Nail gun for timber cladding / fencing

[Conor]

I'm planning on cladding my shipping container with an alternating widths mix of 25mm thick softwood. I'll have thousands of fixing pints, don't fancy doing that with the impact driver.

 

What kind of nail gun would be best for that and also things like fence panels, decking etc? I've a Makita collection but don't see anything suitable in their range.

 

Something like this gasless first fix gun work?

 

https://www.powertoolworld.co.uk/dewalt-dcn692n-xj-18v-xr-brushless-1st-fix-framing-nailer-body-only?srsltid=AfmBOoqwQGfkNGoyVZQk24KRdVQDvKzm6mnDr2idh6UWV_EFg9j5tvRijTY

 

[Russell griffiths]

I’ve got that dewalt one, it’s ok, also had every other version of paslode. 
 

ifyou go for the dewalt make sure it’s the type 3 gun. 
don’t buy a second hand type 2. 
 

I think the thing to ask is what do you want the nail to look like. 
first and second fix nails are very different and leave a very different finish. 
also you have full head and clipped head nails. 
 

clipped head nails come in a strip and have a third of the head missing to enable them to fire from the gun. 
 

a nail with a full head has to come from a coil nailer. These nails come on a round roll and are held together by a thin wire. 
 

if firing into soft wood and a good fixing is required you normally use a full head as it’s harder to pull the timber over a full head. 
 

nobody adheres to this and 90% of the nails used are clipped head. 
 

try and look for some examples, and decide if the clipped head finish is what you like. 

Edited February 25 by Russell griffiths

[Conor]

thanks Russel. Hadn't considered nail finish, but happy would be happy with lost /part buried head rather than having a head on display. 

[joe90]

I have only had paslode first and second fix and despite the first fix being a bit heavy makes jobs like yours a doddle (saves going to the gym!). Semi buried clipped head in sawn wood was my choice. I sold them after some years for nearly what I bought them for second hand.

[FuerteStu]

Are you fixing into battens on the container? How big are they? How are you fixing those? 

 

Reason I ask is that I know someone who used 75mm nails to fix 25mm panels to 50mm battens on the side of container, but he didn't allow for the fact that the nail tip protruded out through the batten 5mm.. So by the time he put a dozen nails in, it had pulled the batten off the container. 

[joe90]

How are you fixing the battens to the container?

[FuerteStu]

I've got the dewalt first fix, which Ive found to be superior to the paslode. Quieter and less time changing the battery and gas cylinders. 

 

But I am wondering if you're only fixing 25mm to 25mm a second fix gun with heads that almost disappear might be better? 

[Moonshine]

How long will the job take do you think, I would be tempted to hire one, or buy a cheap one second hand.

I brought a cheap second hand paslode which has its quirks but for a days work here and there does me fine.

There is another thread lurking about somewhere

[Conor]

2 hours ago, FuerteStu said:

Are you fixing into battens on the container? How big are they? How are you fixing those? 

 

Reason I ask is that I know someone who used 75mm nails to fix 25mm panels to 50mm battens on the side of container, but he didn't allow for the fact that the nail tip protruded out through the batten 5mm.. So by the time he put a dozen nails in, it had pulled the batten off the container. 

 

2 hours ago, joe90 said:

How are you fixing the battens to the container?

 

Watched a video where you basically build a 4x2/3x2 frame all around the container, with bolts at the corners through the lifting eyes into ply board blocks so you don't fix through the container at any point. I'll be fixing into 3x2s at 600mm centres, horizontally.

 

 

(Instead of the domino clamps which are £80 a pop, I'll be making my own out of treaded rods and routered wooden blocks.)

 

I'm also planning a GRP roof with sedum on top, with large overhang on one side for a potting area. That side will also have a living wall. 

 

 

Edited February 25 by Conor

[Conor]

1 hour ago, Moonshine said:

How long will the job take do you think, I would be tempted to hire one, or buy a cheap one second hand.

I brought a cheap second hand paslode which has its quirks but for a days work here and there does me fine.

There is another thread lurking about somewhere

 

There's a fair bit of time pressure actually as the thing is fully visible from the road and we're using it to screen the garden from the road. I'd be aiming to get the frame and cladding done over the Easter break, so 3 or 5 days. Hiring does make more sense and I can't see myself really needing it again.

 

£45 for a long weekend hire, makes lots more sense than £300 for a new machine that I might never use again.

 

https://www.balloohire.com/product/equipment-hire/finishing-nail-gun

 

Edited February 25 by Conor

[joe90]

30 minutes ago, Conor said:

£45 for a long weekend hire, makes lots more sense than £300 for a new machine that I might never use again.

👍makes sense, plus if it goes wrong you take it back.

 

edit…this looks like a second fix gun which usually fires Brad’s rather than nails (with a head). I had an im65a (angled second fix Brad nailer) which was good for lightweight internal stuff but I would not use that for boards on a container. A first fix gun, IM350 is what I think you need 👍

Edited February 25 by joe90