Here’s the situation: Standing at a tool rental counter you have two tools in front of you. One is light enough to hold in one hand, looks good, and runs on batteries. The other one are a heavy beast tethered to a wheeled compressor tank.
Which one gets job done? Well, it is time for dinner, and you would like to be finished before then. So what’s the deal?
It isn’t simply a question of power source. It’s a question of what kind of task you intend to perform and how complex you want to make things. Most homeowners believe nail gun are all alike.
It’s just a question of what kind of nail you want to shoot. Wrong. These are different animals.
One’s precise and free, while the other’s pure power meet speed. Use the incorrect one on a project and it’ll become a four hour exercise in frustration where it should of been a two hour trim job. You’ll deal with dead batteries or trip over hoses.
Key Differences Between Palm Nailers And Pneumatic Guns
The Choice Between Battery and Air Power
Understanding Cordless Palm Nailers
In fact, the nailer fits snuggly into your hand. Usually you’ll find it operate on one 18 volt battery from either Milwaukee or DeWalt. Those tools is made for light duty jobs.
Use it for small furnitures projects, baseboards, or crown molding. The advantage of this is that you can stand on a ladder or reach into tight corners without struggling to wrestle with a hose. It’s more like using a fancy stapler than a construction tool.
Advantages and Limitations of Palm Nailers
The tradeoff of this simplicity are speed. Palm nailers is not as fast as pneumatic. You’ll get in the neighborhood of 10-20 nails per charge of battery.
That’s OK on trim work, but it won’t cut it when framing. The other side of that coin: they use smaller nails. They typically uses 15 degree and 21 degree nails.
The slimmer tool is possible because of the angle, but there’s less holding power. So if you’re hanging something heavy, then you want mechanical strength. And then there’s the old standby, the pneumatic nail gun.
The Power of Pneumatic Nail Guns
It has a long hose that connects to an air compressor. It drives nails hard. Why?
Because this is the workhorse of the trade. You’ll find them on job sites because they don’t quit. While the compressor keeps running, the gun continues firing.
For finish work, it handles 21 degree angles. And for framing, it can drives in a straight nail. If you’re working over large areas, speed is high.
Drawbacks of Pneumatic Systems
That’s where the infrastructure comes in: the downside. A compressor require space. It’s heavy.
It’s loud. The hose is a tripping hazard. It tangles around corners.
Fifty feet of hose and a compressor is overkill for a small livig room project. Every step adds more drag. And then there’s the weight of tool itself.
That make holding it overhead tiring. What do you choose then? Well, it’s all relative to what you’re doing.
Choosing the Right Tool for Your Project
For smaller projects like putting up a few shelves or maybe some base boards in one room, go with the cordless palm nailer. Because power isn’t as high, ease of operation is worth more. There is no need to fiddle around with air pressure and that’s something you’ll be glad about.
Popular ones here are the DeWalt DCN600 and the Milwaukee M12 M18 moddern models. They holds their own. Use a pneumatic tool if you’re framing a shed, building a deck or doing whole house trim.
It has power and speed needed. The efficiency make it worth the hassle of setting up. For framing, get a Paslode, or use a Bostitch finish nailer for trim work, and you’ll be done quicker than using palm nailer.
Don’t expect to frame a house with a palm nailer. You’ll fight the tool. Your wood might split or hold poorly.
So which is the right tool for the job? It should be the right one to fit your hands and the right one to work for you in the flow of things. Do not buy the most powerful tool if you rarely use it.
And don’t purchase the most convenient tool if it cannot does the heavy lifting. Purchasing either can leave you feeling frustrated and with an unfinished task. Consider what you’re building.
Review your list of tasks. Consider why you are doing this. Then pick up the right tool for the task.
Using the right tool will make the process go smoothly. You will only be left with the satisfaction of finishing the job.