27-10-2011, 09:38 AM
Hi Col,
I must admit that I don't use nails much - I accept they have their place, but I much prefer to screw or joint/glue where possible. But there are places where they are the ideal solution - for example I made a TV cabinet some years back, and the door glass is held in place with beading on the rear of the door (it sits in a rebate in the door frame). I remember that hammering in those nails was rather scary, having spent £14 (IIRC) for a nice piece of tinted glass. I pre-drilled holes in the beading to reduce the amount of hitting required, and put a sheet of ply on the glass, just in case the hammer strayed...
On the other hand, some people use "brads" rather too much. Back in the days when I subscribed to $ky, I used to enjoy watching Norm Abram in The New Yankee Workshop. But, he's frequently criticised for nailing everything. Perhaps there's a "culture difference" - but I was surprised at how often he'd build something from beautiful timber, then paint it! Given how hard it is to come by nice timber stock in this country, when I use wood to build something, I want to see it
. But I guess that if you plan to paint, nails are OK providing you fill on top of them carefully first. But in that case, I still prefer screws...
A mate of mine bought a compressor/brad gun some years back. IIRC, it was a cheap deal at a B&Q superstore. I had a quick play, and was really impressed with how it worked - the fact you could hold a couple of scraps of timber in mid-air with one hand, fire the gun (and not feel anything), yet there was now a 2 inch brad holding these things together! No chance for the pieces to "drift" as you're whacking them with the hammer - very slick.
Once you've got the compressor, there's a whole world of other air-powered devices out there. Spray painting is an obvious example. And, he's found that compressed air is really useful when cleaning dust from electronics, blockages from breather pipes, etc, etc.
At my previous job, we still had a workshop where TV sets were built, and they had a decent range of toys. The nail gun was a key part - although it wasn't always used "legally", shall we say :D
Talking of screwing rather than nailing, I'm about to reap the rewards of screwing the new floorboards down in the lounge a few years back. We're getting a new boiler, and could do with upgrading the gas pipe from the meter. It travels under the front room floor into the cellar which is under the rear lounge - a run of about 4 metres. So, I'll unscrew about half of the floorboards (thank heavens for cordless drills!), lift them, then lift the insulation under the boards, lift the OSB that holds the insulation in place, then get into the crawl space beneath that room. Probably half a mornings work (there are a lot of screws!), but much, much easier than if I'd nailed them. While I'm under there, I'll install an insulated length of plastic pipe for the incoming water main - currently it's lead, but as connecting to the meter involves digging up the pavement in the street, I'll just bury a coil of plastic pipe in the front garden. Hopefully the water board might start a programme of lead main replacement one day, and we'll be ready for them if so...
All the best,
Mark
(26-10-2011, 06:22 PM)Retired Wrote: What do you intend to use a nail gun for Mark and have you ever used one before?
I must admit that I don't use nails much - I accept they have their place, but I much prefer to screw or joint/glue where possible. But there are places where they are the ideal solution - for example I made a TV cabinet some years back, and the door glass is held in place with beading on the rear of the door (it sits in a rebate in the door frame). I remember that hammering in those nails was rather scary, having spent £14 (IIRC) for a nice piece of tinted glass. I pre-drilled holes in the beading to reduce the amount of hitting required, and put a sheet of ply on the glass, just in case the hammer strayed...
On the other hand, some people use "brads" rather too much. Back in the days when I subscribed to $ky, I used to enjoy watching Norm Abram in The New Yankee Workshop. But, he's frequently criticised for nailing everything. Perhaps there's a "culture difference" - but I was surprised at how often he'd build something from beautiful timber, then paint it! Given how hard it is to come by nice timber stock in this country, when I use wood to build something, I want to see it
. But I guess that if you plan to paint, nails are OK providing you fill on top of them carefully first. But in that case, I still prefer screws...A mate of mine bought a compressor/brad gun some years back. IIRC, it was a cheap deal at a B&Q superstore. I had a quick play, and was really impressed with how it worked - the fact you could hold a couple of scraps of timber in mid-air with one hand, fire the gun (and not feel anything), yet there was now a 2 inch brad holding these things together! No chance for the pieces to "drift" as you're whacking them with the hammer - very slick.
Once you've got the compressor, there's a whole world of other air-powered devices out there. Spray painting is an obvious example. And, he's found that compressed air is really useful when cleaning dust from electronics, blockages from breather pipes, etc, etc.
At my previous job, we still had a workshop where TV sets were built, and they had a decent range of toys. The nail gun was a key part - although it wasn't always used "legally", shall we say :D
Talking of screwing rather than nailing, I'm about to reap the rewards of screwing the new floorboards down in the lounge a few years back. We're getting a new boiler, and could do with upgrading the gas pipe from the meter. It travels under the front room floor into the cellar which is under the rear lounge - a run of about 4 metres. So, I'll unscrew about half of the floorboards (thank heavens for cordless drills!), lift them, then lift the insulation under the boards, lift the OSB that holds the insulation in place, then get into the crawl space beneath that room. Probably half a mornings work (there are a lot of screws!), but much, much easier than if I'd nailed them. While I'm under there, I'll install an insulated length of plastic pipe for the incoming water main - currently it's lead, but as connecting to the meter involves digging up the pavement in the street, I'll just bury a coil of plastic pipe in the front garden. Hopefully the water board might start a programme of lead main replacement one day, and we'll be ready for them if so...
All the best,
Mark
