The Bad Boy of the Tool Box!
Written: Jun 15 '01 (Updated Jun 23 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fast, efficient and effective.
Cons: None.
The Bottom Line: Great tool. No regrets!
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| tammyinmiami's Full Review: Porter-Cable 2 1/2" Finish Nailer FN250A |
Okay, first of all, I want all of you readers out there to know one thing. A finishing nailer was my fantasy. After installing 2 wood floors in our last house, (one before Hurricane Andrew and one after!) I wanted a better solution to hand nailing. On our third wood floor, we decided to invest in a finishing nailer. This decision greatly improved my husband's sex life! He is ecstatic with the purchase and he doesn't even use it! :-)
Let me give you some background on how we came to this decision. We are familiar with other Porter Cable tools and feel that they produce a quality, well designed product. This nailer takes a heavier gauge nail (16 ga.) as opposed to most brad nailers. Brad nails are a little bit too fine to use in flooring. It also takes a range of nail from 3/4" up to a 2.5" nail. Great option. Let's move to the performance of the tool after the decision:
This tool requires access to an air compressor that can put out between 70 and 120 psi. They really mean this. If you can't put out that psi, the tool will not operate correctly. During my use I required an extra long hose (two hoses together) this coupled with an old compressor sometimes slowed me down, but rarely.
The gun itself has a pressure sensitive bracket on the front end. It must be fully depressed to fire a nail. This is a great safety feature. The tool also has an alternative option, "bottom fire trigger" that will allow the rapid fire of nails without constantly depressing the trigger simultaneously while pushing down.
The pneumatic connection from the bottom of the gun is male. This allows for quick connect/disconnect. It is also where you oil it before use if you don't have an inline oiler on your air source.
The nails come stuck together 25 in a row. They load into the magazine by sliding a safety bracket to a locked open position and dropping them in. If I recall correctly, the nailer holds 75 nails at a time. This is really easy to load. It almost takes longer to disconnect/reconnect air supply than to load. For smaller than 1.5" nails there is a "Nail Fastener Guide" that is conveniently screwed to the gun. The only drawback of this is that you will probably have to refresh your memory as to the exact installation if short nails are seldomly used. Removing a jammed nail is a breeze. It is rare that a nail will jam. When this happens all you have to do is disconnect the air supply, open the front of the gun (it has a little hinged door) and remove it either with your fingers (most of the time) or a pair of needle nose pliers.
The only feature that I think could have been designed better is the depth adjustment screw. This screw determines how deep the nail will be driven. It is a great feature, especially if you want to counter sink and fill the nail holes. My thought on it is that it should have clicked instead of just screwing and unscrewing. This would make it easier to use it since you could remember 2 clicks left or 1 click right to change for different materials while working. Right now, when you adjust it, it is a "blind" adjustment.
The handle and trigger feature are easy on the hands. I often find that tools that I use are designed for men. Men with bigger hands than me. This causes fatigue over time. This tool has a great design and spatial configuration for a standard hand size.
The weight of the tool is optimal. I never got tired from using it. I found that I could stretch very far, hold this tool out and fire nails with it. This is beneficial to working long hours.
The tool comes packaged in its own case. This is great. You can keep it all together. In the case comes the manual, of course, the tool, a pair of safety goggles, 3 allen wrenches, a package of nails, and machine oil. Everything you need, and when you're done, you can use it as a pillow! :-)
All together, I highly recommend this tool. It is outstanding for performance, dependable and easy to use. If you don't need one for yourself, buy one for your wife!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
tammyinmiami
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Location: Miami, FL USA
Reviews written: 55
Trusted by: 10 members
About Me:
"Love yourself unconditionally, exist peacefully, and cherish friends and family."
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