I purchased this particular item because of its better range of brad sizes it can handle, and the Porter Cable name, good reviews, etc.
I have been using this nailer quite often, and am now left with several boxes of finish nails I will likely never use again. No more getting the nailsets out to bury a finish nail down on a piece of trim, etc.
The options for using this are endless. Just last night, I needed to make a couple wood boxes to hold scrap in my workshop area, and had some scrap 3/8" plywood, perfect for the boxes. Using this nailer, I could quickly apply a little glue, between corners of the box, and shoot a couple brads in and done. Can't do that with finish nails on plywood without splitting out alot.
Great tool, highly recommended, easy to handle. Porter-Cable BN200B 5/8-Inch to 2-Inch 18-Gauge Brad Nailer
I own many Porter-Cable tools. They have never failed or disappointed me.
I have an older version of this Porter-Cable nailer and it's a great nailer even after shooting well over 5,000 nails. Of all the tools in my shop, it's one of my favorites. Indispensible for woodworking and trim.
My first brad nailer was a no-name cheapo that shot maybe 100 nails before it was trash.
I purchased this one as a gift.
I am very impressed with this brad nailer. I tried different lengths of brads on different woods and everything worked great. I had no problem driving the brads all the way into the wood or by make a simple change to the depth adjustment, I could leave the heads up. The case is nice as well.
I bought the Porter Cable 18 ga. nailer to do some trim work around the house. I was so impressed that I also bought their 16 ga. nailer and framing nailer. To date, I've never had a jam and they've all worked perfectly. I've never owned any other nailer so I can't compare their performance, but since the Porter Cable's work so well, I have no reason to shop around.
After using the nailer for over a year a air leak started right at the bottom of the nailing housing opposite the trigger. I took the four hex screws out of the top cover and looked around. Investigation revealed a leak between the drive cylinder which runs vertical above the nail head and the gun housing. Instead of ordering a new O ring and seal,(parts number 116 and 118 on the Porter Cable web site) which i probably would have nicked trying to install and have a new leak, I bought a tube of silicon sealant and squeezed a thick half-inch coating of silicon around the outer edge of the cylinder and over the seal. Careful not to cover the cave in the handle where air is stored between shots or get any silicon on the little round trigger housing and let it set open for 24 hours. Put the top back on torquing the hex nuts tightly on the gasket and fired it up. Nails like new. The silicon is tough and should last a few years. Good little nailer. Enjoy, Dave
I read several articles with the majority rating the Hitachi and the PC as best values. I went with the PC since several people mentioned the noise of the Hitachi. May not be an issue if you're outside but inside - I could see the problem. Since purchasing, I have installed several door frames and trim and probably 600 feet of baseboard without a misfire or bad contact point. Granted, I've only shot 600 or so nails but reading reviews and articles from more experienced users, it's what you can expect. The nailer is lightweight, easy to use, and quiet for a pneumatic. One accessory I've come to enjoy is the provided cap to put over the air nipple. Most of my projects so far have involved high-levels of drywall and wood dust in the area. Being able to cap the nipples when the nailer is not in use is great. So is the provided belt hook for when exchanging out the nailer for my PC stapler. When using, keep your air pressure above 75psi. Anything below that and you'll notice the nails will not be flush with your surface. I can't speak for the durability of this nailer but for the time I have owned and used it and my history with other PC products, I consider it a very good product for the price and have no reason to believe it will falter.
The Good: This gun is great. It goes along great with my PC 16ga nailer which is well over 13 years old and still going strong. It has great features in a compact lightweight frame. I use it primarily for trim and and wood furniture. Free shipping and Price are also nice.
The Not So Good: make sure when using 2" nails that you are using the right size. Some 2" nails are 50mm and some are 51mm. This gun only accepts up to 50mm. The PC Brand 2" nails are 51mm!!! Kind of silly that the products are incompatible even though both made/labeled PC. I spoke with PC and they avoided the aspect of incompatibility and simply said 51mm may cause unwanted operation.
The Bad: Amazon is extremely slow at shipping. Waited over a week for it to finally ship then 4 days shipping time. Yeah I know it's free shipping, but even the slowest shipping method doesn't take that long.
After weeks and weeks of research and frustration when reading all the Amazon reviews on brad nailers and thinking I found the 5 star gun to buy, only to get turned off by one lousy 1 star review, and agononizing over whether I should spend $90 on a tool I'll rarely use, I finally bit the bullet and ordered this Porter Cable BN200B. It was delivered in great condition in only 4 days with free shipping. Had a nice hard plastic storage case, but they ddn't make the relief fit the belt clip on the nailer very well. You have to svivel it around to get the case to close properly, and even then it seems out of place. I've fired off about 100 of the 1.5" brads they include in the kit, and it worked great. Never misfired once and all were countersunk correctly. My only complaint is that they made the nail clip out of plastic, instead of aluminum. Come on guys, even the cheap Harbor Freight guns have aluminum clips. - Woodworking - Nailers'
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