Electric nail guns to love

Aug 21, 2023

This week's "Around the House" is not about love and marriage; rather, it is about the love I have for DeWalt® cordless electric nail guns. I am a typical man when it comes to tools — I love the latest fashion. However, after nearly 40 years in the construction supply business, my days of getting googly-eyed over a new product have somewhat come to an end. That is, until I used this gun.

Recently, I had pantry shelving collapse in my home. Unfortunately, my wife lost some very special glassware. It was my job to rebuild new permanent poplar shelving, which can handle the overloading my wife will surely put it through. When it came time to finish the project, the Door Plant Manager at RoMac Building Supply suggested I use his DeWalt electric cordless 15-gauge angled finish nail gun instead of using a hammer and finish nail or conventional air-powered actuated finish nail gun. I was leery about using a nail gun with a battery because driving an inch and half nail into a piece of poplar hardwood requires firepower.

The big advantage of a battery-powered nail gun is that you do not need an air compressor or hose to make the gun operate. Simply install a lightweight battery at the bottom of the handle of this 5.6-pound gun and then start firing.

The first thing I love about this gun is I do not have to drag out an air compressor or fight with a 50’ air hose in the house. This is great when installing shelving inside a cramped and confined space of a closet. Plus, the gun is light enough to handle without wearing out your hand and arm.

I also fell in love with the performance of this finish nail gun. For anyone who has ever used a finish or brad nail gun — misfires, jams, and over or under sinking nails are big aggravations. In the course of a couple of hours, I shot over 120 mid-size finish nails into the poplar shelving, and not one time was there a misfire, bent nail, or short sink. The nailing patterns regarding depths were perfect and it truly showed the consistency of battery power versus wind.

Loading the finish nails is easy and only requires pulling back one lever. Plus, the rechargeable battery quickly snaps on the base of the finish nail gun. As with any kind of electric tool that uses a battery, a best practice is to buy an extra battery so you can swap it out for charging as the tool is used.

Since I am getting older, the other feature I especially love is the built-in LED light, which is activated each time before firing the nail gun. For those who have trouble seeing in dark spaces, this light is wonderful. I suspect this light helps eliminate trips to the emergency room for hand injuries as well as damaged projects because of poorly placed nails.

Although a battery-activated nail gun costs between $400 and $500 on average, which is about $150 more than a regular air driving nail gun, the flexibility of using a gun without a compressor or long hose more than justifies the extra cost. This gun is great for repair guys who spend their day fixing doors, trim, and interior wood projects.

DeWalt offers many types of this nail gun, including a brad nailer, framing gun, and coiled roofing nail gun. Battery technology is moving to nail guns, which could be used in all forms of residential and commercial construction.

Using a conventional hammer to nail 6d finish nails in poplar can be a huge challenge resulting in bent nails and busted thumbs for a weekend warrior. However, a battery-powered finish nail gun can turn an amateur into a professional with about 80 percent less stress. I am in love with this nail gun and hopefully Santa will bring me one for Christmas!

Don Magruder is the CEO of RoMac Building Supply and host of Around the House, which can be seen at aroundthehouse.tv.