Customer Reviews

Grip-Rite GRTMP16 Mini Palm Nailer

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Grip-Rite GRTMP16 Mini Air Nailer

I've just finished building a deck, using this mini-nailer to attach several dozen joist hangers and hurricane straps.

Pros:

- As you can see from the Customer Images, this mini [palm] nailer is so small, it can fit into places a full-sized palm-nailer wouldn't. On this specific deck, there were two situations where only a mini nailer would fit, so I'm glad this tool was available. Size is this tool's advantage over a full-sized palm nailer.

- This tool is very light. Although Grip-Rite doesn't call it a "palm-nailer", the design is a copy of its larger cousins. It's so tiny, "finger-tip" nailer seems about right.

Cons:

- The Grip-Rite is far less powerful than a full-sized palm nailer, which isn't surprising. Small hammers aren't as powerful as large hammers.

As a test, I used it to drive a dozen 14 penny nails (3" long), into a 3.5" thick beam of Laminated Veneered Lumber. LVL is one of the denser construction-grade wood products on the market. The Grip-Rite took at least 2 full seconds to drive each 14d nail, and took up to 5 seconds for many nails; even then, most nail-heads were not flush. 5 seconds is an eternity for a palm nailer. As a comparison, my Bostitch PN100 (a full-sized palm nailer) took 1/3 second to drive each and every nail flush; faster than you can say "amazing".

For [short] 10d joist hanger nails into southern pine, the mini-nailer is OK, although it's noticeably slower in hard wood than a full-sized palm-nailer, which sinks those short nails in an instant.

- My Grip-Rite nailer leaked from the get-to between the two tool halves; and the factory Allen screws were tight. Not much air escapes, but enough so that a small air compressor comes on every 5 minutes when not using the tool. The "warranty" doesn't even cover seals, so if you buy one of these, check for air leaks immediately, before using it. Your best recourse with a leaking tool is to return it promptly for a refund. Of the dozen air tools in my shop, it's annoying that this is the only one that leaks. (I also removed the screws and the seal looked fine and was properly installed.)

Other:

- As with any palm nailer, use hearing protection EVERY time you use it, even if driving a single nail. These tools are incredibly loud; even more so in confined spaces.

Summary:

If you don't own a palm nailer, my advice is to buy one of the full-sized models. Full sized palm nailers won't fit into super-small spaces, but they can drive a huge variety of nails into any wood in well under a second. This Grip-Rite is much more limited in its range of applications, and is simply unacceptable for large nails in hard wood.

However, if you already own a full-sized nailer, if you're a builder, or you are a tool nut like me; and you do so many projects that you'll likely face cramped spaces, mini-palm nailers like the Grip-Rite and Senco PC1195 are the smallest palm nailers on the market.

Very handy, won't replace your nail gun but will drive nails where you can't use a hammer, screw gun, or nail gun. Only short coming was toe nailing, but it more than makes up for that with what it does well. I used it to put up 3/8" soffit under eaves. Looped Mini Air nailer air hose over ladder with nail in it. Positioned soffit, held soffit with one hand and used nailer with other. You can reach out while holding on to ladder and drive nails one handed, so much lighter than nail gun. Worked very well driving nails next to fascia. If I wear it out I will replace it.

I own a Ridgid full size palm nailer and bought the Grip-Rite Mini nailer because I had to work in some spaces where the full size nailer wouldn't fit. My Ridgid drives all kind of nails, big or small, quickly and surely, but the Ridgid's size is a limitation just like a regular hammer. So, enter the Grip-Rite Mini. It does work, fairly well, on big nails and gets into places the big nailer will not.

My Grip-Rite leaked air, right out of the box, requiring tightening of 3 of the 4 cap screws to get it to stop. After fixing that, it worked fine, within its limitations. Contrary to what the company material says, the Grip-Rite Mini won't drive 16d nails well, if at all. The heads on 16d bright common nails are too large to go into the nose piece (impact socket). The opening in the nose piece is just slightly smaller than the average diameter of those nail heads found in a box of Grip-Rite 16d 3 1/2" bright common nails. Since the Mini wouldn't accept and drive their own common nails, I switched to 16d 3 1/2" finish nails for the spots I needed to use the Mini nailer. The shanks are smaller on the finish nails than on the common nails and still, the Mini nailer had difficulty driving them fully.

