Learn me nail guns

I've been building a shed in the back yard to kinda dip my toe in on building down in Gainesville.  Definitely a learning curve.  One of the first things I learned is my wrist problems really prevent me from swinging a hammer a lot.  I got decent at left handed hammering but that's not a long term solution.  The hurricane clips really pointed out to me that I need a palm type nailer so I'll get one in the next couple of days.  That got me thinking to the future and putting up wood siding.  I might do Hardie board in Gainesville so I don't want to buy something I can't use in the future.  That means a siding nail gun.  Damn they're expensive.  So am I going to have to buy a siding gun and a separate framing gun?  Seems like the siding gun could do all but that's why I'm coming to you guys.  Is there a do it all type gun?  

There is no real do-all gun.

For siding, I use a roofing nailer.  It's basically the same animal.

Senco and Metabo are two of the better names.  Bostitch used to be up there, but it got bought up by the big Stanley/Black and Decker umbrella that now has many of the box store brands.  Having said that, they're not that bad.  I have a Ridgid narrow crown stapler at the shop that gets used hard... like four times a week for some large things, and it's into year five without missing a single shot.  I have a set of Hitachi at home and I don't recommend.  The roofing nailer worked for one roof and now it's pretty hopeless.  Something is messed up with the feed so it either shoots zero nails or two at a time.  I figured it was a bad coil of nails, but it's the same no matter what I use.

Framing nailer is a must for framing.  Roofing nailer will do siding, lath, and shingles/flashing.

Once you get into the smaller stuff for finish and trim work, there are some that will do narrow crown staples and finish nails, but I haven't had much luck with them.  I think you're fine with a narrow crown stapler and a finish nailer.  The finish nailer is nice for trim work since it leaves a small wound, and trim doesn't need to be crazy stable.  Narrow crown is nice for thinner materials that need to stay put.  If you use a finish nail to (for instance) attach masonite or luan to a 2x4, there is very little preventing it from pulling the nail through the thin stuff.  A narrow crown stapler at least has a 1/4" crown that does much better at holding things in place.  Narrow crown usually comes in 1/4" or 7/32" width.  If you have a 1/4" stapler you can use either size, but a 7/32" machine will only do 7/32" staples.

The only other thing would be a brad nailer, but that is for really fine work, like small cove or quarter round, so unless you're worried about wee little stuff, skip it.  If you find that your finish nailer leaves splits or divots in small trim, use more spackle.

One other thing... a framing nailer is better than a hammer on your wrist, but it still has some real recoil.  You might find that after a long day of firing 3.5" nails into 2x4s that you might still have a little soreness.

Edit to add... Generally an oil-free nailing gun of any sort means plastic piston and/or teflon cylinder liner.  That's not terrible, but it will have a shorter life.  Fortunately many of them have plenty of parts available for several years, but not indefinitely.  If it says oil-free, still use oil.  Most of the user manuals will say something like "while no oil is needed, it won't damage..."  which means use oil.  Don't use a detergent oil like motor oil, use pneumatic tool oil.  I'm sure pneumatic tool oil is the same as something else, like 3-in-1 or light cutting oil, but I haven't done research into that.  Just a few drops before a day of use is fine.

Just remember that all of the IBC code book is based on fastener diameter or area and for nails uses "Common" nail sizes. If it says that you need 2 16d Common nails to attach a stud to a plate and you are using a small wire diameter gun nail, you have to put in enough nails so that you wind up with an equivalent diameter of wire. This is based on the shear of the nail cutting through the wood as if it were butter. My nickname used to be Too Many Nails JimBo but nothing I ever pounded together ever fell down.

Also, most air hammers have a nail head attachment and make a great cheap palm nailer.

My experience:  For the last 20 years I've had a big Paslode framing gun riding with me in the van.  A great tool.  If you fire 1,000 to 2,000 nails a day you'll know it.  I believe my right shoulder and right elbow have been rebuilt because of that gun alone.  

I have Bostich 15 and 18 gauge brad guns for trim work.   I use a palm gun for hurricane clips.

Each gets 9 drops of oil each morning of use.

