[UPDATE 7-31-09: Well over a year now and going strong. Some chipped paint and a couple of dents in the magazine but still functions flawlessly. This nail gun is a great bargin!]
[UPDATE 8-8-08: This gun has been a great buy! Have had no problems and the gun works great. Only $99!!!]
This is a terrific value. Grizzly tools are well made and while not very fancy, you will find they do the job quite nicely.
The specs state that the gun handles nails up to 3.5". So far I haven't used any of the longer nails but with 2 5/8" (.113) and 3" (.120) nails it works very very well. (Hitachi plastic collated 2 5/8" .113 ring shank nails fit nicely.) Most 3.5" nails are .131 in diameter and I have not tried those. A prior reviewer states to use .113 nails only, but 120's work OK in my gun. The magazine states it will accept up to .131's but the instruction book states to use .113's. (I will contact Grizzly tech support for clarification and update this post.)
[UPDATE: In my previous post I stated that I was going to contact Grizzly for some clarification on usable nail sizes. Here is their response:
"We appreciate you contacting us regarding the H7665 21ยบ Round Head Framing Nailer. The H7665 will accept from .113" to .131" nails. The diameter is based on the length. The typical 3 ¼" to 3 ½" nails are .131" in diameter. You should be ok using this size providing it is a brand you have used in the nailer previously with no issues."
So today I tried some 3 1/4" .131 nails. They worked fine. They did not drop in the magazine as easy at the .113's but they fit and did not jam. At 100 psi the gun set the heads flush every time. All this from a $99 nail gun. If I didn't own one I wouldn't believe it. But it's true.]
While I wouldn't use .113 or .120 diameter nails for heavy framing applications, this gun with the 2 5/8" .113 ring shank nails is great for floors, cabinets, windows, doors, and light framing. It doesn't seem to matter whether the nails are linked with wire, plastic, or paper. They all fire equally well. The depth adjustment requires an Allen wrench to adjust but is not difficult. The gun is single fire only. Which is actually a good idea in a gun this powerful. It may not be as fun, but single fire is safer. The gun is relatively light weight. The grip is not contoured but is very comfortable. Very efficient air use so your compressor won't work any harder than necessary. (Check out the Makita MAC700 for a really great compressor value.) The gun will not dry fire. The exhaust can be directed in any direction. Nails are easy to load with one hand, (a very important consideration). Set for 90 to 100 PSI and the depth adjustment closed up a bit, this gun will set plastic collated ring shank nails completely flush or slightly countersunk all day long. No jams. No misfires. Even the last nail in the stick goes in every time. And since it shoots full head nails you won't need to worry about violating building codes with clipped head sticks. The case is pretty good. The oil bottle is cheap, but has a enough oil to get you started. The users manual is fairly good and covers all the basics. It even describes how to replace the piston seal when the time comes.
Just a good basic nail gun. No fancy paint or decals. No contoured grip. I have several Grizzly guns and they all work very well, at half the price of prettier brands. So if you don't absolutely have to have fancy paint or decals, this is a great general purpose nailer. I highly recommend this gun. I believe it will serve you well for many years. Grizzly H7665 21° Round Head Framing Nailer
I am the Safety Manager for my company, and we bought this nailgun to replace a PorterCable that we had for a few years, 3 or 4,. We recieved this nailgun and their nails. The nailgun sparks every time it fires a nail, sometimes it does not fire a nail, and other times it fires 2 nails. We used this nailgun for 2 days, on the second day, it missfired and shot out two nails. One went into the intended 2 X 4, the other went into the left hand middle finger of the man that was using it. After investigating the incident, he was not miss using the gun, the nailgun just simply shot 2 nails. So, if you buy this gun, PLEASE be extreamly cautious with it.
OK I bought this gun to build a deck, worked great.
As for the .131 issue, yes the owner's manual says use .113 nails, but it DOESN'T say only .113.
On the side of the magazine it is printed 2.8 mm - 3.3mm. Well 2.8mm is .113 and 3.3mm is .131.
I used both Grip Rite 3-1/4 x .131 coated nails and DuoFast 3-1/4 x .131 HD Galv nails and both worked great.
The Grip Rite nails would fall right into the magazine, but the DuoFast had to have a slight push to get in and then they slid down the magazine fine. The amount of push was maybe 1-2oz. of thumb pressure so it was no big deal.
I would reccommed this gun to any homwowner/handyman that has occassional need of a framing nailer. For the professional he/she might want the Bostitch model that does both framing and joist nails.
Bill
I'm not sure about some of the other buyers of this product or what they may be doing wrong, but I for one, think this is a great nailer. I bought it to use on a 9'x40' deck and an enclosed porch I'm building. I'm using Hitachi nails I've bought at Lowe's and I have not had ANY problems with any of them from the 2 3/8" .113's up to the 3" .120's. They are a little tight getting them into the slot, but that is due to the plastic holding the nails together. After they are in, they go down the slide easily and I haven't had any bind up yet.
I'm using a 1HP, 3gal, Craftsman Portable Hotdog compressor that delivers 2.4 SCFM at 90 psi. It has more than enough power for this nailer. If you keep good even pressure on the nailer you will not have any problems sinking the nails and I'm shooting into pressure treated lumber. My wife has even had fun using it and wanted to know why we didn't get one of these nail guns sooner.
If you are looking for something to speed up your weekend projects, trim down that "Honey-Do" list or even help your kids with some of their projects, THIS IS A MUST HAVE, JUST MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT COMPRESSOR, A GOOD AIR HOSE, NOT ONE OF THOSE CHEAP CURLY ONES. - Air Tools - Grizzly - Grizzly H7665 - Nail Gun'
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