Since our last look at framing nailers in March 2002, eight tough new models with advanced features have hit the street and deserve a closer look. For this review, I worked with the DeWalt D51845, Duo-Fast MainFrame NSP-350 F1, Hitachi NR83A2, Fasco F5C RHN 20-90A, Porter-Cable FR350A, Senco FramePro 702XP, Spotnails YPR90, and Stanley-Bostitch N88RH-MCN-2. I looked for tools that were powerful enough to sink nails into solid and engineered lumber, well-balanced enough for toe-nailing, and light enough for all-day use. I also looked at how useful their adjustments and switches were in real field-use applications. I checked triggering, too, to see if they’d stand up to jobsite conditions and my framers’ fast pace.
General Duty
Nailing. For general-purpose nailing, all the tools performed great. They sank nails in all the material we encountered, including LVL and LSL. Each tool has an aggressive nose that digs into framing for toe-nailing. Recoil on all of the units was acceptable and all the tools bump-nailed rows of floor and roof decking well.
Feel. The balance and feel of each tool were good. Each has a comfortable, padded grip. I noticed a difference in the finger space between the trigger and the magazine on some tools, though. The finger space on the Duo-Fast model might be snug for carpenters who have very large hands or if you are wearing winter gloves. The DeWalt and Stanley-Bostitch tools have ample room, while the rest are in the middle range.
Depth-of-Drive & Triggers
I think that if you design an adjustment into a tool, it must be easy to use–or it will go unused. Some of the models in this group have features that maximize what you can get out of the tool; others are dependable but more basic. Small design strategies in switches, adjustments, and nail loading can make a big difference between each model. These designs, while not altering the tools’ basic function (each tool drives nails all day), create options for easier, even safer, operation. Several of the tools had unique triggering functions, select-fire modes, and other features that made them just a little easier or faster to use.
Depth-of-Drive. An easily adjustable depth-of-drive makes sense, especially to help prevent overdriven sheathing nails. The Fasco, Hitachi, Porter-Cable, and Senco models have thumbwheels that move their nosepieces so you can flush-nail or countersink. Of these, I like Hitachi and Fasco best. The adjustments on the Porter-Cable work great, too, but are just a little harder to access or turn. On the DeWalt and Stanley-Bostitch, you push a button to release and slide the detented nosepiece; both work fine. The Duo-Fast’s depth-of-drive requires a wrench. The Spotnails model has no depth-of-drive adjustment.
Trigger Adjustment. Switches that toggle between nailing options–single-fire, bump-fire, and on/off–are nice. If you’ve ever double-fired nails, you know it’s dangerous, so having a switch that enables the tool to single-fire is a great safety feature. If this feature isn’t simple, however, it won’t get used.
Fasco, Hitachi, and Porter-Cable have easy-to-adjust select-fire triggers, which allow you to switch between single-fire and bump-fire modes. I like Hitachi’s best in this group. It works easily and is well-protected near the trigger. Fasco’s trigger adjustment is a lever near the trigger, and it’s also easy to use. It has a small safety cap that, if removed, locks the tool in single-fire mode. The Porter-Cable adjustment works well; however, it’s a little more difficult to engage than the others.
Changing to bump-fire mode on the DeWalt, Duo-Fast, Senco, Spotnails, and Stanley-Bostitch nailers requires swapping out the triggers. The reason for this arrangement is a new regulation that requires new nailers without select-fire triggers to be shipped with single-fire triggers installed; a bump-fire trigger is typically included with the tool or available from the manufacturer for the user to install after purchase. (See Tools of the Trade, January/February 2004, for more details.) Finally, the DeWalt has an “off” switch, which prevents the tool from firing at all. This potentially makes moving around with the tool safer–if you actually engage the switch. This feature also would be great on remodeling jobs where kids might have access to the project area during the workday.
Loading Nails, Exhaust, No-Mar Tips, Extras
These are less critical features, but still worth mentioning because they make the tools more versatile.
