Pro tip: I just read that a huge number of framing nailers fail inspection because of one simple thing

I was reading a safety bulletin from the state building code office and it said over 30% of pneumatic nailers on job sites here in Michigan have the wrong pressure setting for the nails being used. I found out because my crew's gun got flagged last week during a routine check, and we had to redo a whole wall. How often do you guys actually check your compressor gauges against the nail specs?

3 comments

3 Comments

spencer82mo ago

People forget that hose length and diameter matter too. A fifty foot half inch hose needs more pressure at the compressor to get the right PSI at the gun. If your gauge is set for a short hose and you switch to a long one, you're suddenly under-driving nails. I've seen guys chase that problem for an hour before they figured it out.

hugo_robinson252mo ago

Seriously, that hose length point is huge. My old foreman used to mark the regulator for different setups with a paint pen, like one line for the short hose and another for the long reel. It sounds simple but it stops that guessing game cold.

phoenix_grant342mo ago

That "wrong pressure setting" thing is a silent killer. We got popped for it two years ago and it cost us a WEEK of labor. Now I make it a rule to check the compressor gauge against the nail box at the start of every single job, no excuses. The specs are right there on the strip. It takes two seconds and saves your bacon. Letting your gun run too hot or too weak is just asking for callbacks or worse, a safety write-up.