Customer Reviews

Bostitch PN100 Palm Impact Nailer

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Bostitch PN100 Impact Nailer

Operation:

This tool will drive virtually any bulk nail, the kind sold by the pound. The smallest nail Bostitch recommends is a 5d (d=penny, a term that refers to nail size). Bostitch claims the maximum size is 75d, but the head on those huge nails won't fit in any of the nose-pieces that Bostitch offers. However, I've used it on 6d to 20d nails with great success.

Insert the nail into the PN100's "nose", where a built-in magnet holds it. Hold the nailer with either hand, press the point of the nail into the material; when the tool senses the pressure, a fast-acting piston cycles the hammer which drives the nail. It sounds like a Tommy Gun. You can drive a 20d nail in about one second, depending on wood hardness. You can also start the nail with a hammer then put the PN100 on that nail, or, hold the nail with your fingers (risky), or hold the nail with another tool (e.g., pliers).

The tool is sold by itself with the standard nose only, or in kit form. The kit includes a wrench to change from the standard nose to the included finishing nail nose or an oversized nose for nails with large heads, spare O rings, a spare magnet, oil, a leather tool cover (improves grip and comfort), and a custom case to protect the tool and accessories.

Pros:

- Particularly useful in confined spaces, such as between joists, hard to reach nails, odd angles, overhead, etc. You only need space for the tool and nail, plus room for your hand on the tool. Except for a small pin nailer, most nail guns take more space to operate than this palm nailer. Swinging a hammer takes even more space.

- For applications such as installing lots of joist hangers, this tool is ideal. If you're building a deck for example, this tool could "pay" for itself on that one job.

- The tool is not heavy and it is comfortable to hold in your hand, especially with the leather cover attached (which comes with the kit).

- Works on things other than driving new nails. E.g., to drive in the built-in spike on joist hangers, nail heads that aren't in all the way, pointed ends of nails that are poking out in the wrong place, etc.

- Substantially quicker and easier than swinging a hammer, improving productivity. Drives large nails flush in less than a second, in a machine-gun burst of energy. Depending on the job, nailing could be four or five times faster than with a hammer.

- This tool shines when nailing into engineered lumber (e.g., laminated beams) or lumber in old houses, which is frequently denser than new construction lumber. The first few times I used the PN100, WOW was the word that came to mind.

- For us older guys, swinging a hammer for hours one end is murder on your muscles. With the PN100, your hand might tingle after extensive use, but that's about it.

- Tool appears to be excellent quality, but it will be years before I could attest to longevity.

- Simple to operate. There are no buttons or switches. There is no depth control either; when the nail is flush, it stops banging.

- Should be safer than a nail gun that is connected to an air hose, since YOU insert the nails one at a time; i.e., there is no supply of nails in the gun to have an accident with. In any case, it's probably best to not leave a nail in an unattended gun with an air hose connected.

- Can change nail size/type immediately, since there is no magazine; e.g., any nail with a head up to .42" (+/-) will fit in the standard nose.

- The standard nose seems to fit most bulk nails.

Cons:

- This tool is VERY loud, especially in a confined space. Wear hearing protection, even if driving only one nail.

- Of course, you will need an air compressor, as for any air nailer. Any size tank compressor should work. I mostly use a 3/4 HP Thomas portable air compressor with an operating air pressure between 100 and 125 psi. When driving lots of large nails, I frequently have to wait for that small compressor to catch up. With a larger compressor, waiting would be less of an issue.

Other:

- This tool is most practical for projects where "hammer" dimples won't be an issue; i.e., rough work such as house framing. It can be used for interior work, as long as you can deal with hammer dents, sometimes several dents per nail. (Dents are 3/16" in diameter, the size of the PN100 "hammer".) One way to avoid the dents is to pull back on the tool before the nail is driven home. You need lightning fast reflexes to do this, as the PN100 drives a nail very quickly. Personally, I use finish nailers or other methods whenever dents would be a problem.

- For professionals or anyone that drives thousands of nails, this tool will not replace speciality nail guns. Roofing nailers, pin nailers, framing nailers, trim nailers, etc., are still best for their intended application, most of the time.

- Some nails will bend, but not nearly as often as with a hammer, in my experience. Bends occur most often on smaller nails in hard wood, or if the tool isn't straight-on with the nail.

- Good value on Amazon, as our local Home Depot charges $80 for the non-kit version.

- Before using, you need to install a 1/4" quick disconnect fitting and lightly oil the tool. The only maintenance is an occasional oiling.

- If you jar the tool, the hammer could stop in mid-stroke, making the tool inoperable. All you have to do is whack the back of the tool with the palm of your hand to un-stick it. My PN100 was stuck when I first tried to use it, but hasn't stuck since.

- The fitting that holds the nose on my tool was so tight, I had to put the tool in a wood vise and use a very large Crescent wrench to loosen it the first time.


Anyone planning a large construction project (new house, renovation, addition, deck, etc.) should consider buying this tool.

Bought a N88RH-2MCN and the PN100 came with it (for free).

Works really really well EXCEPT - the manual says it will
drive a 70d nail but nothing close to that size nail will
fit in the tip...called Bostitch a few times - first they
said that tip only comes in a kit (PN100K) and cannot be
purchased separately, then called back and talked to someone
that knew the product - he said that the nose piece for the
larger nails does not exist anywhere and that the engineering
dept was notified and knows of the situation.

