Talked to a house framer in Denver last week who changed my whole view on nail guns

I was bitching about my Paslode being finicky again and this old guy just goes 'you know they made houses before those things right?' and laughed. He said he still sets all his joist hangers with a hammer because he can feel when the nail bites right. Made me realize I've been relying too much on the tool doing the thinking for me. Has anyone else gone back to hand nailing some stuff after getting too comfortable with air tools?

3 comments

3 Comments

olivia3981mo ago

Three whole joist hangers, okay. I get what that old guy is saying about feeling the nail bite, but let's be real, my hands hurt just thinking about nailing fifty hangers with a hammer on a hot day. The time you save with a gun on production work is worth the occasional finicky paslode hiccup. Plus, what happens when you're forty and your elbow sounds like a bowl of rice krispies from all that hand nailing, is feeling the nail bite really worth that? I guess for an old timer who's been doing it since the 70s it's muscle memory, but for a regular person trying to get a deck done, the tool doing the thinking is the whole point.

craig.mila1mo ago

Respectfully @olivia398, my buddy's 50 and still hand nails just fine, it's about wrist health not just age.

miles_young591mo ago

@olivia398 I feel you on the elbow thing, my right wrist clicks every morning from too many years with a framing gun.