Loading Nails. There are two types of nail-loading designs: rear-load (Porter-Cable and Senco) and top-load (DeWalt, Duo-Fast, Fasco, Hitachi, Spotnails, and Stanley-Bostitch.) For top-load units, you pull the follower back before dropping in nails. Rear-load tools are the opposite–you insert nails, then pull the follower back past the nails to engage them. I like rear-load systems because the tool head naturally hangs at an angle that makes sliding in a rack of nails simpler; then just pull the follower back to catch them. Also, when I’m going fast I sometimes forget to pull the follower back on top-load units before dropping in nails. With rear-load tools, I never have to think about it. All the nail-loading mechanisms in the group worked fine.
Exhaust. A tool-free exhaust is nice. It can keep debris that’s blown up by the tool’s exhaust from blowing into your face. This is good for work near the ground or in tight spaces. The Porter-Cable, Senco, Spotnails, and Stanley-Bostitch tools have adjustable exhaust ports that spin without tools. Spotnails was hard to move. You can adjust the Duo-Fast exhaust with a wrench. The DeWalt, Fasco, and Hitachi have fixed exhaust ports.
No-Mar Tip. Each nailer’s nosepiece has aggressive barbs for good grab while toe-nailing, but for nailing work that shows, the teeth can damage it. The Fasco, Porter-Cable, Senco, and Stanley-Bostitch come with no-mar tips, basically a rubber sleeve with a metal clamp to hold it in place. On all these tools except the Stanley-Bostitch, impressive tip-holder designs allow the tips to be stored on the tools when not in use. All the tips stayed put on the tools over several months of review.
Extras. DeWalt and Senco include a foldaway tool hook. This is great for hooking the tool onto some framing or onto your tool belt. Maybe most notable in this Extras category is Stanley-Bostitch’s metal-connector nosepiece converter. You switch out the standard nailer nosepiece for the metal connector converter, which has a probe for finding the holes in framing hardware. This is a great 2-for-1 kind of feature. While I like the system–and it worked well–a framing nailer is a little bulky for work between joists.
Summary
The comfort and safety features on these framing nailers are good advancements from even just a few years ago. I appreciate the thoughtful feature packages on the Hitachi, Porter-Cable, and Stanley-Bostitch nailers. They make it easier to adjust the tools and get the most out of them. Beyond the features, these nailers are tough and powerful.
For a different but excellent feature package, the Senco stands out. It is well-designed and has nice tool-free features. It also has a smart foldaway hook. I also like the Fasco and DeWalt tools. Fasco’s select-fire trigger and depth-of-drive adjustment work well and the “off” switch on the DeWalt is a good idea.
The more basically designed tools also performed well, providing excellent service. The Duo-Fast is a workhorse that stood up to everything we threw at it. The Spotnails was the most basic of the bunch and delivered dependable power and speed.
–Steve Veroneau owns Transformations, LLC, in Falls Church, Va., and is a contributing editor to Tools of the Trade.
High Flyin’
Porter-Cable’s high-pressure nailing system is a huge advancement. It’s beautifully designed, very small, and light. It has great power, normal recoil, and the best tool-free adjustments: depth-of-drive, select-fire trigger, and exhaust deflector. It’s comfortable for all-day use.
The tool has some challenges, though. It sinks 3-1/2-inch nails at 150 psi, which makes running other nailers off the same compressor impossible, resulting in important choices on many jobsites: operate only one nailer, set up two compressors, or invest in all high-pressure tools. Also, with multiple carpenters and nailers on site, it could be easy to unknowingly connect a standard nailer to a high-pressure compressor–especially if you use 3/8-inch fittings instead of 1/4-inch. Still, this tool is so nice and easy to use that I want it on site.
Note: This tool can run off Porter-Cable’s CPFC2TV3520W 20-gallon Site Boss compressor, but is presently sold only in the CLFCP350 kit with a 4-gallon, high-pressure side-stack compressor. –S.V.
Porter-Cable Corp.
CLFCP350: $640
800-487-8665
www.porter-cable.com
Editor’s Note: Porter-Cable’s high-pressure nailing system received a Tools of the Trade 2004 Editors’ Choice Award.