Customer Reviews

Senco 1C0001N AF25 Air Free 5/8-Inch to 2-1/8-Inch 18-Gauge Brad Nailer

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I am a professional finish carpenter working in cabinet shop. I have been using this gun daily for three months. In the beginning it worked just fine, but it did not hold up. I do NOT use it heavily, mostly to install crown molding and scribe, perhaps a strip of nails a day maximum.

It started out not setting the nails properly, and now the belt is not driving the nails at all. The belt driver winds up and then winds down and won't shoot. Out of 8 carpenters in my shop who purchased this gun, I am number 6 to have to return it due to this defect. We have been instructed not to purchase anymore until they work the bugs out.

It may be a fine tool for a handyman or a casual user, but if you're a professional and need a reliable nail gun, I would recommend sticking with a compressor and a traditional air brad nailer.

I tried one of these units out at a recent Rockler woodshow near here (Minneapolis). They are a *great* leap forward for airless nailers. I almost bought one until I reminded myself that with the same amount of money I could buy a small pancake and nailer.... The cost efficiency goes down further if you need a 15 gauge as well as an 18 gauge.

The air free units work by spinning up a small flywheel that then discharges its kinetic energy into a pin. This is different from the previous electric nailers that didn't have that extra mass (and thus weren't powerful enough for 2" brads), or from the other airless units like the older Porter-Cable that used chemical cartridges (that caused jams or ran out unexpectedly), or the newer P-C ones that have a small compressor on them (that are heavy).

The Sencos put a 2" brad right through the 2x4 pine they had at the show. You can control the depth of shot and the trigger action is very smooth. There are safeties to make it harder to put a brad through your thumb but if you want to do it, its always possible with a little due diligence on your part.

There was very little "spin-up" time and while you can't go bam-bam-bam-bam as with a pneumatic, you can go at a pretty comfortable pace. Not having a cord would be great for working on a ladder or in a location where electricity hadn't been pulled in yet.

The batteries seem pretty solid. I was at the show all day and it didn't look like they had to replace the batteries once. I wish the batteries were compatible with Porter-Cable or Dewalt or some other series so that you could share chargers. I'm sick of the pile of battery chargers I have in my shop.

Overall, two thumbs up. If they can get the weight and price down, that would be a further bonus. But you're buying from one of the leaders in high quality nailers, so the price is eminently justifiable.

This is the best idea in a brad nailer to come along yet! I'm a cabinet installer in south Florida. I install cabinets in new homes, 240 houses per year. I've been using the AF25 for about 3 months. I use it every work day to install toe kick, crown moldings, valances, and other various trim. It works efficiently, and effectively, and so far without even a jamb. The depth control works precisely, and it drives nails perfectly, every time. I drive about one stick of nails per day. The battery charge lasts me about three weeks at this rate of useage. I never want to go back to compressors and hoses again! This nailer is a little bit larger than the conventional brad nailer, but it is light weight and the size has made no difference in daily performance. This is a light to medium duty tool. When you pull the trigger it "winds up" before delivering the nail. This was a surprize the first couple of times. If your a person that requires instant and rapid response this nailer is probably not for you. On the other hand, while this shoots a little slower, I can be done with my nailing tasks before the other guy has got his compressor set up and running! Great tool for every application short of the production line. Thanks Senco, this is what the trade needs!

O.K. I wrote this review two years ago. It's been a year since I last used this nailer. Everything I said above was true, it performed beautifully until it was about a year old. It then started to malfunction. It would wind up but it wouldn't deliver the nail. I took it to the local Senco service center, it was still under warranty, they kept it for a couple of weeks, and said it was fixed. It wasn't. I took it back and they refused to take it in for service. They said they only were set up to fix pnumatic tools and these "new fangled electric" nailers were beyond their capacity. It's now sitting in my shop collecting dust. Guess who won't be buying Senco again!

