Porta-Nails 501P Face Nailer (without Mallet)

by Porta-Nails

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Hardwood floor installation made simple. Can be used to drive and set nails on decorative tongue and groove paneling, roof sheathing, side wall sheathing and sub flooring. Features a patented mechanism that prevents the user from leaving half-driven or not completely set nails. The lightness and strength of magnesium were combined with precision-machined and heat treated parts, making the 401P light, long wearing and easy handling. Coverage is approximately 1000 nails per 200 sq. ft. of standard 2-1/2 strip flooring.

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 9.8 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0000224PH
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: 501P
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #815,897 in Home Improvement (See Top 100 in Home Improvement)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't Buy This Tool!, March 16, 2000

By 

Joe Helmick (Atlanta, GA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Porta-Nails 501P Face Nailer (without Mallet) (Tools & Home Improvement)

I used the 401 model to nail several hundred feet of white oak T&G flooring, and it worked pretty well. I thought this product, the 501, would be a great time-saver once I got close to the opposite wall. I was wrong! The base is very slick, so the tool, which basically works like a big stapler, moved around a lot, making it difficult to set the nail properly. I could see how it might work if you could drive the nail in one strike, but I couldn't do that and the tool was not very forgiving. Anyway, I ruined about $25 worth of flooring before I gave up on this tool. I replaced it with a Porter Cable air nailer and quickly finished the job. I DEFINITELY DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS TOOL.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars get a pneumatic nailer instead, January 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Porta-Nails 501P Face Nailer (without Mallet) (Tools & Home Improvement)

Face nailing is the most tedious part of any flooring job, and buying a face nailer would seem to be a good idea. But I highly recommend purchasing a pneumatic finish nailer instead. It will cost more, but it's MUCH more flexible and will save you hours of tedious hand nailing work (even days on a big job). With this face nailer, you're stuck face nailing the first three rows, which leaves a lot of holes in the boards along the wall. You can avoid this by hand-nailing the 2nd and 3rd rows at an angle, but this is extremely tedious and requires great hammer skills. With an air nailer, you can face nail the first run and then begin nailing the tongues at an angle, before you're able to use the angle nailer. You can also finish the last few rows much more easily. Finally, you can use the air nailer for the shoe molding (and any other trim jobs). I recommend a 15-gauge finish nailer with 2" nails. Get the most powerful one you can, since it takes power to counter-sink finish nails in oak. Bostitch makes a nice, small, lightweight nailer which is available in two power ranges - 300 pounds of force and 400 pounds of force. I recommend the more powerful one, even though it costs $100 more. Otherwise, you'll be hand-countersinking all the nails in order to get them deep enough. You'll need to drive more nails with the pneumatic gun in order to stabilize the boards, but it's a easy as pointing and pulling the trigger, so it's not a problem.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Product, December 22, 2000

By 

Michael M. Bensing (Silver Spring, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Porta-Nails 501P Face Nailer (without Mallet) (Tools & Home Improvement)

Nailer works well. If you hit it properly, it drove the nail with two blows. This product saves a great amount of time over hand nailing. The product could be improved by adding an extra stabilizer on both sides. The product could be steadied by placing foot on either side when nailing, preventing the nailer from jumping away from the nail after the first blow. Easy to use after the first two or three boards.