A roofing nail gun for Hardie panels/siding.

Question; when you guys use a roofing gun for siding how do you keep it from making the nail fully tight? I know on vynil you are supposed to keep the nail just a little loose.

Stampie, I have a harbor freight framing nail gun & a small compressor.  I'm actually driving to JAX once or twice a week these days so I can drop them off if you'd like to borrow them for the project(s).   I used this nailer for hardiboard siding (nails are hidden by the lap).  I bought it after swinging a hammer for two days straight...no shame...I should have bought it before the tennis elbow set in.  

Here's the rub...I was almost done with my fence when the nailer went pffsssttttt and doesn't hold compression any more.  I finished the project w/a hammer.  I have a bunch of spare o-rings from other projects so I could probably try and fix it over the weekend.

Sorry I didn't reply yet.  I got a palm nailer the other day and went from doing a few clips before my wrist started hurting to finishing them all pretty quickly.  For this current project the next thing I'll need is to put up siding.  It'll be an exposed fastener thing so I'm leaning towards just getting a siding gun as they're only $50 more than a roofing gun.  For this shed and building in Gainesville I don't see me needing a roofing gun.  I will need a framing gun in Gainesville but that's going to be a while.

VolvoHeretic said:

Just remember that all of the IBC code book is based on fastener diameter or area and for nails uses "Common" nail sizes. If it says that you need 2 16d Common nails to attach a stud to a plate and you are using a small wire diameter gun nail, you have to put in enough nails so that you wind up with an equivalent diameter of wire. This is based on the shear of the nail cutting through the wood as if it were butter. My nickname used to be Too Many Nails JimBo but nothing I ever pounded together ever fell down.

Also, most air hammers have a nail head attachment and make a great cheap palm nailer.

This is true, but it's not just the wire diameter. It's also the head diameter. Some framing nailers use clipped head nails ("D" nails). The holding power is not the same as full-round head nails (and they are not allowed in some places)

Nail guns are specialty tools. They are all designed to shoot only 1 kind of nail, and there is very little ability to swap them around. 
 

Siding nailers and roofing nailers are both coil nailers, but shoot different nails. Roofing nails shouldn't be left exposed. They look like E36 M3, and they will rust. Siding nailers shoot nails intended to be left exposed. Small head, sometimes stainless steel. 
 

Vinyl siding MUST be nailed loose, which means roofing nailers won't work. Although, there are attachments available for roofing nailers that make them able to nail vinyl siding properly. They are very rare- I haven't seen any contractor use them ever, and haven't seen them in any store for decades. 
 

Roofing nailers can be used on the top edge of hardie plank siding (where the nail is concealed). It will still need finish nails down low to keep the bottom edge of the siding tight.

In reply to SV reX :

Thanks for adding the nail head info, I forgot about that. Isn't a roofing nail too short for attaching siding?

In reply to VolvoHeretic :

Depends on how long a roofing nail. 
 

Vinyl siding is installed with roofing nails. But not roofing nailers. 

Nail guns are a significant investment.  Not just the tools, but the fasteners are also expensive. Very expensive. I don't usually recommend them until someone has a LOT of nails to drive (like building a whole house). 
 

In your case, with wrist problems, it may make sense. You'll have to be selective in what you buy. 
 

Sounds like the palm nailer is a good one for you. Normally, a framer nailer is high on the list, but your building is gonna be small. You may want to consider screwing your framing together (with a drill you may already own) or use your palm nailer for the whole thing, and save your first nailer purchase for something else like siding or trim.   Screwing is slower, but if your building is small it could be cost effective. 
 

Suggestion for your wrist... try putting your thumb on the back of the hammer handle when driving nails. This will lock your wrist in a more fixed position, and make you use your biceps and full arm when driving nails.  It's much easier on the wrist.  I switch my grip back and forth to avoid fatigue. 

I just jumped in to post what SV Rex just mentioned. 

Screw =nail if your wrists can handle an impact driver or drill with screw clutch function better than the hammer motion. Good to hear you found a tool that worked. Health is the most expensive thing in the world.