Just finished about 200 linear feet of baseboards, casings, and quarter-round. For the first half I used the old hammer and nail set, the second half I used the AF25 and was absolutely amazed at the results. The AF25 easily cut the install time in half and left me to concentrate on my cuts. The wind up time was not a bother, and you can still drive brads at a pretty good pace. I was trying to decide whether to go with this, or the Porter Cable pnumatic kit with the pancake compressor. With the Senco, there is no compressor to lug, no hoses to string, it's much quieter, and comes with 2 quick charge batteries so there should never be any down time. There is the drawback of not easily being able to add additional tools (like a framing nailer, etc.), but the brad driver will handle 90% of what I do (woodworking and casings) and I can get a framer with compressor later if needed (beware basement, your time is drawing near). The batteries are fully charged in less than an hour unless they are totally drained, then 1.5 hours. I had no trouble putting a 2" brad into solid ash anywhere from 1/4" proud of the surface to countersunk about 1/8".

Now when I see Norm say, "and I'll fasten this with a few brads to hold it 'till the glue dries", I can say, "hey, I can do that!"

I highly recommend this product, they put together a good package.

This tool manufactured by Senco is not good quilty and definitly not for professional applications. We have purchased a lot of senco pnumatic products in the past with very good results. This tool had poor results right away in dense woods. After some use the results where sparatic: 1) intrermitent falure to fire, 2) Unpredictable depth in the same piece of material & Jambing often. Both of our Senco AF25 Air free's currently sit out of service.

We have since Purchased sevral Dewalt 18V nailers ( Dewalt has 18V Vs 12V for the Senco ) the Dewalt also has a production seting that allows rapid fire like an air nailer; the Senco on the other hand does not have this feature.

I'm sorry to say, I reccamend a pass on this Senco product.

I was looking forward to use it and when it finally arrived, it did not work at all with both batteries fully charged. The quality of workmanship was so so compare to other brands. I was really upset and decided to go with the Paslode 18Ga cordless nailer. I own the Paslode framing nailer and it worked great. So what if it needs fuel cells. At least it worked fawlessly.

Bottom line - don't get this gun.

When this tool works, it's great. Unfortunately, it's not reliable. I sent it back when the gun quit driving nails--revving up, then dying down--and the Senco dealer place fixed it and sent it back. It worked great . . . until today. Now it won't do anything. I called Senco, and they said it needs repair--the clutch is stuck, and they said that if hitting the thing with a hammer a few times won't free it up, it needs to be repaired. I called the closest repair place and the guy, who sounded tired, told me I could put mine in line with the other 6 he has waiting for backordered parts for repair. Since I need the thing to work when I need it to (I've had it for about a year, and use it for building cabinets) instead of when it feels like working, I guess I'll have to buy a compressor.

I'm currently using this gun to install oak baseboards. Turning the depth selector to near max will nicely countersink 2" brads. This is unually finishing nailer duty, but the AF25 handles it like a champ. This gun really slams the boards in place for a nice, flush fit. (Of course, with 18ga. brads, any obstruction can send them curling back out. Watch your fingers!) I don't have a compressor, so this was a good choice for me.

The gun is packaged in a nice case and has two batteries and a rapid charger.

Windup is short--you won't be waiting for this gun much. The rubber tip is nice, and wont mark your work. No jams so far. No oil required.

Downside? Adding a finish nailer will double the cost.

I bought this tool last year for my woodworking shop ,i am a proffessional cabinet maker and ocasionaly i install mouldings at the customers house.I needed a portable tool for this, but not for my shop were i use the compressor.
In the begining it worked okay but 10 months later it stoped working, i took the tool back to the store and they gave me a new one ( SENCO has a very good return policy).Two months later the new one brakes down to.I think this tool has a defective design.If you are a proffesional, dont buy it until SENCO fixes the bugs.

This is a great idea, however there is a durability issue. I've had to return three defective units. If Senco could get this problem fixed, I'd buy the updated version.