.

Thanks folks. Hope the other shoppers out there learned what they needed to know.

[fasteners07]

Yeah, thanks. I was having a similar dilemma, too.

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