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You may feel a bit intimidated if you use a nail gun for the first time. However, nailers, which can use brad nails to operate, are actually very convenient. Best of all, they are easy to use. In fact, it is a simple, 5-step process.

  1. Pick Your Nail Gun

  • What is the project you want to complete? If you want to create a frame, a brad, a trim, a floor, a roof, or a concrete project, you will need different types of nails that are suitable for that specific application. Framing guns are the most commonly used, but they don’t work on every project.
  • Do you need strip or coil guns? This looks at how the nails are stored. Coil guns don’t need to be reloaded as often, so if you have a big project, they may be more convenient. However, strip nails are more common and generally cheaper.

  1. Pick Your Nail

  • Do you need a full head or a clipped head? Clipped heads can be collated really tightly, which means you don’t have to reload as often. They have very good holding power, unless you live in coastal states, where full heads are sometimes required in building codes.
  • Do you want galvanized nails, which resist corrosion and rust? This is likely to be something you need for outdoor projects, or for projects with high moisture exposure.

  1. Pick Your Power Source

Nail guns operate using batteries, fuel, electricity, or air. It is important that you know how yours work when you buy it. Air power is the most popular because it is the cheapest, while still being very powerful. These guns come with an air compressor that attaches to your gun using a nail. You can also purchase nailer kits that have a gas-powdered compressor, or one that is electric and simply has to be plugged in.

  1. Load Your Gun

You should now have picked your gun, your nails, and your power source, which means it is time to load your gun. Make sure you follow the instructions. Usually, these guns work in the same way as staplers. Simply pull back, put your strip in, and release the magazine. With coil guns, you should be able to take out the nail tray and set it to the appropriate length, after which you can insert your nails and find the feed pawl to put the nails into the chamber. Make sure that your alignment is right before you close it.

  1. Fire

Usually, you won’t be able to fire unless you press the nose of the gun against a surface. This is to keep you and those around you safe. Set your gun either to sequential firing or to bump firing. In the first option, only one nail will come out each time you pull the trigger. With bump fire, you don’t have to pull the trigger as it will fire automatically each time you press the head against a surface.

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