How to Find Best Finish Nailer
Finish nailers are most commonly used in trim carpentry along with brad and pin nailer. Professional carpenters employ full range of 15, 16, 18 and 23-gauge trim nailer for achieving fine finish. But for homeowner and DIYer will be looking for one tool that can be used for virtually every trimming task on hand. Finish nailer are commonly available in 15 and 16-gauge variations. There are some feature commonly found in most finish nailer and some design and build quality features unique to few finish nailer kit that make them best finish nailer. We have sorted all those design, build features and specification for you.
3 Unique feature to consider choosing best finish Nailer
01. Pneumatic or Battery powered
Finish nailer kits available in market mostly corded pneumatic, battery and gas powered cordless finish nailer. Good news is over the year finish nailer capacity, build quality, features and price changed a lot and there are tons of finish nailers available in the market to choose from that suits your preferences and budget. It’s better to have lot of options for you but it also make you confused which one is best. We suggest you to narrow down your shortlist by answering few question. First you need to decide how to use your finish nailer in terms of your project on hand and future usage. Most of the best finish nailer are pneumatic and mostly used by professionals. While pneumatic nailer are least expensive and easy to use that rely on air compressor for its nailing power which you need to buy separately. The other best option is battery powered finish nailer that gained popularity lately due to their mobility, less maintenance and more suitable for home and DIYer. Downside is they are heavy and expensive and usage is limited to battery charge. You may also look for gas powered and electric powered finish nailer, they are least popular and not easy to get. You can always learn more about power source required for nail gun from our Nail Gun Buying Guide and Recommendations. Once you deiced on finish nailer power source you just need answer for next two questions.
02. Straight Vs Angled Finish Nailer
This easily noticeable design feature can make huge differences in finish nailer performance may not seem important to untrained eye. The term straight and angled refer to angle of finish nailer magazine. Understanding the difference between straight and angled finish nailer will further help you to find right finish nailer for you.
One particular problem persist with all type of nail gun is you just cannot rely one nail gun to do all job. If you are curious why there is straight and angled finish nailer in first place than we have your attention and may shed some light on that.
Ability to reach into tight spaces is the most prominent difference of working with straight and finish nailer. Angled design of the magazine let you reach tight spot with any difficulties and also extended nose further help to reach into tight spaces. If your project will run into lot of tight spot and hard to reach corners than you certainly can go for an angled finish nailer. Straight finish nailer cumbersome magazine can make your work more difficult and sometime impossible.
Type of nail used in straight and angled finish nailer and nail gauge will definitely influence your finish nailer buying decision as it directly affect nailing performance. Straight finish nailer accept T-shaped nail head and D-shaped nail head is commonly used in angled finish nailer. In terms of nail gauge straight finish nailer capable of shooting thinner 16-Gauge nail that go deep into woodwork without the risk of splitting wood along its grain required in delicate trimming and finish job. Whereas much thicker, stronger 15-Gauge nail used in angled finish nailer ideal for finishing work that require more holding power.
Finally angled design help accurate positioning and firing of nail, easy nail replacement and light construction make them perfect choice but all this come at high price. On the contrary straight nailers are bulky and cheap however lacks in accuracy and agility found in angled finish nailers.
03. 15-guage or 16-guage
You probably got some idea about 15-guage and 16-gauge nailer from our discussion in straight vs angled finish nailer. Let us add some more detail on that to help in finding best finish nailer. Finish nailer gauge actually measure the diameter of finish nail like an electrical wire. Thicker nail represented by lower gauge number and higher gauge number for thinner nail. So how does it affect your choice of finish nailer? These two tool fire nails up to 2-1/2 inches in finish or trimming surface, best for interior carpentry and both can be used for installing crown molding, cove molding, baseboard, chair rail, door and window casing, door frames, and more. Large diameter of 15-gauge nail will give great strength and holding power but will create big hole on your working surface that may not look pretty. Instead you will be looking 16-gauge for great finish with less holding strength. Also note that 15 and 16-gauge magazine are not compatible. Most finish carpenter probably own 15 and 16-gauge finish nailer. But overlapping application of these two tool will give hard time to home owner and DIYer who is looking for one tool to perform multiple job. We suggest 16-gauge for home owner and first time buyer as it can be used in both small and big project.