Not suggesting that at all, MasterBlaster, as I indicated in the second paragraph of the post you quoted above. All nail guns are dangerous, but so are all cars, swimming pools and many other everyday things we use. Just pointing out that a gun with a two-step discharge is safer than one with a one-step discharge. Everyone on both sides of my family are construction workers or professional fishermen. I know very well how dangerous tools, especially nail guns and saws, can be. Accidents happen to even the most careful of people.
Compressors and nailers
- Thread starter cute fuzzy bunny
- Start date
ERD50
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
And safety goggles too. I know a guy that had a nail deflect back up off a knot, and right into his eye.
The only thing that saved him was that when they got him to the hospital, a doctor was prepping another patient for a scheduled eye operation. They were able to get him in just in time with all that equipment set up to save the eye (which was still partially damaged and sensitive to light after that).
Be careful out there!
Also - have you considered the fuel powered guns? I think they use butane - no compressor required.
-ERD50
The only thing that saved him was that when they got him to the hospital, a doctor was prepping another patient for a scheduled eye operation. They were able to get him in just in time with all that equipment set up to save the eye (which was still partially damaged and sensitive to light after that).
Be careful out there!
Also - have you considered the fuel powered guns? I think they use butane - no compressor required.
-ERD50
OP
OP
cute fuzzy bunny
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I've seen them but never looked into them. I was sorta hoping someone would come up with something electric by now...I guess 110v solenoids that can be packaged into a handheld unit arent strong enough to fire a 3" nail into a piece of wood 
It sure is an engineering challenge. When I'm trying to drive a nail into some part of my anatomy I can never decide whether I'd like to be electrocuted or scorched in the process...I've seen them but never looked into them. I was sorta hoping someone would come up with something electric by now...I guess 110v solenoids that can be packaged into a handheld unit arent strong enough to fire a 3" nail into a piece of wood
I think a big honkin' oil-lubricated compressor is probably the simplest, most rugged, and most reliable way to go.
OP
OP
cute fuzzy bunny
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Actually, the worst harm I think i've ever done to myself is with a hammer.
Besides, between the cobra payments and the dog knee surgery, I think i'm tapped out for the summer.
Maybe if I get a great price on selling the old house, or the market [-]tanks [/-]keeps tanking and I can put some of this cash to work
OP
OP
cute fuzzy bunny
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Couldnt stand it anymore when I saw this model at the local Tractor Supply Company store on clearance for $129
Clarke 2 HP Pancake Air Compressor-4 Gallon Free Shipping
Most of the less expensive models I came across had weak CFM ratings, bad reviews, or some other issue. And I didnt feel like dedicating a quarter of my garage to a 30+ gallon unit.
I see Amazon has the same campbell hausfeld 3 gun kit (framing, finish and brad) that costco is selling at $199 for $189, no tax, free shipping.
So I'll end up with a small but mighty oil lubricated, reasonably quiet compressor and the guns I wanted for about $300 total.
The porter cable $299 set was inviting, but the CFM rating was pretty weak for the framing gun...2.6 from the compressor while the gun wants 4.1 for steady use, and it didnt have a framing nailer, which is the gun i'll probably use the most.
Clarke 2 HP Pancake Air Compressor-4 Gallon Free Shipping
Most of the less expensive models I came across had weak CFM ratings, bad reviews, or some other issue. And I didnt feel like dedicating a quarter of my garage to a 30+ gallon unit.
I see Amazon has the same campbell hausfeld 3 gun kit (framing, finish and brad) that costco is selling at $199 for $189, no tax, free shipping.
So I'll end up with a small but mighty oil lubricated, reasonably quiet compressor and the guns I wanted for about $300 total.
The porter cable $299 set was inviting, but the CFM rating was pretty weak for the framing gun...2.6 from the compressor while the gun wants 4.1 for steady use, and it didnt have a framing nailer, which is the gun i'll probably use the most.
OP
OP
cute fuzzy bunny
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
A little epilog.
The Clarke compressor I bought turned out to have some defect problems, and since TSC didnt have another one to swap it out with, they took it back and I ended up buying this one
Amazon.com: WEN 2271 14-Y Amp 2 HP 5-Gallon Oiled Pancake Compressor (Yellow tank): Home Improvement
For $99. Nice CFM ratings (5.2@40, 4.2@90) and a slightly larger tank, 5 gallon vs 4.
Amazon has been bumping the price since I got it, but just dropped it back to $99 and threw in free shipping.
If you want a small, lightweight compressor that can run a framing nailer, this is well recommended. Its pretty quiet (oiled), I can carry it around easily with one hand...its about 45lbs, and i've been using it for almost a month with no problems.
Picked up a nice little accessory kit from sears on sale for $15 with a 50' hose, blow gun, lots of connectors/tips/inflators. Another 50' hose for ten bucks, and that amazon CH nailgun kit for $189.
