This is a great must have tool for DIY wood floors. While every company that's in the tool business seems to make a nailer (Senco, Bostitch, etc.), what sets the Porter-Cable apart is it's balance and civilized look. The look doesn't matter, but if you don't want to mar the wood floors by having a tool keel over and damage the floor, then this is the tool to get.
The "last nail" comment is a very true. If you try to drive that single last nail, unpredictable results may occur. In my case, I had to throw the piece away (actually cut it for the closet), since the last nail went in almpst parallel to the surface of the wood and skimmed the finish off the top. If the wood hadn't been there, it probably would have shot across the room.
Finally, although the pneumatic nailers save you from backbreaking hammering, the nose takes more than just a light tap. A slightly sharp wack will drive the nails perfectly. Too soft and the nails don't get driven all the way. Too hard, and I'd be afraid that the tool would get damaged.
One more item to note is that depending on the hardness of the wood flooring, you will have to adjust the air pressure to prevent cracked tongues. This isn't a FCN200 issue, but just generally true overall.
Highly recommended.
Review Update:
After 4 years or so, the tool is still as good as the first day I bought it. My initial personal project was about 800-1000 sf. I'm now past 2500 sf (helped two friends install their floors in family/living rooms) installed and another 1500 sf or so more to go for my own house.
This is a professional tool and the quality shows. I haven't had to have it rebuilt or order parts. Clean it ocassionally and use oil and an air filter and forget about it.
Review Update 2:
Still going strong after 7 years now. In fact, I had some floor professionally installed (about 2,000 sf) and the Ramm (something or other) that the installers were using broke on them. They ended up using my nailer for the last 1,500 sf. The installers commented that they liked the FCN200 nailer better. Porter-Cable FCN200 Pneumatic Flooring Cleat Nailer
I read another review of the last cleat problem. I had several instances where the last cleat damaged the job before I realized what was happening, the tool also "dropped out" as many as four of the last cleats. One set of four got jammed in the mech. and was necessary to disassemble tool.I called the Porter Cable factory they said, "never heard of that problem, the tool should drive the last cleat".They did reccommend that I take it for warranty repair. I examined the pusher mechenism and could see the reason as the pusher does not go completely forward to push cleat against wall of dispenser. The pusher also hangs up at the last four or five cleats because of the latching arrangement causing the cleats to drop out. A visit to my local tool store showed the same conditions on the same model. I am using the tool to install brazilian cherry which is very hard, there is no problem in that respect it drives the cleats home every time and the tool is easy to use. I have been using Porter Cable products for 20 years and never had a problem before. If they re-design the pusher and refit the tool I will give it a 5 star rating.
Excellent nailer. I have laid over 1,500 feet of flooring with 2 jambs. It takes about 45 seconds to clear a jamb using the provided tool. Also the last nail in a set from Porter Cable seems to eject about 20% of the time which is not a big deal to me. Tells me to fill up. I let someone who used a hammer nailer use this one and he could not believe how fast and how much more power he got from the floor nailer. After using for a few days and since the 2 jambs I have not had any additional problems. Senco nails for me are better than the Porter Cable. Senco nails have a glue that keeps them together where as the Porter Cable break like staples in your pocket or pouch. Overall an excellent tool but for $400 plus what do you expect. If you are on the fence over various brands go with Porter Cable. The nails are available locally and the tool performs well.
Geez, it looks so easy on TV, but I was getting horrible results with 5/8 bamboo. The tool would shift when I hit it, the bamboo was splitting and the nail was hitting on the end of the tongue, so that the next board would catch on the nail.
First of all, order the right cleats. 1 1/2in for 1/2 or 5/8 material, 2in for 3/4 or bigger material.
After studying the instructions again and again, I saw a diagram at the end of the setup instructions, showing the base plate resting flat on the board, and the nose of the tool sitting on the tongue of the board. The diagram wasn't referenced in the instructions. My tool certainly didn't do that -- it looked like it might have been set up for a 3/4 or 23/64 thick material. I shimmed up the base plate (the plastic part that rests on the board you are nailing) with about 1/8" inches of paper, and everything looked great. From there, the tool worked flawlessly, drove the nails just where they should be, no splitting, and drove them deep enough that the next board didn't get hung up on the previous board's nails.
So I hope that PC might add some instructions on shimming up the base plate or better yet, ship plates of different thicknesses. Otherwise, its been a great tool.
So far, this has proven to be well worth every penny. It works flawlessly every time, with one exception: make sure you never try to fire the last nail. If it doesn't fall out, it will fire in an unexpected way. I wasn't paying attention to the nail stock, and it fired the last nail just under the finished face of the wood, ruining it. What a pain it was to have to dig out that piece of wood and replace it. I am much more careful now! The foot has a thick teflon (or similar material) layer attached so it never scratches the wood, and even the alignment blade seems to be pretty forgiving when you miss the edge and drag it over a bit of the surface of the wood.
Overall, this is a great product, and I would recommend it to anyone installing wood flooring, although I wish it came with a case... - Hardwood Flooring Nailer - Pneumatic Nailer - Hardwood Floor Nailer - Floor Nailer'
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