This nailer is like a german sports car. It's got power, performance and handles like a dream. The single most important feature for a good siding nailer is the ability to accurately dial in the depth that the nails are driven. For cedar, or cement board siding the depth of drive is crucial. This nailer lets you adjust the depth of drive with absolute accuracy. You can flush nail all day long and you almost never have to pull your hammer out to set a proud nail. In addition, this nailer is light at 4.6 pounds which is also important when your using it all day on a ladder or scaffolding. The other feature that I love is that the nailer is extremely well balanced for a coil nailer. Most coil nailers are nose heavy because they don't have the stick housing to counter balance them. This nailer is not nose heavy and just has a great feel in your hand. Of all my tools, this is one of my favorites. I have not had a single jam and I've fired thousands and thousands of nails with it. This is a high performance tool, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who has any amount of siding to put up. It's a time saver, and truly a joy to use. Hitachi NV65AH 2-1/2-Inch Coil Siding Nailer
I am a DIY'er. I bought this nailer to install Hardieboards on my house. This tool saved me a huge amount of time over a hammer.
However, I am not a pro and here is what I found challenging:
1. The depth gauge was fairly easy to use but after a while I found that I had to just nail in a course and quickly hammer the nails home. Call it user inexperience (which clearly was the case) but I ended up under-driving rather than over-driving on purpose.
2. If you don't watch the plastic nail strap or cut it off frequently, it could twist around and foul the tool, requiring a stop to fix it.
3. It comes with the "automatic" trigger function: Hold the trigger, push, and nails will pop out until you let go. I found that difficult to work with: I can see how that would be useful for roofing, but for Hardie Boards, it made me pay too much attention to trigger pull/release, rather than paying attention to quality work.
Why 4 stars and not 5: Because the single-trip (one pull, one nail) mechanism doesn't come with the tool. I had to order that from a Hitachi dealer (referred by Hitachi themselves when I called) and it cost an additional $60-$70. Porter Cable, for example, will provide a different trip mechanism for free for their finish nailers (or at least they did when I bought one). This should have been included, or at least the price not so excessive, for such small and few parts.
I've done a lot of siding and I've tried a couple of different siding nailers but I always come back to the Hitachi NV65AH. These are workhorses of siding. I shoot an average of 1200 nails through these a day and the only problems I've had involved drops from scaffolding. What amazed me is how few problems I've had. After being dropped from 18 feet up the gun developed a slight leak. Not even enough to put it out of service. Considering how much dirt gets on these, from setting it on the ground or hanging from my belt into the dirt, I expected more problems.
The light weight is a big deal too. Most of the other siding guns I've dealt with are at least a pound heavier. Doesn't sound like much but this tool is almost always in my hand. A pound makes a difference.
The only reason I didn't give this five stars are the plastic sheeting keeps falling off, I keep getting new ones because the wire tends fly off when driving nails through Hardi plank (inevitably hits me in the face) and you can't get a rebuild kit for these, at least I haven't been able to find them. Hitachi's website says all work must be done by a certified Hitachi repair person.
Yes the price is high and I wouldn't suggest buying one for one house, rent if you can, but if your work is construction your not going to go wrong here.
I shot one box of 4800 2 1/4" ring shank galvanized nail through this gun the first time I used it. Oiled it often and kept clean as possible. There was the occasional miss where the nail had fallen out of the coil but it was harmless. Depth gauge worked well and was easy to adjust. This gun is lightweight, the Senco is a beast.
I just got done putting 11 squares of cedar shingles on my old farmhouse and the Hitachi nailer never let me down. An occasional jamb but that is all. But I only recommend the Hitachi nails. I was driving 2 1/2 inch ring shank stainless nails.Nothing but a great tool. I also sheeted,framed interior walls and flooring. Great all around and great for the homeowner,Thanks Hitachi.
Very lighweight, yet rugged. Adjustable drive depth a real asset when installing Hardipanel, or any James Hardie fiber-cement product. Get the real hot-dipped galvanized ring-shank nails from Hitachi (don't accept plated imitations!), stock number 13385 for 2 1/2 inch, and you can install Hardie as fast as you can cut it!This gun also good for fence building, and for attaching any "one-by" material to "two-by" substrates.
Excellent for quick and speedy installation of siding. Nails Hardie siding like it was pine. Make sure you adjust for correct length of nails or you will constantly be cleaning misfired nails. Some nail brands shoot better than others. Overall nice and handy tool.
Hitachi has a great nailer but they absolutely, positively need to include the single shot upgrade kit at no extra cost as this gun fires multiple nails far too easily and jams like you wouldn't believe. It's a great nailer as far as feel and weight but do yourself a favor and install the single shot nail kit.
Hitachi, shame on you for not building this into the gun or offering the upgrade at no extra cost.
As it stands now, I'd recommend to others to look at the Makita coil nailer as the best choice and then the Porter Cable as the second choice. - Hitachi - Nailer - Siding Guage - Nail Gun'
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