Anyone here do construction or remodeling?

[skrelnik]

This is the one I had been looking at before the DeWalt:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauk...Gauge-Brad-Nailer-Tool-Only-2740-20/206862842

And here it is on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DE8ZE28/?tag=wranglerorg-20

The reviews don't look very good compared to the DeWalt.

Needless to say I'm iffy after reading a lot of the reviews, particularly on the Home Depot website.

The one you linked to has good reviews, but that's for 15 gauge nails, which seem maybe a bit too much for finishing trim, no?

You tell me? Given the choice between 15, 16, and 18 gauge nails, which ones would be ideal for installing doors, door trim, base molding, window trim, etc.?

Agreed, that 18 gauge gun gets 3 star reviews all over the place. Most common complaint is that the gun does not sink the nails enough and leaves them level with the trim.

Unfortuately I cannot advise what gauge nail you should use, it appears 18 gauge is the way to go, but I am no expert . Nor do I know if these complaints are caused by rookie mistakes.

Based on the reviews I probably would not buy this gun, but since I have a few M18 tools I would buy it, carefully test out a few nails, and if it did not work neatly place in box and return. If you do not have other M18 tools them I would go for that Dewalt, Makita or Bosch...the standard big box store brands.

 

[jgaz]

Chris,
The two finish nailers I own are a 15 gauge, and a 18 gauge. As you said above, the 15 gage is overkill for trim. However, IMO, the 18 gage isn’t the best choice for installing pre hung interior doors. Horses for courses I guess.

Both of mine are air powered. I have no experience with cordless nail guns so I can’t help you with that question.

 

[Chris]

Chris,
The two finish nailers I own are a 15 gauge, and a 18 gauge. As you said above, the 15 gage is overkill for trim. However, IMO, the 18 gage isn’t the best choice for installing pre hung interior doors. Horses for courses I guess.

Both of mine are air powered. I have no experience with cordless nail guns so I can’t help you with that question.

I’ve been reading a lot and most people are saying that 16 gauge is what I want. 18 gauge being so thin that it won’t hold things like baseboard trim onto drywall as well, and 15 being so big that it might crack thin pieces of wood.

Having said that, this Hitatchi seems to get a lot of good reviews:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MXJ2IFL/?tag=wranglerorg-20

I’m very brand loyal to Milwaukee, but in this case, their M18 lineup sounds like it’s more of a miss than a hit.

 

[TJ4Jim]

I’ve been reading a lot and most people are saying that 16 gauge is what I want. 18 gauge being so thin that it won’t hold things like baseboard trim onto drywall as well, and 15 being so big that it might crack thin pieces of wood.

Having said that, this Hitatchi seems to get a lot of good reviews:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MXJ2IFL/?tag=wranglerorg-20

I’m very brand loyal to Milwaukee, but in this case, their M18 lineup sounds like it’s more of a miss than a hit.

Chris, the downside to cordless brad nailers is if you do not use it on a regular basis the will sit in their cases sometimes for years and guess what happens when you try to charge the battery..... yep your taking a ride to HD to spend big bucks on new ones. For that reason I stick with pneumatic nailers. I have one that is 30 years old and it performs just fine. I have 3 newer Porter Cable trim and framing guns that are excellent.

 

[jgaz]

Chris,
My 18 gauge will most certainly secure baseboard, door trim, etc. onto a dry walled wall.

My nailer will handle up to a 2 1/2” nail and sets it just fine. Of course securing the trim always works better if you hit the framing lumber behind the trim. Duh!

 

[Daz7]

Chris, the downside to cordless brad nailers is if you do not use it on a regular basis the will sit in their cases sometimes for years and guess what happens when you try to charge the battery..... yep your taking a ride to HD to spend big bucks on new ones. For that reason I stick with pneumatic nailers. I have one that is 30 years old and it performs just fine. I have 3 newer Porter Cable trim and framing guns that are excellent.

