Nail guns

Post Reply | Watch this Post

Welcome, Chris. There is always room for more people who enjoy home improvement and repair.

There are "hoseless" compressors, such as the Porter-Cable "Bammer", but they do require some compressed air and are somewhat expensive to operate. I would not consider one for your first air tool as there are a lot of different air operated tools out there and tools like the Bammer are specialized. They also take a fair amount of maintenance.

When looking at purchasing any kind of tool, it's a good idea to check several different magazines for their recommendations. These would be magazines like Wood, Family Handyman, American Woodworker and Popular Woodworking. Asking on a forum like this gives you just part of an answer, in my opinion, because most of the people who answer can really only tell you about the one they own. The magazines can get and use many different ones and they have a better standard for comparison. They also get tools before they come out on the market or get advance word that something new and different may be coming soon. That said, I would still look at the reports in several magazines and see how the reports compare to even out any advertizing or manufacturer bias. There usually are a lot of reports out around the first of the year but your library may have back issues.

Speaking of libraries, they are a darned good source of information and plans. Look around Dewey Decimal number 684 and you may be amazed. I will get a couple books to look for interesting projects when I get bored. I skim through them looking for "Things That I Might Want to Build Someday" and copy the plan page. When I get in the mood to get away from everything and make sawdust, I head for that file. When I pick a project, then I make or enlarge the copy of the plan. There certainly are things that I specifically have to do or want to do, but it's still nice to have something to do with scrap wood that is just a fun project. Jigs for particular uses fit this category and things like panel cutting gigs and a gig for cutting exact 45 degree miters on your table saw can get a lot of use and still have been something you enjoyed building on its own.

Henry in MI