This thing will drive any nail that you can get in the nose
piece REALLY REALLY well.

I have driven true 16d (3 1/2 inch long, 0.162" diameter)
all the way into 2x6's and it really works well and is very
quick.

I bought one of these because I dread hand nailing all the nails on a joist hanger. This little palm nailer does the trick!

It's quick, drives all the little hanger nails and the 10 penny ones too. It can even be used to drive that little spike on the hanger to hold the hanger in place before nailing. The unit is fairly light and fits comfortably in the hand. I'll bet I cut the time down to 1/5th verses hand nailing.

The only disadvantage to this tool is the noise. It is loud so you may want to have some hearing protection available.

Well worth the $$$...enjoy!

I had a Porter Cable Framing Nailer to build my shop but gave it to Habitat For Humanity when done since I would hardly ever use it in the future. I recently have some little odd jobs to do so thought about a palm nailer. The price on the Bostich is even lower than Harbor Freight's "import". I've only tried it with 6d nails but it works great. You do have to add a 1/4"npt fitting ($0.99). I'm too old to pound nails with a hammer all day so this tool is a great help to me.

Unless you drive a lot of nails, this may be the only pneumatic nailer you will need, and if you drive nails and have a compressor, you need it. I own a framing nail gun, and it's great to have, but it's bulky, heavy, and can't fit into some areas. The PN100 will work in places you can't swing a hammer, and it's fast and easy to use. A nail gun is necessary only if you drive a lot of nails routinely. Otherwise, the PN100 should serve you quite nicely.

It works like this. You insert a nail in the nose, where it's held by a magnet. Then you press the nail point against the material. When pressure is applied, a rapid-fire piston drives the nail, stopping automatically when the head is flush with the surface. It takes less than a second to sink a 12d nail, so it's almost certainly faster than the average Joe using a hammer. There's plenty of mass, so it doesn't shake your hand as you'd expect. I haven't spent long periods of time nailing with it, so I can't comment on long-term fatigue, but in the short term, fatigue is negligible.

Unlike a nail gun, this thing will drive any nail that will fit in the nipple (which has an opening about .43" in diameter) without adjustment. The largest nail I've tried is a 16d, and it worked fine. Because there's no magazine to load or unload, it's easy to switch nail sizes, and you can use bulk carpenter's nails, instead of more-expensive collated nails.

The PN100 should be less hazardous in use than a nail gun. Since nails are inserted individually, the PN100 is usually empty when it isn't in active use. It won't operate unless the loaded nail is pressed firmly against a firm surface (I doubt that I'd press a nail against my body hard enough to activate the mechanism before pain made me withdraw it), so there's almost no chance that you'll nail yourself by accident, as can easily happen with a nail gun.

BTW, I've seen similar nailers selling for $80-100. When I bought mine from Amazon, it was $39.95. At that price it's a steal, and you really ought to get one and retire your hammer. It only needs 2-4 cubic feet of air at 80-125 p.s.i.g., so it will work with a small, affordable compressor.

This is an excellent palm nailer. The Standard nose is probably the nose you'd want 95% of the time. If you think you'll need a different size nose buy the Bostitch PN100K - it has one smaller and one larger, a case and replacement O rings. Both nailers are well worth the money.

The instructions indicate this nailer will handle 5D - 75D nails. The "d" stands for penny, so 8d refers to an 8-penny nail, 16d to a 16-penny nail and so on. It's a way to indicate nail length, not head. Nail heads vary in form and function - example casing, siding, sinker, common, duplex, roofing, etc. and can be the same "D" or penny.

Size...Length (in inches)
4d.....1-1/2
6d.....2
8d.....2-1/2
10d....3
12d....3-1/4
16d....3-1/2
20d....4
30d....4-1/2
etc.

I originally thought palm nailers would be pretty useless tools. Boy was I mistaken. This tool drives nails in a few seconds and is so easy to use. The chuck holds the nail magnetically and pressure from your palm activates it. It manages to drives the nails straight in.

I used this tool on Simpson Stong Ties on a decking project where each Strong Ties takes numerous nails. It was a lifesaver. (or an arm saver!!)

At the price and free freight this tool is excellent value.

It comes no frills. (just the nailer and instruction book). If you want a fancy case and accessories like a leather cover you'll pay much more.

In summary this tool is excellent quality and value.

This is the one air nailer that you should always have available! It saves time like no other tool when nailing joist hangers.

I have never used palm nailer, even 20 years of carpentry works. I bought it from Amazon. It works very good and is handy for small areas and joist hangers. Very,very, useful tool.

I got this nailer about 8 years ago. It came free with my framing gun. At first, I didn't know what I would do with it. After I tried it, I haven't stopped using it.

The two places I use it the most is joist hangers and windows.

On joist hangers, even if I have room for a hammer, I still pull this out because it is so much faster and eaiser.

Some windows have a channel around them for siding. They don't leave a lot of room to drive a nail. With this nailer it is not a problem.

Speed: It takes about a second to drive a nail with this thing. I raced another carpenter hanging joist hangers. Hammer against Palm nailer. I was on my third hanger and he was still on his first :)

I was recently helping Habitat for Humanity and the volunteers were having problems putting in the windows with out hitting them. I pulled my palm nailer out and let them use it. The one group was going so fast that the other two groups stopped putting in windows and started do other things.

Great tool!!!!!!!!