$313 with taxes only on the sears kit, no shipping charges.
I couldnt find anything anywhere near this price range and portability that still offered the high CFM ratings needed for a framer, big grinder, ratchet or sand blaster. Its probably going to be a little weak for sand blasting, but I probably wont be doing a whole lot of that.
The Clarke compressor I bought turned out to have some defect problems, and since TSC didnt have another one to swap it out with, they took it back and I ended up buying this one
Amazon.com: WEN 2271 14-Y Amp 2 HP 5-Gallon Oiled Pancake Compressor (Yellow tank): Home Improvement
For $99. Nice CFM ratings (5.2@40, 4.2@90) and a slightly larger tank, 5 gallon vs 4.
Amazon has been bumping the price since I got it, but just dropped it back to $99 and threw in free shipping.
If you want a small, lightweight compressor that can run a framing nailer, this is well recommended. Its pretty quiet (oiled), I can carry it around easily with one hand...its about 45lbs, and i've been using it for almost a month with no problems.
Picked up a nice little accessory kit from sears on sale for $15 with a 50' hose, blow gun, lots of connectors/tips/inflators. Another 50' hose for ten bucks, and that amazon CH nailgun kit for $189.
$313 with taxes only on the sears kit, no shipping charges.
I couldnt find anything anywhere near this price range and portability that still offered the high CFM ratings needed for a framer, big grinder, ratchet or sand blaster. Its probably going to be a little weak for sand blasting, but I probably wont be doing a whole lot of that.
OP
OP
cute fuzzy bunny
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Followup: I decided I wanted a bigger tank once I started replacing the 9000 feet of rotting fence at the house. Turned up a pretty good deal.
Walmart sells a briggs and stratton manufactured unit, in 10 and 15 gallon sizes. CFM ratings are the same as the Wen unit, which other than having a small tank, worked great.
The 10 gallon unit is regularly priced at $98. The 15 gallon unit comes with a cheap but functional air hammer, ratchet, wrench and grinder, lots of tips for those, a bunch of accessories but no hose and is $180. I got the 15 gallon but I wish it came without the cheapo tools for $120-130. Its the same motor on both, just the tank size is different.
Oiled, single stage, direct drive, vertical tank, wheels and handle. Not as loud as some of the oilless ones but not super quiet either. I kept looking at the craftsman units but anything oiled with a large tank was a brazillion dollars, mostly just the "pro" models. I saw some clearance 26 and 33 gallon units, but they were oilless and I decided they just took up too much garage space.
I almost bit on a 220v Palmgren 8 gallon oiled belt driven unit on Amazon when it was $199, but between the time when I put it in my cart and went to check out a little while later, the price had gone up to $269. First time I've seen an online seller change the price of an item while it was in the cart. Amazon advised that this is their policy and that they adjust prices constantly. Tank was a bit small anyhow, although based on what I saw it'd fill about twice as fast as the one I ended up getting.
This worked out well, I can flip it on while I get my stuff together, about 3-4 minutes later its full. I unplug it and roll it out and I've got enough air to do a couple of sections of fence before the pressure drops too low to drive the framing nailer.
I'll probably find some uses for the air hammer and some of the other tools. If nothing else, Gabe likes playing with them and they're heavy duty enough to be dropped a lot...
Walmart sells a briggs and stratton manufactured unit, in 10 and 15 gallon sizes. CFM ratings are the same as the Wen unit, which other than having a small tank, worked great.
The 10 gallon unit is regularly priced at $98. The 15 gallon unit comes with a cheap but functional air hammer, ratchet, wrench and grinder, lots of tips for those, a bunch of accessories but no hose and is $180. I got the 15 gallon but I wish it came without the cheapo tools for $120-130. Its the same motor on both, just the tank size is different.
Oiled, single stage, direct drive, vertical tank, wheels and handle. Not as loud as some of the oilless ones but not super quiet either. I kept looking at the craftsman units but anything oiled with a large tank was a brazillion dollars, mostly just the "pro" models. I saw some clearance 26 and 33 gallon units, but they were oilless and I decided they just took up too much garage space.
I almost bit on a 220v Palmgren 8 gallon oiled belt driven unit on Amazon when it was $199, but between the time when I put it in my cart and went to check out a little while later, the price had gone up to $269. First time I've seen an online seller change the price of an item while it was in the cart. Amazon advised that this is their policy and that they adjust prices constantly. Tank was a bit small anyhow, although based on what I saw it'd fill about twice as fast as the one I ended up getting.
This worked out well, I can flip it on while I get my stuff together, about 3-4 minutes later its full. I unplug it and roll it out and I've got enough air to do a couple of sections of fence before the pressure drops too low to drive the framing nailer.
I'll probably find some uses for the air hammer and some of the other tools. If nothing else, Gabe likes playing with them and they're heavy duty enough to be dropped a lot...
