The Best Finishing Nailer for Durability
- NuMax Pneumatic Nailer - Best Pneumatic Nailer Overall
- Metabo HPT Finish Nailer - Runner Up
- Ryobi Finish Nailer - Honorable Mention
- DEWALT XR Finish Nailer - Also Consider
- Valu-Air Gauge
The finish nailer has revolutionized the speed, convenience, and neatness with which door and window trim, baseboard, and chair rail are installed. The tool drives a fastener into the trim, perfectly countersinking the nail head below the surface of the wood. The carpenters do keep the hammer with them, but they no longer use it that much. Because they now use finishing nailers which operate with the help of a battery, pressurized air, or even with a miniature butane-powered engine. In the article, we have created a list of the best finishing nailers in 2024 for you.
The article contains the list of best finishing nailers, what features you should look for in it, and the key considerations that should be known before buying it.
Top Finishing Nailers on Amazon in 2024
NuMax Pneumatic Nailer
– Best Pneumatic Nailer OverallThis is a pneumatic 16-gauge straight finish nailer that features a lightweight and durable aluminum body. The lightweight body helps you in carrying it from place to place with ease. It features an ergonomic comfort grip handle that provides great comfort. It further features a no-mar tip that prevents dents and dings. The quick jam release lets you quickly clear jams without taking the nailer apart. The thin gauge and small head allow nails to disappear into your woodwork. It means that the nail won’t show prominently after inserting it into its place. This finish nail gun is excellent for interior and exterior finish and trim, furniture, and cabinetwork.
- It can fire finish nails in lengths ranging from 1” to 2.5”
- It provides a great experience as the nails disappear completely in the woodwork
- The nailer is not suitable for heavy projects
Metabo HPT Finish Nailer
– Runner UpThis is a top-notch nailer which features 15-gauge nails from 1-1/4-inch up to 2-1/2-inch in length. It allows you to easily switch from either sequential or contact nailing with a simple flip of the switch. It means that you can change the nail firing form by just pressing a switch. This feature makes this nailer unique from other nailers. Moreover, it weighs only 4.2 lbs. which means it is pretty lightweight. As a result, this finish nailer minimizes user fatigue while increasing maneuverability. The nailer is ideal for installing crown and base moldings, window and door casings.
- With a simple switch, one can choose between sequential and contact nailing
- These nailers are designed to angle upwards so that the compressor hose conveniently stays out of the way of the user
- The nail depth adjustment of these nailers doesn’t function properly
Ryobi Finish Nailer
– Honorable MentionThe Ryobi nailers allow you to increase the nail depth by turning a switch on the rear of the unit. By pressing a button, your nailer will be activated. It can also be activated by another trigger that is mainly offered to prevent dry firing. Prevention of dry firing ensures that you don’t damage any wood. You can change the depth of your nailers with the help of knobs present on these nailers. Furthermore, the nail jams can be cleared by flipping out the front end of the nailer.
- The depth of the nail can be adjusted with the help of knobs
- LED lighting at the head allows you to see the project clearly while you’re working in dim conditions
- It doesn’t drive the nail 50% of the time
DEWALT XR Finish Nailer
– Also ConsiderThis cordless finish nailer is fully battery powered. Battery-operated nailers provide many benefits over electric nailers as they are easy to carry from place to place. It blatantly eliminates the tension of using gas, compressor, and hose. It has a brushless motor made of durable materials, which increases the runtime of the nailer. It has a trigger that consists of two types of nail firing, namely the sequential or contact actuation mode. You can select between these two forms according to your work or project. It also features a tool-free depth adjustment for precise countersinking of nails. The tool-free jam efficiently clears nail jams. In the case of a stall, the lever quickly resets the driving blade.
- It is battery operated hence you can use it without electricity
- Multi-functional LED lights help to provide both workspace illumination
- The nail depth adjustment wheel jams sometimes
This nailer can drive 16-gauge straight finish nails from 7/8 inch to 2 ½ inches. It features a 360-degree adjustable exhaust deflector which allows the air to flow from any direction. It includes oil, two adjustment wrenches, and a strip of 2” nails. It is made with heat-treated aluminum hosing for heavy-duty usage. These nailers can be used for heavy projects and tasks. They are best for decorative trim, molding, baseboards, paneling, furniture, cabinet, window casing, chair rail, and bedding. A durable blow mold carry case is also included in this package. This case can be used to carry the nailer or any other instruments that you want.
- The heavy-duty exhaust allows channeling the air output in any direction
- Its tool-free nose latch quickly performs the work of jam clearing
- It may stop working after some use
Best Finishing Nailers Buyer’s Guide
There are many finishing nailers available online, but one should pay heed while buying the one that suits them the most. This is because you don’t want to buy some third-class finishing nailer. Furthermore, many things need to be considered while purchasing a finishing nailer perfect for your project. We have created this guide to make it easier for you to choose the best finishing nailer. We have taken many things into account to make this purchase easy for you.
