About the Tool
The pneumatic nail guns, often referred to as “brad nailers”, are stored above the belt sander, to the right of the drills:
The space has two nail guns that are almost identical in their operation:
- Silverline Air Brad Nailer 50mm
- A second blue gun with no manufacturer marks
Setting up the Tool
The guns connect to the workshop’s pressurised air system and use that pressure to drive the nails. Therefore, the first thing to do is to check the pressure of the air system on the meter next to the table saw:
We need at least 6 bars of pressure for the nail guns to work, so if the meter shows below that level you will need to start the compressor (the photo above shows 2 bars), located at the back of arch one. The green button on the control panel is used to activate the unit:
After a minute or two you should now find the airline is up to pressure:
The long black hose located near the pressure meter is used to connect the nail guns to the pressurised airline:
There is an airline port just to the left of the hose’s storage hook:
The male connector from the hose is inserted into the female connector on the wall:
NOTE: It is likely a small jet of air will escape as you connect the hose to the port. However, once connected there should not be any air leaking.
The female end of the hose is used to connect to the male connector on the bottom of the nail gun:
Again, don’t be surprised if there is a short burst of air as you connect the hose, but make sure there is not an ongoing leak coming from the connection.
To load nails into the gun I would recommend detaching the hose. Whilst there is a built-in safety mechanism in the device, it is always best to take as many precautions as possible.
Loading nails is done from the back of the nail gun. Once turned over there is a small latch at the bottom of the nail gun which will release the slide. Nails should be placed into the appropriate ridge based on their length, then slide the slide shut:
A small supply of nails are stored beneath the nail guns:
##Pneumatic nail guns
Using the Tool
The tip of the nail gun is a safety mechanism which must be depressed before the trigger will be active:
Place the nail gun firmly against your workpiece until the tip is fully depressed and gently squeeze the trigger:
When aligning the nails on the workpiece remember that the port the nails are fired from is below the safety mechanism. An easy beginner mistake is to assume the nail will be fired into the spot where the safety mechanism rests, leading to the nail being lower than expected.
It’s really important to apply firm pressure but not to push the gun too hard into the workpiece. Too much pressure will leave an indentation from the safety mechanism in your workpiece above the nail:
After Using the Tool
Disconnect the hose from the nail gun and the wall outlet. Again don’t be surprised if there is a brief hiss of air whilst doing so.