I finally switched back to air nail guns for framing.

Most folks think cordless tools are always better these days. I stopped using battery nail guns for big jobs like framing. I went back to air nail guns about six months ago. The difference is clear in how fast we work. On a garage build last week, the air gun ran all day without a single stop. My old cordless one would have needed three battery swaps by lunch. This change cut our work time and kept the project moving smooth.

4 comments

4 Comments

caleb_bell51mo ago

My buddy Dave tried to go full cordless on a shed project last spring. His fancy battery framer choked hard right as they were putting up the last wall. The thing just quit driving nails halfway through a swing, leaving them hanging. He spent more time swapping batteries and waiting on the charger than actually nailing. He dragged his old air compressor out of storage the very next day and never looked back.

victor3851mo ago

Man, that "quit driving nails halfway through" thing hits way too close to home. I had the same kind of mess with a cordless trim nailer on a big fence job. It would fire three nails and then the battery would just give up, every single time. Felt like I was running a marathon between the tool, the charger, and my spare battery. There's just no contest when you need power all day, the air hose might be a pain but it never just stops working on you.

linda_thompson1mo ago

Was your friend's trim nailer one of those green ones? My neighbor borrowed his brother's fancy cordless one to redo his deck railing. He said it was great for the first ten minutes, then it was just a super expensive paperweight lol. He spent more time watching the battery charger light blink than actually getting work done.

anna6811mo ago

Sounds about right for battery tools on bigger jobs. They're fine for small stuff but you can't beat air for real work.