What nails and gun to build shed ?

[gensetsteve]

I have searched the threads but can't see what people use brads or nails ?. I have a bostitch compressor and extension but never bought a gun. I get the odd splash of quality ship lap come in with the down grade timber we get for kindling. Thought I would try my Hand at the odd shed or dog kennel, hedge hog house. Never really had much luck working with timber you can't reach for the welder when things go pear shaped:001_smile: what would you buy and what's the ideal length of nails.

[agg221]

In all honesty, I wouldn't bother with a nail gun.

 

A nail gun is great if you are going to do an enormous amount, day in, day out, but for the odd shed/dog kennel the time saving from using a nail gun over a hammer is trivial - most of your time will be spent measuring/marking and cutting, rather than fixing.

 

Length - I like at least as much nail length holding the thing in as its own thickness, ie for 25mm shiplap, use at least a 50mm nail, up to 60mm if the structure is deep enough to hold it, 19mm shiplap use a 40 or 50mm nail etc. For more structural stuff, holding 50mm to 50mm a 100mm nail is best.

 

If you don't have much luck with timber things, I would go to the trouble of drilling pilot holes and use annular ring shank nails - use the thicker ones as they are less likely to bend on you. A cheap cordless drill will make pilot holes all day long on a single charge. If you use 3.35mm nails and a 2.5mm or 3mm pilot drill it will work fine, bend less, give you heads to pull out on the ones that do inevitably bend, not split the timber even when you're a bit close to an end and prove far less annoying overall. Obviously scale this up for the structural ones.

 

I buy nails from Tradefix direct - fairly cheap and I buy the stainless ones as then I can use them with oak/sweet chestnut/cedar without it staining black, or having to keep two bags.

 

Alec

Edited October 26, 2014 by agg221

[se7enthdevil]

to add to what alec says, just from a joinery point of view nails should be at least two thirds in the post/frame and one third through the ship lap.

[agg221]

to add to what alec says, just from a joinery point of view nails should be at least two thirds in the post/frame and one third through the ship lap.

 

I agree with the theory...

 

I reckon annular ring shank let you get away with a bit less where necessary - e.g. I am fitting 3/4"-1/4" feather edge cladding to 1" battens, so can only get a maximum of 2" in there. I'm using 50mm annular ring shank and I'm not worried about pull out.

 

Alec

[gensetsteve]

Thanks for the advice never occurred to me that the cutting and measuring would slow the job down so much. If I go hammer and nail and hate doing it at least there wont be another gadget gathering dust.

[Woodworks]

Agree with what has been said. Just keep it simple maybe a tool belt to hold your hammer and nails. I have a compressor and nail gun but unless it's a really big it stays in it's box. It can be such a faf with keeping the compressor dry while the hose gets in a tangle not to mention the price of the nails for the guns start to add up.

[Justme]

One up side of using a nail gun is that you get less vibration / movement in the item you are making so thinner weaker lighter parts can be used.

[shillo]

Stuff that! get a nail gun! great bit of kit!

 

Tacwise coil nailer. 32mm to 64mm

 

i got a box of 32mm 45mm and 64mm, probably 42 thousand nails! hopefully that will see me out!

 

cheapest place i found for nails was prebena uk 40ish per box?

 

job done!