The primary function of a nail gun is to pin nails on a surface. That is why a misconception arises among us is that, all nail guns do the same thing so we can use a single nail gun for all nailing tasks. But the actual scenario is not always the same because there is no perfect all purpose nail gun. You may do some similar type tasks with a single nail gun. But in terms of keeping the job flawless, experts always recommend using the nail gun that is suitable according to your work. So, it is crucial to know which nail gun is the most preferable for your type of work.
That is why; we made a list of different types of nail guns from where you can choose the suitable nail gun for you
1. Framing Nailer
A framing nailer is the most popular nail gun among them. It is also suitable for heavy-duty household tasks. It uses in construction or industrial sites, for household framing tasks, for fences, wood sheathing, decks, and many other high volume tasks.
The nails of framing nailers can be 8 to 12.5 gauges thick, and the length varies from 2 - 3.5 inches. The nails can be ether round-headed or clipped headed. The varieties of nail size ensure proper flexibility for professional-level jobs.
2. Roofing Nailer
The name itself of the nailer says the purpose it serves. Roofing is not a regular task for general users, so these nailers mostly used by professionals. The reason it is different from other nailer is this nailer uses coil type pins that is not same as regular fasteners. The benefit of using coil type nailers is, it can hold more nails at a time in the magazine and, it helps to improve nailers ergonomics by keeping the load in the center of the magazine.
These nailers are made for nailing, through asphalt, fiberglass, and other roofing materials accurately. Furthermore, for keeping the roof in position, flat head nails are used for nailing.
3. Finish Nailer
Finishing nail gun is one of the most used and available nail guns among those. Finish nailers are suitable for almost all kinds of lightweight wood tasks, and it can provide very decent holding power. In addition to that, it goes great with almost all DIY projects. It uses 15 or 16 gauge nails that are positioned right after the framing nailers, and before the brad nailers in terms of size.
Finish nailers are mostly used for attaching large cabinets, baseboards, trimming, paneling, etc. The drawback of the finish nailer is it creates a small visible hole in the working surface, because of its thicker nails. Furthermore, the nails are hard to remove after nailing, that is why giving some extra attention is necessary before nailing with a finish nailer.
4. Brad Nailer
Brad nailer uses 18 gauges round-headed nails that are even thinner than the finish nails. This thin nail comes with some advantages too. These 18 gauge pins provide the most accurate shot compared to other nailers. The nail marks after shooting can barely be seen. That is why it is good to use in places where the beauty of the woodwork gets more priority than anything else.
The negative effect of using thin nails is we cannot use brad nailers in heavy-duty woodworking tasks, and these nails are more prone to bending. Brad nailers are mostly used for decorative woodworks, trimming, and finishing tasks.
5. Pin Nailer
Pin nailer shoots the thinnest nails among all those nailers. It shoots 22 or 23 gauge head or headless easily removable nails. This tool is very useful for small and precise wood crafting works, where every single detail matters. And the headless pins are mostly used for holding thin wood pieces together for glue drying. Moreover, this is very useful for binding thinner pieces of wood because the larger nails might split the thin wood surface.
6. Palm Nailer
Palm nailer is the smallest version of nailer you can get into the market. Palm nailer is almost a palm sized nailer that is extremely lightweight and designed for palm holding. It is almost like a mini hammer, that doesn’t require extra magazine to hold nails. The core task a palm nailer does is, it just pushes the nails through the wood like a hammer.
The advantage of not having a magazine is it can drive almost all sizes of nails into 1.5 to 5 inches deeper. In addition to that, the lightweight, and the small size ensures portability, and the ability to nail hard to reach spaces.
7. Staple Gun
Staple guns are not a nailer, but the functionalities are almost the same as other nail guns. Staple guns shoot staplers instead of pins. Staplers are usually perfect for furniture usage. Because, staples have wider than nails so it leaves a larger shooting mark than the normal nails and for furniture, these marks won’t matter. Staplers are an ideal tool for attaching fabrics to the furniture, for installing carpets, for attaching boards or panels, etc.
Related: How to Use a Nail Gun
Conclusion
To conclude, all nailers have their field of work and there is nothing to compare among those nailers. If you are professional and accuracy is your concern then it is recommended to use different nailers for different tasks.
Besides, if you are using your tool for only household tasks and the accuracy of work is not a big deal, then going for a 15-18 gauge nail gun is an option for you. And the mostly considered allrounder nail guns are brad nailers and finish nailers