Old timer told me to stop using my framing nailer for everything

Had a guy in his 60s stop by my job site last month while I was building a deck. I was zipping through the joist hangers with my nailer like always, and he just stood there watching. Finally he says "son, you're gonna regret that in a few years when those nails start backing out." I basically laughed it off until I pulled up some old deck boards that night to replace a rotten one. Most of those nail gun nails had zero holding power left, just loose in the holes. He told me to switch to SD screws or at least ring shank nails for anything structural. I spent the next day pulling nails and putting in screws on that whole deck. Took me twice as long but I'll tell you what, that deck isn't going anywhere now. Has anyone else had an old carpenter call them out on something that turned out to be right?

3 comments

3 Comments

abbyhall4d ago

The ring shank nails thing is interesting because I've seen guys argue both ways (smooth vs ring shank) and I honestly can't keep it straight. My question is what kind of nails were you using before? Like were they just cheap smooth ones from Home Depot or actual structural rated ones? I've had mixed results with my nail gun too where some nails hold great and others feel like they're barely gripping after a rainstorm. Did the old timer say anything specific about the angle of the nail or the depth setting making a difference? Because I've been wondering if my nailer is just set too deep and that's why they back out.

craig.parker4d ago

Relax @abbyhall, you're overthinking nails like it's rocket science.

anna7174d ago

Oh man, that's the thing with smooth nails, they're basically just glorified finishing nails when it comes to holding power in wood that moves. In my experience, even the so-called "structural" smooth ones from the big box stores can work loose after a few seasons of wet and dry cycles. I've got a deck I did with ring shanks five years ago and it's still solid as a rock, which is more than I can say for my last attempt at a birdhouse with smooth nails - that thing fell apart before the birds even had a chance to complain about the zoning. Your mileage may vary on the angle and depth thing, but I found setting the nailer just a hair shallower actually helped them grip better on the backswing.