Cordless Nail Guns

Manufacturers are trying their best to make the perfect nail gun, which is handy, flexible, powerful, safe and simple to use. A cordless nail gun or nailer may be the closest thing to a perfect nail gun today. It is cordless, light and has enough power for most carpentry tasks at home.

Evolution of Cordless Nail Guns

Cordless nail guns have evolved over the years into more practical and stylish tools. Earlier cordless models were trying to emulate corded pneumatic nail guns. One early model had a mini air compressor strapped onto a pneumatic nailer with a 12-volt battery powering the entire tool. However, the compressor and the nailer had some problems and the tool didn’t work well for extended periods. The manufacturer eventually halted the production of this nailer.

Another model used a spring mechanism to launch nails. The spring winds for a couple of seconds before another nail is fired. Users found the time interval between nails very bothersome, so this model did not become popular. Although the nailer drives the nails in the proper depth, its slowness defeats one of the main purposes of a nailer, which is to drive nails quickly.

Cordless Nail Guns Today

Gas nailers or combustion nailers are the most popular cordless units today. These nail guns use small gas explosions to launch nails. A gas nailer contains an internal battery, a spark plug, and a fuel cell filled with liquefied petroleum gas. When the trigger is pressed, the spark plug ignites the gas inside a combustion chamber. The explosion drives a piston that acts on the nails. This design provides enough power for most carpentry tasks. Drawbacks of this model include regularly replacing the batteries and the fuel cell. The user also has to clean the unit regularly which can be very troublesome.

Another new innovation in cordless design uses a flywheel engine to fire the nails. It can launch four to five nails per second. Aside from this, there are many other models which vary according to their applications, such as framing, roofing, bradding and finishing. Some have stick-type magazines while others have round-shaped magazines. There are also models with directional exhaust features and jam clearing functions.

As battery technology improves and manufacturers get more innovative, users can expect better cordless nail guns in the future. The perfect nail gun may be coming to store shelves very soon.