Battery operated brad nailers!

[willee51]

Ref: Ryobi 18+ brad nailer (18ga)

If I nail hard wood to soft wood (butternut to pine) NO problem.  But every time I go soft wood to hard wood (pine to butternut) the brad exits the side of the hard wood.  Ive tried with the setting on the lowest setting with no success!  For now I've returned to small nails and a hammer.

[Wichman]

I use this pin nailer (23 gauge pins):

https://www.harborfreight.com/23-gauge-pin-nailer-64143.html

 

The pins come in lengths down to 1/2"

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

3 hours ago, willee51 said:

Ref: Ryobi 18+ brad nailer (18ga)

If I nail hard wood to soft wood (butternut to pine) NO problem.  But every time I go soft wood to hard wood (pine to butternut) the brad exits the side of the hard wood.  Ive tried with the setting on the lowest setting with no success!  For now I've returned to small nails and a hammer.

Most battery nailers can be finicky because they rely on different aspects of the gun other than air. But to state the obvious, make sure you use the max pressure when shooting in hardwoods especially when they are on the bottom. Most pressure applied to nail is when it comes out of the gun and loses some force the longer the hammer travels. Next make sure you set the depth setting on the side of the gun to whatever you chose. Experiment what is best. next use the proper size nails and use a good quality nail. 18ga is not a very strong nail so it will bend easier and the longer it has to travel into hard wood the tougher it will be. Make sure the gun operates freely. I suggest do not use the bump function and just shoot one nail at a time. It takes some time for battery guns to reset and the weaker the battery the longer it takes. Make sure you use a good full charged battery. Now this same thing can happen even with air power because of grain direction of woods. Soft wood may go one direction and then change when it hits hard woods so it can deflect. Make sure you hold gun firm to wood and straight in or straight down. But as a safety always be aware of misfires, bent nails and rebound nails. Butternut is not a very hard wood. That is considered a medium hard wood and you really should not be having a problem.  

Now it was mentioned about a pin nailer. Alot depends on what you are nailing into plus what length needed. Battery operated pin nailers are for small jobs that just need some tacking. 

Edited May 31 by JTTHECLOCKMAN

[willee51]

1 hour ago, Wichman said:

I use this pin nailer (23 gauge pins):

https://www.harborfreight.com/23-gauge-pin-nailer-64143.html

 

The pins come in lengths down to 1/2"

Thx!! 

Edited May 31 by willee51
answered too quick

[Bill WIlson]

I use pneumatic nailers, so I'm not familiar with the battery operated ones, but I presume the nails are similar.

Brads should have a chiseled point.  It makes a difference which way the gun is turned, relative to the grain of the wood, to help in preventing blowouts.

Try turning the gun perpendicular to the direction you were using it when you experienced the blowout.

Hope this helps.

[OCtoolguy]

On 5/31/2025 at 9:01 AM, Wichman said:

I use this pin nailer (23 gauge pins):

https://www.harborfreight.com/23-gauge-pin-nailer-64143.html

 

The pins come in lengths down to 1/2"

Me too.

[willee51]

The last thing I need is a pneumatic nailer. Don’t want the air compressor and it’s cost/ noise 

[Wichman]

43 minutes ago, willee51 said:

The last thing I need is a pneumatic nailer. Don’t want the air compressor and it’s cost/ noise 

I understand. Most of the major cordless tool manufacturers have a cordless pin nailer in their offerings, the cost difference between pneumatic and cordless, for the tool, are staggering.