What Are the Key Considerations While Buying the Best Finishing Nailers?
Type
There are both straight and angled finish nailers available. A straight finish nailer works perpendicular to the wood surface, as the name implies. An angled finish nailer, on the other hand, is offset at a specific angle. While both of these methods are effective, most carpenters prefer to use an angled finish nailer. This is because projects requiring a straight finish nailer can be completed with either of these types. A straight finish nailer cannot be used for an application that requires an angled finish nailer. To put it another way, an angled finish nailer is quite adaptable and hence can work on many projects.
Nail magazine
Finish nailers, like nail guns, require a nail magazine, which is identical to that of a nail gun. Coil and nail stick magazines are the two most common types of magazines available for a finish nailer. The circular shape of a coil magazine is preferred in most circumstances. They can carry a more significant number of nails with ease while taking up less space. As a result, in most cases, the magazine does not obstruct your work surface. On the other hand, nail stick magazines can be huge and may present problems when working on non-flat wooden surfaces.
Durability
Another crucial factor to consider when purchasing any power equipment is its durability and dependability. This is also true and critical for finishing nailers, as it assures that you will not have any problems with them in the future. Choosing a finish nailer with a long guarantee duration is one of the simplest methods to ensure that it will last. The majority of finish nailers come with a two- or three-year warranty. Some of the more dependable alternatives can even come with a 5- or 7-year warranty.
Which Features To Look For in the Best Finishing Nailers?
Nail length
In a finish nailer, you should assess the size of the nail. This is because some applications need longer nails, while others demand shorter nails. While the length of a nail and its gauge are somewhat connected, most finish nailers offer various supported nail lengths. As a result, you may effortlessly use your finish nailers to apply varied-length nails. In most finish nailers, you can find nail lengths ranging from 1 to 12. And you can use either of these options depending on your needs.
Gauge
One of the most vital things to look for in a finish nailer is its support gauge. It specifies the maximum nail thickness that can be used with a specific finish nailer. You can choose between nail gauges of 12-gauge, 17 gauge, and even 23 gauge. This is about the same as a nail’s diameter in inches. A 12-gauge nail is substantially thicker and more extensive than a 23-gauge nail, despite the difference in diameter thickness. A 12-gauge nail is used for heavy-duty applications, whereas a 23-gauge nail is used for finishing processes and is similar to pins.
Angled nailer
In most cases, an angled finish nailer is preferred over a straight finish nailer. However, because angled finish nailers are so popular, you’ll discover a variety of angles to choose from. This angle refers to the angle formed by the particular finish nailer with the work surface. Angles of 20 degrees and 22 degrees are mostly available in finishing nailers. In this way, you’ll have no trouble finding the ideal finish nailer for your needs.
Power
When purchasing a finish nailer, you can choose from various power levels, just like you can with other power tools. Pneumatic finish nailers that employ an air compressor are among the choices. The pneumatic finish nailers are the most popular because they are simple to use. Electric finish nailers use a battery or plug straight into a wall socket are also made. Even gas is used to power some finish nailers. Buy the one that has an excellent power supply.
Still confused about which finishing nailer to pick. Consider checking the video from This Old House for some useful suggestions.
How Was This List Created?
We shot these nailers into various materials often used in finish carpentry and craft projects to check how they work. We fired the nail slowly and carefully into red oak, both 34 and 1.5 inches thick, when testing for nail-sinking capability. We doubled the oak when we increased the length of the nail so that the gun could fire into either 1.5 inches thick or three-inch-thick oak. We created strips of various materials for rapid-fire simulations, such as white pine, radiata pine, birch and fir plywood, and MDF. The tool’s precision and speed were more important to us than its overwhelming power. To be safe, we placed our test materials (either as a single layer or as a sandwich of several materials) on Douglas fir, a common and robust frame wood, whenever we emulated a test in the trim or built-in cabinet construction. That way, we’d know the nailer could not only fire through the test materials on the front of the wall but also through the framing inside the wall.
What Is the Price Range of the Finishing Nailers?
The price of finishing nailers ranges from 34$-418$. The difference in the price of this product is because of the quality of the nailers. The durable, easy-to-use, lightweight, and powerful nailers are highly-priced. On the other hand, the ones made up of cheap quality heavy materials are highly-priced.
People Also Asked
Many carpenters like to use compact and lightweight nailers as it doesn’t put a strain on their hands. So, you should go for lightweight nailers if you want your work to be completed easily.
Finish nailers are slightly larger than brad nailers. They can be used to fasten heavier wood or baseboards to make heavy-duty furniture. On the other hand, a brad nailer can’t be used to make heavy-duty furniture.
Of course, you can use nail guns to install hardwood floors because they are a better option than a traditional hammer when speed and precision are required. However, not every nail gun is suitable for this task. You can do this with either a floor nailer or a finish nailer.