Question guide hole with a pneumatic nail gun?

Create a Post
DVieau2

DVieau2

SPFG, Supreme Picture Framing God
Joined
Oct 26, 2004
Posts
10,678
Loc
Wayzata, Minnesota
Does anyone drill a guide hole when using a pneumatic nail gun.

I’m joining a 3” high scooped moulding so I passed on the underpinner in favor of a few 2.5 inch nails using my pneumatic nail gun (new toy).

One nail looks like it deflected downward because it came out the back. It must have deflected because my aim was perfect. :shrug:

Had it deflected upward I’d be......:cry:

It makes me wonder if I should be drilling a small pilot hole?

Doug
 
The nature of the pneumatic brad is to follow the line of least resistance...the grain. So if the grain isn't perfectly parallel to the profile, the chances of deflection are pretty great. In this instance I would put down the pneumatic and pick up the hammer. Drilling a pilot hole is one thing...actually putting a pneumatic brad in that hole is another.
 
i think part of the problem may be the length of the brad you are using. i agree that a pilot hole would be hard to hit with a brad gun. i would try using a 1" to 1.5" brad.
 
Besides what Wally said about the nail / grain / deflection you also have to be carefully if you are cross X nailing. Hitting one nail with the other is a sure cause of the nail deflecting. As both Wally and Jerry said, forget about trying to drill a hole and then shoot a nail in the same path.
 
I would glue, then underpin, then use clamps and nailer.

the underpinning will help hold as well as the nails. I wouldn't drill unless you are going to use a hammer.



Bob
 
If you are going to drill a pilot hole, cut the head off a brad and use the brad as your drill bit.
:cool: Rick
 
Rick Granick said:
If you are going to drill a pilot hole, cut the head off a brad and use the brad as your drill bit.
:cool: Rick
Click to expand...

He's using a pneumatic gun. If you're gonna drill a piliot hole hammer in the nail by hand and set it with a nail set.

Some woods will lend themselves to using the air gun, some will not. You'll learn the difference after the grain throws your nail out too often! It's like vises and vnails and even thumbnails. Different moulding lends itself to different joining techniques. Just as they lend themselves to different cutting techniques.
 
Does your v-nailer have issues? What you describe is the perfect candidate for v-nails.
 
It was a big moulding, 3 inches tall on the outside and big scoop to the rabbit. It wouldn't even fit under the rubber hammer of the underpinner.

This particular moulding was machined from different lengths of wood and finger joined together. (Not sure of the woodworking term. ) Certainly no uniformity in the grain.

Yeah… I guess it would be tricky to aim the gun for a pre-drilled pilot hole.

Darn... I bought the tool just so I could put away the hammer.

Doug
 
You can still put away the hammer, just don't retire it! I still use my vises, just now I have to pull them out of storage. The tack hammer is there, as well as a regular hammer. I think my drill is at home..... and i can't find my scratch awl....
 
Bob Doyle said:
The tack hammer is there, as well as a regular hammer. I think my drill is at home..... and i can't find my scratch awl....
Click to expand...

Let me know if you find one of my 1 1/4" expansion bits while you're looking. I already owned 2 and just bought a third since I can't find any. GeAnn likes to put things away for me.

I keep telling her there is a fine line between putting it away and hiding it.
 
Jeff my kids come in and "organize" for me. Look in the drawer that sticks in the desk you no longer use! That's where I found the scratch awl last week. I use it to put in the screw eyes I no longer use. I asked the kids to put it with the screw eyes, but I haven't found where they put them yet! I think hey're with the 3/8ths #6 black headed screws i haven't been able to find either.
 
Since the bit is flat and about an 1/8" thick I think it is in a much slimmer spot than a desk drawer.
 
I'll drill a pilot hole using a hand drill and a brad with the tip cut off and then use a nail gun to drive the nail, say on the top of a thin shadowbox frame. It's just as easy to use a hammer and nail, but whatever the gun is right there. Never had a problem with missing, you can see right where you should line it up.
 
Believe me, there's no such thing as a pilot hole for a pneumatic gun. Even if you would predrill, the angle and pressure of your gun will still regulate where the fastener goes. And if there's a knot in the wood, its anybody's guess where the nail could come out.

It's best just to practice. Practice to see where you need to position your nailer in order to get it to insert. Usually its about 1/4" down from the exit area of the gun. Practice your trajectory.

If you're not comfortable with v-nailing this particular profile, whether its due to the limits of your machine or otherwise, then I suggest a glue and vise first and then pin nailing afterward.

Good luck!
 
Or joined, or thumbnailed by the vendor. I hate those practices as they cost a lot, when you're used to doing the labor yourself. Sometimes just bite the bullet and pay the piper! I like to chop my own moulding as I have control of the cut, and I have only myself to blame when it is wrong. But there are a few moulding styles that I order chopped as I just chip the heck out of the compo. So in my eyes, it costs more, but it's cheaper! ;)
 
Yes you can pre-drill for a pneumatic nail driver.

As said before; pre-drill with a head removed copy of the nail to be used.

Tip the nail into a chunk of bees wax so it will drive straight.

Place nail in hole of rail that is being held to glued miter of mating rail.

Apply pneumatic driver to nail and activate.

Stop before driver hits the rail.

Insert nail set onto head of nail and continue driving until nail head is below surface.

8400h.jpg


It's the only nail driver you can use.
 
2.5 inch nails

depending on the frame, of course, 2.5" seem awfully excessive to me...I would opt for no more than 1" inside to 'furthest' piece, with proper glueing that would be more than needed to hold thing together
 
If the frame is 3" up the back wall, I'm thinking it's at least 3" wide.... which would call for about a 4-5" nail across the apex. This is when I would start thinking biscuit joiner, unless you have a stationary pre drill unit.

If I was still joining 3-5" wide mouldings day in and day out like back in the 1970s.... I'd still have that hammer and 4" mechanics vice.

Oh, wait, I still do have them.... just for this kind of thing. :D
 
Create a Post
Back
Top