Yeh, but with the cordless type you really need to immerse yourself in one brand. Then the batteries just swap between the various skins. I've been doing some renovating on my fathers house and the cordless brad nailer is best tool ever, at home though it's the cordless 1/2" rattle gun. Both use the same battery so all good.

 

[TJ4Jim]

Yeh, but with the cordless type you really need to immerse yourself in one brand. Then the batteries just swap between the various skins. I've been doing some renovating on my fathers house and the cordless brad nailer is best tool ever, at home though it's the cordless 1/2" rattle gun. Both use the same battery so all good.

For the most part that's correct, unfortunately manufactures market the latest and greatest so now I have 18 and 20 volt DeWalt batteries.

 

[skrelnik]

Chris, the downside to cordless brad nailers is if you do not use it on a regular basis the will sit in their cases sometimes for years and guess what happens when you try to charge the battery..... yep your taking a ride to HD to spend big bucks on new ones. For that reason I stick with pneumatic nailers. I have one that is 30 years old and it performs just fine. I have 3 newer Porter Cable trim and framing guns that are excellent.

If Chris commits to a platform, the batteries are interchangeable amongst various tools. Like I have a few M 18 tools so I am usually using one tool and the same interchangeable batteries.

I’ve been reading a lot and most people are saying that 16 gauge is what I want. 18 gauge being so thin that it won’t hold things like baseboard trim onto drywall as well, and 15 being so big that it might crack thin pieces of wood.

Having said that, this Hitatchi seems to get a lot of good reviews:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MXJ2IFL/?tag=wranglerorg-20

I’m very brand loyal to Milwaukee, but in this case, their M18 lineup sounds like it’s more of a miss than a hit.

As I posted above my hammer drill chuck stopped working. I now need to use a pipe wrench to get bits in and out. But, I may have overworked the hammer drill and should have used a more powerful rotary hammer since I am drilling into poured concrete. Plus I used a tapcon bit for the first time in my life, so maybe that bit was the issue. I have previously drilled into the same concrete using a cheap Ryobi hammer drill, but used a Bosch bit.

As a test, I picked up a new Bosch bit so I will see if the Milwaukee hammer drill can perform, or if I need to purchase a more powerful rotary hammer.

So what is your plan if you abandon Milwaukee? I am concerned that all there stuff is now made in China so are we paying a premium for the same product Harbor Freight sells, which is their Bauer line?

 

[Chris]

If Chris commits to a platform, the batteries are interchangeable amongst various tools. Like I have a few M 18 tools so I am usually using one tool and the same interchangeable batteries.



As I posted above my hammer drill chuck stopped working. I now need to use a pipe wrench to get bits in and out. But, I may have overworked the hammer drill and should have used a more powerful rotary hammer since I am drilling into poured concrete. Plus I used a tapcon bit for the first time in my life, so maybe that bit was the issue. I have previously drilled into the same concrete using a cheap Ryobi hammer drill, but used a Bosch bit.

As a test, I picked up a new Bosch bit so I will see if the Milwaukee hammer drill can perform, or if I need to purchase a more powerful rotary hammer.

So what is your plan if you abandon Milwaukee? I am concerned that all there stuff is now made in China so are we paying a premium for the same product Harbor Freight sells, which is their Bauer line?

I ended up going with the DeWalt unit:
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5337789113&icep_item=173333448498

That's an absolute steal! It retails for $399 for the kit, but that guy has two of them brand new for $299. I did a ton of reading and watching YouTube videos where they compared all the cordless finish nailers, and every single person seems to agree the DeWalt unit is the best.

The good thing is that my Milwaukee tools aren't cordless (the few that I have), so I'm not really committing to a new brand. This comes with a battery and a charger, and from all the YouTube videos, they said they were able to do about 600+ nails on a single charge, which is more than I'll even come close to.

I feel very happy with the deal I got on this!