As a side note, I also own the Senco PC1195 Mini Palm Nailer which won't accept the big nail heads on the 16d common nails either, which was why I bought the Grip Rite Mini. Senco's manual tells you that their mini nailer has a head limitation and won't accept anything larger than .339" and the Grip Rite Mini manual states a head limitation size of 5/16 or .311". (The moral to that story is that I should have gone to Grip-Rite's site and downloaded the manual, instead of only reading the sales hype before buying the nailer.)

Measuring several 16d bright common heads revealed an average head size of well over .350". Measuring the heads on a dozen 12d 3 1/8" coated sinkers gave an average of over .330", but all of them easily fit into the opening of the Grip Rite Mini nose piece, which actually measured .350" on my unit.

In short, either Mini nailer is nice to have around, to complement a full size palm nailer. If you're wanting a palm nailer that simply works well on anything you want to throw at it, my advice would be to buy a full size nailer, like the DEWALT D51180 Heavy-Duty Palm Nailer or the Bostitch PN100K Impact Nailer Kit, instead of the Mini. The difference in power and ease of use is well worth the extra money for a full sized palm nailer, in my opinion.

After seeing this tool on the Cool Tools show on tv, I bought three of them, one each for my dad and stepdad and one for my father in law for fathers day. They were amazed at the power and stability of it and all three said they would never use a hammer again unless absolutely necessary! I'm a woman and I tried it myself and it was so easy. It can get into tight spaces where hammers can't. Driving the nails is effortless and it gets the nails flush and there are no hammer marks on your wood. This definitely is a cool tool! I would recommend this to anyone.

Best palm nailer I've used, including much larger ones. It packs the same punch with a faster hit speed than my older one, and it really is small!

I purchased this unit to help me re-side the side of my storage shed that was up against a fence, thus inhibiting a good hammer swing. As usual with my experiences with Amazon, the nailer arrived on the scheduled time and in excellent condition. I took it out of the box, read the instructions, put in the required drops of oil and connected it to my compressor.

I was using ring-shank nails and hardy-plank (cement board) siding. I pre-drilled the nail holes in the cement board. The nailer worked excellently in this application, driving the nails quickly into the framing (after a few tries to get used to the action). However, when I used it for the trim boards (with headless finishing nails), the nails would get caught between the piston and the metal guide causing the nailer to lock up. Perhaps I need to work on my technique, but there is too much clearance between the guide and the piston for use with finishing nails. I have since used it on other headed-nail projects and it performed flawlessly. Some things to keep in mind:
- Wear ear protection (it is loud as you can imagine)
- There is no leather boot as you find with the larger palm nailers, so you might consider wearing a glove (not required, though)
- It WILL leave dimples in the wood from the piston, so use a regular nail gun for projects where dimples would detract from the finished look.

I had NO problem with the unit leaking air as has been described in some other reviews. The unit is well made except that the metal guide developed a habit of staying in the retracted position, but that was remedied by keeping it well lubricated (not mentioned in the instructions). All-in-all it is a welcome addition to my tool kit. I recommend it for tight spaces with headed nails and where the dimples are not a problem.

Very nice tool, not as powerful as its big brother as expected. Great for small areas. If piston hangs up-just tap hard on your hand. Have used it a fair amount and no problems. Be sure to oil before storing. Good price and fast shipping.

Getting into many of the tight spots I used this tool when finishing my basement would have been impossible with anything larger. Sometimes it was a better option to nail down from up in the rafters when putting up stud walls and this tool made it possible.
Even when installing electrical light and switch boxes this tool was a nice way to get the job done quickly.
When nail heads were still sticking out and interfering with hanging the drywall I was able to smash down the heads with the palm nailer.
Just don't make the mistake of smashing the tool into your hand or fingers because it really smarts.
I bought mine at home depot and it did leak a little until I tightened
the Alan bolts on the case.
For the time it saved me this tool was worth every penny.

The size is amazing and it's very capable of driving larger nails through doubled up 2x stock. It's less fatiguing to use than my other full size palm nailer. It does have a very sensitive trigger and you must use caution inserting nails. Great tool!

When I first saw one of these nailers on HGTV I thought it looked cool, but after using this one I love it. It really works in tight places like between close rafters or joists. It is very power full and quick.Grip-Rite GRTMP16 16d Mini Air Nailer