I just got a Blue Hawk air compressor and nail gun combo. I have added oil, I'm using 18 ga 5/8" nails and when I press the trigger a dent shoots into the wood but no nails. I called support and they were unable to help me. Any ideas? Is it just defective?
Brand New Nail Gun Makes a Dent but No Nails Come Out
nails
Related Solutions
Oiling your gun on regular intervals is important. In your case, if the pin is stuck, try the following.
Put several drops of oil directly on the pin and slide channel. Remove all nails, reassemble the nose and see if the gun will dry fire against a scrap piece of wood. the gun should fire and leave a dent from the push rod in your wood if it is working.
If the gun still does not fire, then the pin may be damaged or bent. At this point the upper air chamber will have to be removed and the pin assembly removed/replaced. Rebuilding air guns is not real difficult and parts for a Bostich are readily available. You problem may be a worn or damaged O-ring in the compressor section. Rebuild kits for the upper end have got to be replaced often, especially if they have not been oiled regularly of after long periods of storage. Parts are cheap.
Some folks at the tool dept of Lowes or HD could be helpful guiding you. If you have a good lumber yard that sells Bostich tools, they often stock the parts and will be helpful in helping you fix your tool.
In my area, Bostich often have promotion displays at the vendors where they will do maintenance and install rehab kits at no charge with the purchase of a case of nails. Both of my framers, Bostich 88W's, have been rebuild at least 4 times for free during these promotions.
I have to say that I am no fan of cordless framer nailers. I have had two different ones, a Porter Cable and a Pasload. Both were gas fired. The PC was a disaster. Had lots of problems with the propane cells seating properly and nails jamming. Got the Pasload, worked OK, but slow and the smell was so bad that I only used it outdoors. The gas cells are expensive also. After two days on a job, I went back to my trusty Bostich 88 and ran the compressor off a gen set. The other thing I hated was that it could not shoot 10d wire collated nails that I use in my other air framers. Those plastic bits flying at your face sting and you have to reload much more often. Absolutely hate plastic collated nails!
To be honest, I have not tried one of the new battery operated models yet. For framing, I like the largest, thickest nail.(3 1/4") and most cordless ones don't shoot the same larger nails I use in my Bostich.
Since your projects are at home and you already have a 135# compressor, I really think you will get a lot more nailer for the $$$ if you stick with a Bostich 88 mag or similar. You will be able to shoot 4d to 10d nails. The unit itself is much lighter, cheaper and very dependable.
For what you pay for a good cordless, you could own a good framer, 16ga finish and 18ga brad gun, thus having the right tool for every nailing job.
I have to say however, a good cordless finish gun is wicked handy and the battery models have plenty of power, but this humble carpenter is not sold on cordless framers.
Best Answer
Check the pressure
Check the recommended pressure range listed on the gun, and make sure the compressor is putting out a pressure within that range. I've seen similar symptoms when the pressure was too low. Presumably the hammer didn't have enough energy to move the nail, so it skipped over it instead.
Properly load the nails
If the nails are not properly loaded, they may not be fed into the line of the hammer. You'll end up just firing the hammer into the wood, instead of a nail.
Engage the feeder
Make sure the nail feeding mechanism is in place. If it's not, the nails will not be fed into the line of the hammer. This again will lead to you firing the hammer, instead of a nail.
Nail compatibility
Insure that the nails are compatible with the gun. If they're not, the gun may not fire, misfire, or self destruct.