Customer Reviews

New 3 in 1 Hardwood Floor,flooring Cleat Nailer and Stapler 1/2" -3/4" Floor

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

 

 

I got one of these at a local harbor freight store. I'm sort of a tool-snob, and would never normally consider buying a knock-off brand like this, especially through them, but I needed a floor nailer quick for a small patching job, and no matter how much I shopped around for new and used, I just couldn't find anything decent at a price I could justify.

I just don't do enough flooring to make it worth spending tons of money, but it comes up often enough where renting one (at 40 bucks a day) is too much of a hassle. I hate working around a tool rental schedule. When I need one, it's usually for a small floor repair as opposed to installing a new floor, and just driving to a rental shop and back for a small repair job is a pain.

Yet, I do have other tools I'd rather spend the big bucks on, and shelling out several hundred dollars for one didn't make sense either. So I figured I'd give this one a shot.

It was between this and a top quality gun bought used. But this is an oddball item. If you find a good brand used, you know a pro owned it, and if a pro owned it, you know it's probably fired more nails in a day than I'll ever fire in my lifetime. So I feared buying used would mean I'd just get somebody elses headache.

So far, the thing works perfectly and I have zero complaints. It at least looks and feels very well built. And I have no reason yet to believe otherwise.

It's set up for 3/4" flooring which is what I normally do, but it has another floor plate for 1/2" - just remove a few cap bolts with the supplied allen wrench to swap it.

I've been expecting the thing to explode one of these days, but so far it just keeps shooting cleats in, sinking 2" cleats perfectly in 3/4 red oak. I haven't had one jam, or one partially sunk cleat.

I have not tried staples in it, mainly because I feel the serrated cleats hold better (though I could be wrong, I'm no expert).

I still would have preferred to stick to my "only buy the best" rule, but in this case, for something I don't need very often, I'm happy with my purchase.

When and if it ever gives me trouble, I'll try to update this review.

And a side note on harbor freight - they have a 30 day policy. If it breaks on me in 30 days, I'll get a new one. In my case, that's long enough for the tool to pay for itself. If it lasts any longer than that, it's just icing on the cake for me.
But they also offer a three year, no questions asked warranty on this unit for about $35. (at least at the store, not sure about the web site) If it breaks within 3 years, they give you a brand new one. I didn't bother with it, but it really doesn't sound like a bad deal, especially if you're going to use it more than I do.

If you're a professional floorer looking for a nailer, I doubt you'd have gotten as far as reading a review on this item. But if you're a homeowner, or part time pro who might need a nailer for more than two or three rental days - I think this is probably just what you're looking for.

Less than a week ago this was on Amazon for $189 but now unavailable. After getting an $800 labor quote to install vinyl flooring we bought hardwood floor on sale from Menards instead. They had a Bostitch pneumatic floor nailer on sale at $435 and we weren't going to pay that much. We've never installed hardwood floors before so I read some forums and discovered it takes much longer than people think to install and they are absolutely right. After 2 days we're money ahead by not renting a nailer. We found discount coupons for Harbor Freight and got the unit there for just over $100. We were going to get a refurb manual nailer from Amazon but the reviews didn't support it and we discovered the pneumatic nailer is the way to go. This nailer works great between 80 and 115 PSI and doesn't seem to use a lot of air. The documents say it will nail flooring up to ½" thick and we bought 5/8" hardwood floor and were nervous about it being able to do the job. It handles this with ease and I'm sure it can also handle ¾" flooring but can't say for sure. I shot a test nail into the 1-1/2" side of a standard 2x4 and the point stuck out the other side. The info states the gun uses staples or nails and we already bought the 2" Bostitch FLN-200 L nails and the nailer handled them without any misfires so far. We've almost used 1000 nails and are very pleased with this unit and we're happy we didn't rent or purchase a more expensive model. This unit isn't a plastic toy and it has a 1-year warranty for homeowners or 90-day warranty for commercial use. I'm not holding back on the hammer throws either and can attest like other reviewers that this nailer will bring warped boards into position and hold them there. When the air line is removed from the nailer the gun instantly loses pressure and slightly tapping the gun doesn't shoot additional nails. a couple drops of oil into the air port and away it goes. I was uncertain about buying this discount nailer but I'm very pleased with it and highly recommend it to all my fellow Amazonian's. Believe me, if Amazon was in the price range this is where I would have purchased the unit but then Amazon still gets lots of business from me so they can't complain.

Also picked up the nailer at my local Harbor Freight. It performs really good. A firm swing using 2 inch nails closed the gaps between some really bowed pieces of 3/4" red oak-so no spaces. Put down 400sf without a single jam. The cleats are sunk at the proper depth.
Would recommend.

I followed the advice of the reviewers and purchased this nailer. I have installed about 950 square feet of floor, using about 10,000 nails. This nailer worked the whole time, for the $150 I paid for the device at harbor freight, it was a fantastic purchase. I used this to install unfinished 3/4 inch oak flooring, it worked fine. The nailer did jam 3 or 4 times, I started to put a drop of oil in the air intake after about every 250 or so nails, after the first 3 jams, it only jammed one other time, when I had failed to the more frequent oiling of the device. I do lots of woodworking, this tool has everything you need to install you own floor. If I was a professional installed, I'd probably buy the Bostich, but at $300-$400 more, it is not worth it for a do-it-your-selfer. I did use the Bostich nails, they worked better than the harbor freight nails, and they are cheaper at your favorite big box hardware store.

I used this on a 500 sqft installation and it broke halfway through. The handle broke off when it tipped over on the floor. Yes that's all, it tipped over and the metal of the handle snapped. It still functioned as a nailer but was difficult to hold in place. The metal of the piston showed lots of wear by the end of the job as well. It's the usual from these sort of tools. They work, but the metals are not hardend so the tools wear out very very quickly. After only 500 sqft I'm left with a worn out tool that's barely useable.

I recently purchased this floor nailer and quickly put it to use. I found that it was easy to assemble, came with the appropriate tools, box wrench and allen wrenches and all pieces were nicely packaged and all there. I wasn't sure if the two tank compressor that I had would work, but it worked like a charm. I was able to finish a 9x17 room with 3/4" oak hardwood flooring without a single jam or problem. Any misfirings was because of my poor hit or partial hit on the plunger. I figured that I saved $70. the first two days of use and $35. each and every day after that. I figured that the nailer would pay for itself in 5 working days and since I have three rooms to do, it will be a great savings. I strongly recommend this nailer and you won't be sorry you purchased it.

The price is right and the worked like a charm. Installed oak flooring approx 300 sq ft. not a single jam or miss fire . i would have given 5 stars but heavy so after doing it for a while you will feel it,also seemed to have more of an air leak and would make the compresser cycle more. All in All for the price verses renting which in my area was 45 a day i would do it again and again. Great for the diy not for the pro.

I got this at the local Harbor Freight store- it is a knock off of the Bostich pro unit and works pretty darn well- I did buy the HF 2" staples only because they sella smaller box that Home Depot or Lowes so it was cost effective- I used it on Patagonian Rosewood which is by far the hardest wood I have ever encountered and I am a Professional Guitar Builder so I work with Rosewoods, Rock hard maple, ebony and Ironwood all the time- this stuff is like steel!The unit got me through about 400 sq ft with only two or three misfires, but toward the end of the job I did notice a pretty good air leak around the impact piston- it didn't affect performance of the gun but my small compressor was cycling a lot more so I will bring it back for an exchange