this little guy kicks total butt! not only lighter and smaller but it is cheaper then the PC 18ga nail gun. have no resverations about investing in this tool. i have used it for all kinds of finishing work and it shoots nails stright and never misfires. the safty allows you to see exctaly where the nail is going, unlike the new PCs that have that annoying peice of plastic on the tip. Sure Hitachi might have some probloms with some of its cordless tools but this guy works all the time everytime. Hitachi NT50AES 3/4-Inch to 2-Inch 18 Gauge Brad Nailer
I won't name the "B" brand that I had to replace that used the same guage and length nails but will share some thoughts.
When my "B" brand nailer quit firing, I disassembled it to see if I could figure out what was wrong - assuming a jammed nail. Nope. Went further and discovered the piston seal was assembled incorrectly from the factory and had an indentation in it that ended up making the piston seal fail. No "user servicable parts" were available so I had a one year old paperweight.
When I got the Hitachi, I went ahead and checked the internals to be sure there was no repeat of the above problem. Boy was I amazed at how much better built the Hitachi is! Beefier parts, less plastic and slight differences in construction, all positives! And it cost twenty bucks less to boot! Buy it, you'll like it. Based on its' construction, I'm guessing it will last well past the year of the previous nailer I had.
The most reliable 2" 18 gauge brad gun that I have ever purchased. I have tried them all and now I have 5 Hitachi's. Amazon carries this gun $10-$15 cheaper than the home center's and has free shipping. Enough said.
A few years ago I wrote a poor review of the Hitachi NT50AE brad nailer because it had a design problem that resulted in misfiring. I wasn't the only reviewer to notice this problem (look up the reviews for the NT50AE if you're curious). In addition to fixing the misfiring problem, the NT50AES features an adjustable depth of drive and a sequential trip trigger.
Because NT50AES doesn't misfire, I now use this brad nailer as my primary one. I do a lot of trim work on remodeling jobs and have used Senco, Porter Cable, Paslode, and Hitachi brad nailers. I own an Hitachi NT50AE that I no longer use (due to the misfiring problems), a Paslode T200-F18 that I got to replace the NT50AE, and an Hitachi NT50AES that has now replaced the Paslode, which I still use as a secondary brad nailer (I like to have multiple nail lengths running concurrently).
The Hitachi has the best ergonomics of any brad nailer I've tried. It's heavy enough to eliminate any recoil, yet balanced. The rubber grip is solid, yet comfortable. This nailer feels like it was designed for production work and will last a long time (I question the durability of my mostly plastic Paslode, because it's light and has a lower air pressure rating ). I know the Hitachi is durable because I've dropped it off of several stepladders, out of my tool belt, and also yanked it off of some upper cabinets by accident without any ill effects. Plus my other Hitachi nailers have been extremely durable and reliable.
I prefer the Hitachi NT50AES over the Porter Cable because the Hitachi is smaller, more powerful, recoils less, and has a nicer shoe that allows it to more easily nail curved pieces of trim like base shoe. It's better than the Senco because the Senco's cheap foam grip will wear down over time (as it has on our jobsites) and the Hitachi is more powerful than the Senco. The Paslode is a good, reliable gun, but it's rather light and has a tendency to recoil more. Its plastic, anti-marring nose guard will break (as it has after about a year), leaving you with a pointy piece of metal in its place. I have mixed feelings about the pointy metal. On the one hand, it fits into tight locations pretty well, but it also has a greater tendency to mar the wood. I could buy replacement nose guards from Paslode if I wanted to, and I did like Paslode's plastic guard before it broke.
Like another reviewer mentioned, the Hitachi's all metal nose will mar soft woods. I've pushed hard enough on cherry to cause indentations, but I've had no trouble with maple, oak, or MDF. The nose is large enough to normally distribute the pressure as to avoid indenting the wood, and with a little practice, you'll know how much you can push with the nailer and how much you'll have to push with your other hand or a clamp depending on the material. Unlike the plastic nose guards other brands have, Hitachi's all metal nose will last a long time in abusive environments. Plus it has a great wrap-around shape for nailing curved trim. Occasionally I've had trouble trying to get other nailers' noses depressed enough to activate the firing mechanism when nailing curved trim like base shoe, but I've never had this problem with the Hitachi.
This one is a keeper, great brad nailer, no double fires, no jams (at least not yet), and very few nails that need to be set. Cheaper than the PC and a five year warrenty! I'd say it was just as good as the PC and not quite as smooth as the Senco (had little use with this one). It seems to shoot PC nails just fine, (can't seem to get my suppliers to get Hitachi nails to try) I haven't run that many nails through it, but so far no jams, and the quality seems top notch.
i've been using this brad gun for a little over 2 months now and I really like it, I use it mostly to install shoe molding and other light trim work. The Hitachi has performed flawlessly , always countersinking the brads. Just to see how strong it shot , I took two scrap pieces of 5/4 oak stacked on top of each other and shot a 2" brad into the two pieces , and the nail head was countersunk nicely, needless to say I was surprised. P.S., this gun replaced a senco 1 1/4" brad gun that wasn't countersinking for me properly (yes i am a senco fan, I love my 41xp), the hitachi is well worth the price, no doubt.'
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