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If you find yourself hammering up trim a lot, it might be time to consider an electric brad nailer. This power tool can be quite helpful and make the work a bit easier and faster. However, using a tool you know nothing about could be dangerous. Therefore, it’s important to understand how to use a brad nailer correctly. Let’s get started!
Types of Brad Nailers
With an electric nailer, you can secure trim more easily. There are two types: pneumatic and electric versions. However, most people don’t have an air compressor, and a pneumatic tool requires this. The air is the power that shoots out the brad nail for you.
If you don’t have an air compressor and aren’t looking to buy one, an electric nailer is the right choice.
What’s a Brad Nail Gun?
Brad nail guns are power tools that can fire 18-gauge brad nails. They don’t work with staples, though.
Overall, they can either be corded or cordless, and the tool loads the compression chamber with an electrical or air-compressed charge. That power is used to shoot the brad out of the gun and into the wood you’re working on.
Brads are typically 18-gauge or 16-gauge and can be up to 2 inches long. Generally, they range in price from $50 to $120, and the corded models are often cheaper.
What to Use a Brad Nailer For
Ideally, you use a brad nailing gun for:
- Cabinetry and furniture work
- Crown molding
- Installing baseboards and quarter-rounds
- Trim around interior doors and windows
You can’t use the brad nailer for tacking plastic sheeting, insulation, or thin materials like veneer. If that’s your goal, you need a stapler/brad gun combo. They can fire two-pronged staples that work well with the ultra-thin materials so that they don’t tear through and leave gouges or dents. Plus, they can fire single-prong brads that are ½-inch or less.
With that, you can’t use a brad nailer for construction work like framing a house or nailing together 2x4s. For that, you require a pneumatic framing nailer with a coil or stick magazine capable of firing nails that are 1 ½- to 3 ½-inch in length.
Features to Consider
If you want to buy a brad nail gun, it’s important to get the features right. That way, you know what it can do and how to use it appropriately and safely. These are the top options to consider:
- Air Pressure Dial – This dial adjusts how much air is expelled when the trigger is pressed. When you’ve got more air pressure, the brads go deeper. With less pressure, the brads sit higher in the finished work.
- Depth Gauge – You can adjust the distance of the nail gun to the work material to get the right depth.
- Magazine – The brad strips (nails) are loaded here.
- Magazine Lock – You press this to load your gun. This shouldn’t be confused with the lock at the end of your magazine; that’s only used to clear out any jammed nails.
How to Load Your Brad Nailer
Each brad nailer loads differently. However, here are a few features that are common with all models and brands:
Brad Length
Make sure that the brads are in the right length range. They can take anywhere from 5/8 inch to 2 inches. The specifications should tell you when you purchase the nailer.
If you get something bigger than 2 inches, it just doesn’t fit. However, if the brads are shorter than the recommended range, what does that mean?
They do likely fit in the magazine, but they can’t fire correctly. In the end, they jam, and you waste all those nails.
Brad Gauge
The thickness or gauge of your brads is also important. Do you know the difference between an 18-gauge and a 16-gauge brad? There’s a lot!
A 16-gauge brad is actually thicker, as the lower gauge number indicates a thicker brad. Therefore, they might not work in your nailer.
Continuous Strips
It’s crucial to handle your brad strip carefully, or it might break apart. In a sense, it’s not vital to keep the strip together because you can piece the shorter lengths as one. However, it ensures a smoother feeding operation when the strip is not broken.
Push Forward
In most cases, you want to slide your brad strip as far forward as you can. This is in the direction of your nail gun’s firing end.
Slide Shut with Care
It’s tempting for you to slap your magazine shut with gusto. Yes, you must use some force to ensure that it locks into place. However, using too much could cause your brad strip to fall out, especially if you use a non-continuous strip. This could jam your nailer and wastes nails.
Depth Adjustment and Position
You must ensure that you’re holding the brad nailer at the right position, but it must also be set at the right depth adjustment.
Position It on the Workpiece
First, you must find the contact point on your nailer. This is the business end or where the nail comes out. That contact point depresses when the nailer is pushed against the workpiece. For safety purposes, your gun doesn’t fire if you don’t push that trigger.
Please remember that the brad gun fires slightly away from the contact point. This is often ¼-inch higher than your contact point. Therefore, you must position the gun at the right location to ensure that it catches the material correctly.
This takes a bit of practice to get right. Take your time here!
Ideal Depth
The right depth for driving your brads varies between projects. Sometimes, you want the brad head to be flush with your surface. Other times, you want it a bit recessed to give a more polished and finished look. Keep these things in mind while checking the depth settings:
- A protruding head is not good because you can’t hammer it the rest of the way into the piece. In fact, the brad bends over because it’s a thin wire and not a finishing nail. Plus, you could dent the workpiece.
- It’s fine to sink the head in, but if it’s too much below the surface, your nail can’t hold the material in place sufficiently. This is especially true for MDF and other similar materials. When you’re done, you should see the shiny head so that it’s not too deep.
- You should try to make it flush with the surface. Brad heads tend to be small and smooth, so if you put it flush with the work surface, it’s invisible once you paint it. Plus, the brad heads hold the material more firmly this way!
If you’re working with wood and want a natural finish, the only choice is to sink it and then add wood filler.
Adjusting the Depth
The depth gauge and air pressure dial control depth, and it’s hard to balance the two because they counter each other.
Therefore, you want to practice on some scrap materials that are like your workpiece. Remember that some materials have different densities and thicknesses, which can affect the brad’s depth.
Start with your air pressure gauge. Adjust it to the mid-point between low and high. Then, adjust the depth gauge, so it’s at the middle point. Now, test fire the machine.
If it protrudes, adjust your air pressure a bit higher. If it’s too far in, ease up on that air pressure a bit. Overall, air pressure is the primary way to adjust depth.
Conclusion
Using a brad nailer isn’t hard, but it does take some practice to get it right. Those who have been using these power tools for years might be able to set them without much fuss. As you’re just starting out, it’s best to follow this guide and practice on scrap materials to get it right.
Happy nailing!
