Mr. Tool’s New Adventure
October 22nd, 2008Nailing
I got myself a bunch of 8-foot tongue-and-groove boards, to fix the giant hole the bee remover left in the soffit. I’m not too optimistic. The board sample I took to the lumber store is nearly an eighth of an inch thicker than the ones I bought, but it looks like I have no choice. I went with pressure-treated; I’m not completely stupid.
I’m wondering how to attach the boards to the house. Nails, I know. But does this mean I need a nail gun?
I suppose it does. I would probably kill myself, up there under the eave, trying to hammer nails upward.
You know what this means. I get to use the compressor! The little tiny Eaton compressor? NO! The huge, belching, 220-volt Curtis compressor! Because the little one won’t drive a nailer? NO! Because the big one is more FUN.
Jobs like this are the reason I bought a hundred feet of hose, right off the bat. All I have to do is reel it out.
WOW, I just checked, and pneumatic nailers are EXPENSIVE! I think I’ll rent. They run about $250, and I’ll never use it again.
I think it may be time to look at a Sawzall. The bee people cut sections out of a whole bunch of 8-foot boards. Now every board they cut has to be replaced. That means prying and sawing to get the damned things off the house.
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:43 PM
If you get a Sawzall, you’ll never stop blabbering about the thing on this here blog. Yeah, they’re that darn versatile and very handy.
October 22nd, 2008 at 5:18 PM
The $250 nailers are usually framing nailers. A small brad nailer (up to 2″ nails) is usually around $90. Lots are made in China.
Or you can buy a chinese one at Harbor Freight for $19. I have four. You can never have too many.
October 22nd, 2008 at 5:24 PM
Several things:
1) You don’t have a Sawsall? Wierd. Everyone needs one. Everyone. Buy several blades…you’ll wear them out doing all sorts of things. Get two: a battery operated Craftsman along with one with a cord. That way you won’t need a 300′ extension cord to cut low hanging branches in the back 40.
2) Buy the nailer. You’ll use it for lots of projects that require nailing ten or more nails. Plus, buy an air stapler.
3) Using the nailer upside down is very safe since you have to actually press it against the board before it will nail. No one drops one of them and has it go up.
4) Two compressors? Way cool!
October 22nd, 2008 at 5:34 PM
1/8″ too thick? You need a planer!
You can get a excellent finish nailer for considerably less than $250. I have several of these: http://cgi.ebay.com/Porter-Cable-2-5-Angle-Finish-Nailer-Kit-DA250B-15-Ga_W0QQitemZ200264448540QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item200264448540&_trkparms=72%3A570|39%3A1|66%3A2|65%3A12|240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14 If they can stand up to ignorant workers dropping them off scaffolding, you’ll be OK. They’re indispensable for trim work.
And shame on you for not having a Sawzall!
October 22nd, 2008 at 5:34 PM
I just figured “framing nailer” was the thing, since I will be driving nails into stuff that sort of resembles the frame of the house. Or not.
October 22nd, 2008 at 5:36 PM
I may not have a Sawzall, but I am pretty sure you can’t make boards thicker with a planer.
October 22nd, 2008 at 5:51 PM
“but I am pretty sure you can’t make boards thicker with a planer.”
My bad… Hey, I went to a public school! You can fur out the rafter tails with 1/8″ shims ripped on your tablesaw.
You don’t want to use a framing nailer on tongue and groove soffit board. You’ll bust the tongue. Unless you have some REALLY thick stuff down in FL. Some polyurethane adhesive (I use PL Premium extensively) and a 2.5″ 15 gauge finish nail will do the trick.
October 22nd, 2008 at 6:25 PM
no, you take all the boards off and plane them to match the new.
October 22nd, 2008 at 7:23 PM
How thick are the new boards, something like 3/4″ or less? As others have said, Harbor Freight has brad nailers that drive little nails up to 2″ long. I have one and like it a lot for assembling woodworking projects. They’re often on sale for $20.00 or thereabouts.
October 22nd, 2008 at 8:31 PM
one word – ebay. I scored a brand new Bostich framing nailer for under $100. My wife wondered why until I used it the first time. It’s collecting dust at the moment, but it has more work in it’s future and it’s worth every penny…
October 22nd, 2008 at 9:09 PM
Why all the fuss over a nailer, use stainless or galvanized screws and a drill/driver, works fine upside down and is a lot safer and faster. So what if there are dimples where the head sinks into the wood…..and no, not through the tongues but right through the board…
As to thickness, how far away from these things are you going to be standing when they are in place, 1/8″ won’t be visible from a few yards out but if it is an issue, buy some thin lath or plastic strips and shim the boards to match the older wood still in place.
Now if you insist on being a purist, as somone mentioned prior, Harbor Freight does have some nifty brad guns fairly cheap, I have one myself that handles up to 1-1/4″ and it does work well for finishing trim but I don’t recall seeing stainless brad sticks, jut regular glue coated “nails” which are for interior use, would not hold up to weather and moisture.
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:12 PM
Ahhhh… nail guns. Take it from an old hand with them, you don’t really want the biggest one. If you have a 3/4″ board even if you are nailing into framing you do not need more than one that will take a 2″ nail. Think about it. I’m an old lady, I’ve been there done that. Hey! I share an ancestor with Sarah Palin – we can do ANYTHING!
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:24 PM
Check the Amazon deals on refurbished tools… I saw a set of (small) compressor & three nailers there just the other day, and it looked like a real bargain – cheap enough to get it just for the nailers and toss the compressor.
I’ve bought refurbished tools there before, and just got a refurb Delta bench grinder – no problems so far.
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:24 PM
What you really need is a brother. If I don’t have the tool, I can count on Stephen TO have the tool. Its kind of a competition (Hey, what’cha doin? You need to come over and check out my new **fill in the blank here**. Whoa, dude. Really? – Be right over.) Except for really, *really* big tools (like, we went in together on the utility trailer: he can park it at his mother-in-law’s).
October 23rd, 2008 at 6:06 AM
you need the planer so`s you can get thicker boards, then plane them down to match what`s on the house. And no sawzall????? C`mon, man- get with the program! Like the man said, they really are handy.
October 23rd, 2008 at 9:14 AM
They also sell some neat pneumatic reciprocating saws that are kind of like a sawzall, but you get the advantage of using your ubercompressor.