 

[skrelnik]

I ended up going with the DeWalt unit:
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5337789113&icep_item=173333448498

That's an absolute steal! It retails for $399 for the kit, but that guy has two of them brand new for $299. I did a ton of reading and watching YouTube videos where they compared all the cordless finish nailers, and every single person seems to agree the DeWalt unit is the best.

The good thing is that my Milwaukee tools aren't cordless (the few that I have), so I'm not really committing to a new brand. This comes with a battery and a charger, and from all the YouTube videos, they said they were able to do about 600+ nails on a single charge, which is more than I'll even come close to.

I feel very happy with the deal I got on this!

I was thinking of switching to Dewalt as well, I read some parts are now made/manufactured USA. Good purchase

 

[TJ4Jim]

I ended up going with the DeWalt unit:
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5337789113&icep_item=173333448498

That's an absolute steal! It retails for $399 for the kit, but that guy has two of them brand new for $299. I did a ton of reading and watching YouTube videos where they compared all the cordless finish nailers, and every single person seems to agree the DeWalt unit is the best.

The good thing is that my Milwaukee tools aren't cordless (the few that I have), so I'm not really committing to a new brand. This comes with a battery and a charger, and from all the YouTube videos, they said they were able to do about 600+ nails on a single charge, which is more than I'll even come close to.

I feel very happy with the deal I got on this!

You'll be happy with the 20V DeWalt equipment, I love my cordless drill and there is not much better out there .

BTY I was up in your area last weekend over at the Cycle Country Indian dealer.

 

[Chris]

You'll be happy with the 20V DeWalt equipment, I love my cordless drill and there is not much better out there .

BTY I was up in your area last weekend over at the Cycle Country Indian dealer.

It seems to be reviewed better than any of the others, so I think I'll like it. I could get a pneumatic one, but to be honest, I like the idea of being able to carry this around with little fuss, especially when all the projects I have around the house are seemingly trim related.

Ahhh, Cycle Country, that's where I got my Indian Scout! What were you doing there?

 

[skrelnik]

You'll be happy with the 20V DeWalt equipment, I love my cordless drill and there is not much better out there .

BTY I was up in your area last weekend over at the Cycle Country Indian dealer.

And Chris opted for the 16 gauge, looks like that was more appropriate for his trimwork.

Do you have any other tools from the 20v platform that you can comment on, possibly a rotary hammer?

 

[TJ4Jim]

It seems to be reviewed better than any of the others, so I think I'll like it. I could get a pneumatic one, but to be honest, I like the idea of being able to carry this around with little fuss, especially when all the projects I have around the house are seemingly trim related.

Ahhh, Cycle Country, that's where I got my Indian Scout! What were you doing there?

Looking at the Indian Vintage, been doing to much long distance on the Sportster, time to go bigger .

 

[Chris]

Got it all framed. Now I have to run the electrical.

Did it 100% all by myself. Not bad for my first time, huh?

You can see that I built the new wall coming down from the soffit, framed over the rocker door, and built the closet. I also trimmed all the carpet to go around the framing of course.

 

[TJ4Jim]

Looks good Chris, nice clean job.

 

[TJ4Jim]

They are ripping out my kitchen tomorrow so I'll have my hands full with the framing and plumbing over the next few weeks.

 

[Chris]

They are ripping out my kitchen tomorrow so I'll have my hands full with the framing and plumbing over the next few weeks.

Kitchen remodel?

After this I'm going to build a deck and replace my fence. Not before the windows get replaced with new vinyl windows, but I'm paying a company to do that since they have a lifetime warranty on it.

 

[TJ4Jim]

Lot going on here, just replaced the kitchen windows with garden view windows and we're gutting the kitchen down to the studs. New 200 amp panel just installed and the kitchen will be rewired and re-plumbed including conversion to propane for cooking. HD is doing the cabinets but everything else is on me.

 

[Bescarrelus1951]

I found a helpful guide that might help you in the process since you are doing a big chunk of the work alone, check out Understanding Quartz Countertop. Best of luck with the project, post pictures!