Master Your Brad Nailer

5 tips and products to make your brad nailer safe and easy to use.

A brad that by chance shoots out the side of your plan is guaranteed to make you curse, specially if your finger happens to be in the way. Blowout is instantaneous and dangerous. 18-gauge brads are indeed darn thinly, they have a tendency to deflect whenever they encounter something hard, like a knot. In most cases, gala is caused by the wood ’ s mismatched cellular social organization, so you can take steps to limit its occurrence .

Avoid the blowout curse

• Orient the brad correctly. If you ’ re attaching a face frame, hold your nailer so its handle is perpendicular to the outside boundary ( not analogue, as shown in the photograph ). This positions the brad ’ s cuneate tip so any side-to-side deflection will be contained in the wood .
• Fire into the face frame of reference ’ s growth rings. Check the end grain. If your firing fish parallels the increase rings, the brad will merely deflect off the hard latewood.

• Increase the air blackmail when you nail into hard forest. Just like a putt that falls off pipeline when it loses focal ratio, a brad driven softly is more likely to deflect .
• Protect yourself. even when you take hindrance guard precautions, gala can still occur. Always wear eye protection and keep your fingers well away from the brad ’ s path .

Avoid nailer elbow

A besotted, gawky atmosphere hose makes your nailer hard to maneuver, particularly in nasty spots. This swiveling air out plug ( $ 9 for 1/4-in. hosiery ; $ 10 for 3/8-in. hose ) increases your range of movement by acting as a stress-relieving cosmopolitan joint between your nailer and hosiery ( see Sources ) .

18-gauge brads are interchangeable

Argh ! You ’ re all out of brads. The owner ’ s manual says “ USE OUR BRADS ONLY !, ” but the memory doesn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate carry the right brand for your nailer. What to do ? If you ’ re in this pickle, don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate concern about the trade name. The shafts of all 18-gauge brads are basically the same size. Just make indisputable the brad you buy are the right distance .
Most owner ’ second manuals list the lengths that ’ ll fit, but here ’ s how to be certain : On the side of your nailer ’ s magazine is a serial of flutes that correspond to the different brad lengths it accepts. To fit, the brad clip must sit on the steel wear strip at the bottom of the cartridge holder and the brad heads have to rest between the flutes. Brad strips that hang from the flutes without bottoming on the wear strip wear ’ thymine burst. They ’ ll induce misfires, jams and/or previous wear .

Don’t hammer your nailer

High atmosphere pressure is hard on your nailer. It ’ ll wear out the O-rings and other inner components prematurely. evening though brad nailers are often rated to handle pressure up to 125 pounds per square column inch ( psi ), they ’ ll make just fine at 90 psi or less, and they ’ ll final a batch longer. Adjust the air imperativeness ( within the range specified in the owner ’ s manual ) according to the hardness of the corporeal and the length of the brad. function at the lowest pressure that ’ ll systematically drive the brads you ’ re using.

Ditch that old hose

Nothing ’ randomness worse than being tethered to a awkward air hose. It adds all in system of weights that makes your nailer heavily to maneuver and tiring to use. Reinforced polyurethane hose is tougher and more durable than antique rubber eraser hose. It ’ sulfur besides thin, more elastic, and weighs less than half as much. When it ’ s attached to your nailer, you ’ ll barely know it ’ second there. The 1/4-in. inside diameter supplies enough of air for brad nailers, american samoa well as most other pneumatic tools. A 25-ft. duration costs about $ 36 ( see Sources ) .

Sources

Carlson Systems, Inc., csystems.com, 800-325-8343, 1/4″ ball pivot air ballyhoo, 948600, $ 9 ; 3/8″ ball swivel air plug, 948624, $ 10 .
Coilhose Pneumatics, coilhose.com, 732-390-8480, Flexeel reinforced polyurethane heterosexual hose, PRE14-25, 1/4″ id, 25′ duration, $ 36 .
This story originally appeared in American Woodworker January 2004, topic # 105 .

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