Did you know that a brad nailer setup can cost as little as a hundred dollars?
This brad nailer air hose, the fittings, and even the air compressor with it,
the entire setup costs about a hundred dollars and is a hugely useful tool for
doing projects around the house. Hi there.
My name is Nils with learned to DIY and today we'll be covering a few different
budgets set ups that you can look at for using a brad dealer.
The brad nailer is a must have for so many different home improvement projects.
Everything from doing finished carpentry like baseboards and crown molding,
to doing wall treatments like shiplap, for example,
as well as putting together small projects and just helping you get things done
around the house. Now, if you're not familiar with the company Harbor Freight,
they are a tool company all
over north America. And in these stores,
you can find some really good price budget items, especially if you are a DIYer.
And just looking to do a few projects.
If you're looking to do contract level work and use these tools every day,
most of the things they sell there are really not your jam.
They're not going to be a great fit, high quality,
that's going to last you for years and years with repeated use.
But if you're using them for a handful of projects and you're just needing
something around the house, these could be the perfect fit.
There are several main ingredients that you need when using a pneumatic or air
driven brad nailer like this. And the first one is of course, the brad nailer.
Now these costs only about $29.99 at Harbor Freight.
And this is a bonus because this is a two for one.
This one will actually accept both brads as well as staples,
like what I've got in here now.
So you can use this for stapling on crown or stapling things together,
as well as just traditional brads. These are super useful.
I use mine all the time and if you treat them well, they will last,
and we'll talk a little bit more about that in just a moment.
The other thing you need of course, is the compressor.
A compressor can come in any different size. This is the least expensive one.
And these ones are actually only $50. They're a little less than $50 plus tax.
And these I believe are being discontinued at Harbor Freight in favor of these
new ones by McGraw.
These new ones have a little bit better air pressure, 110 PSI instead of 100,
but they're otherwise just about the same. Now,
both the central pneumatics and the McGraws come in a hotdog style compressor
like this one, as well as a pancake style like this one,
these are small three gallon air compressors.
And that means they're going to be running a lot in order to keep up.
And they're, one-third horsepower. They're oilless,
so you don't have to maintain them, which is really nice,
but they are not the best thing out there. These are pretty cheap,
but if you're doing a home project and you're just using these once in a while,
these will work just fine.
Now the hoses can start for as little as literally three bucks, $2.97.
One like this will cost a little bit more, maybe $10 or $15,
and they can go up from there. Now these are Harbor Freight hoses.
They're not going to be the top notch thing. Again,
these are not contractor grade,
but for doing home improvement projects and getting an occasional job done,
they will work absolutely fine.
I've used Harbor Freight hoses for most of stuff here in my woodshop and around
the house for years, and they've all held up just fine. Now,
when you buy an air hose,
it won't connect directly to the brad nailer or the air compressor as is.
You actually need a little accessory kit or some adapters to be able to do the
quick connects.
So the quick connect is just a collar system like this that allows you to pull
back this collar and then it slips right in, locked into place,
and provides air pressure to your tool. Then when you're ready to disconnect,
you pull back the collar again and release.
Now two ingredients that are sometimes overlooked,
but are essential when you're working with air tools, are 1, some Teflon tape.
Teflon tape basically helps provide a seal when you're connecting two parts
together. So when you're threading together a quick connect kit like this,
for example, and all of the pieces and parts that you need for that,
make sure to wrap some Teflon tape around the threaded side before you thread
those in. And that will ensure a nice airtight seal for your tools.
You can pick up a roll of this for about a dollar,
or you can get a whole box of these for five or six bucks.
The second essential thing that you want to have with any pneumatic or air
driven tools like this is this air tool oil.
You just need one drop of this to go in the inlet when you use your air tool.
And all that does is help lubricate the parts inside. In here, for example,
you've got this chamber and in the chamber,
there's a piston that moves up and down and shoots that brad or that staple into
place. But that, just like any moving part,
needs to stay lubricated in order to not seize up at some point.
So make sure you're putting a drop of this in,
for each project that you use it on. Now,
the brads themselves come in all different lengths and they come in both a
galvanized and non galvanized variety. They come in different gauges.
So you want to make sure to match that up.
Like these are both 18 gauge brads to fit our 18 gauge brad nailer.
And you want to make sure to check the length for the project that you need.
In this case,
I've got some 1 1/2's here and some 1 inches and just depends on what you're
using them for. Also the capacity will matter.
So I believe on this central pneumatic one here, it only goes up to about 2 1/8,
which is usually more than you'll ever need,
but just make sure you're not getting brads that are longer than what your brad
nailer can handle. If you're looking for a major upgrade to that setup,
as far as convenience and portability, then cordless is the way to go.
So cordless air compressors are super nice. They're battery operated,
and they're just as powerful as the corded options.
And they really give you so much flexibility and convenience as far as not
having to have that air hose all around,
not having the noise of the air compressor and just being convenient. Now,
these machines are all in one. So there are a lot heavier, for example,
than a little brad nailer would be that's a pneumatic version,
but if you're just using it here and there,
it really is not anything that's a big deal.
And I've used these all day long and not had any issues with it. So,
in my opinion, this is the way to go.
This was a real treat the day I got this one versus the hose versions that I've
had for so many years. Now, personally,
I'm a big fan of Ridgid because these have a lifetime warranty,
meaning that everything on this is guaranteed for life, including the battery.
That is the only brand that I'm aware of that will have lifetime warranty on
batteries. So if these things wear out or are running down,
then you just turn them in and get them replaced,
and make sure that you've got them registered in the first 90 days that you buy
them. Now, this is definitely not a $100 setup,
and it's also not the highest end out there,
but this is a really quality setup that will last you literally a lifetime.
And this cost about $270 depending on prices for today.
So that includes the battery with the lifetime warranty, the battery charger,
and of course the brad nailer itself.
Now you can actually get into cordless brad nailing for about $200.
The Ryobi set actually costs about that much for all of the same setup for
the brad nailer and the battery and the charger.
It does not have a lifetime warranty, unfortunately,
but it's a good way for getting into brad nailing without all of the hoses and
everything for just a couple of hundred bucks.
Just a quick reminder that if you want to support our channel and want to see
more content like this,
you can become a member of the LRN2DIY channel by clicking the join button down
below, or using the Patreon link in the description below.
It starts at just 99 cents to support our channel, and it helps us out a ton.
So thank you so much. Now,
the brad nailer is actually just one of several tools that I think is kind of an
essential for doing home improvement projects,
and it's perfect for DIY guys and DIY gals. Now,
if you want to see my list of my six must have essential tools,
you can check that video out right here. I'm Nils with LRN2DIY.
Thanks for watching, and we'll see you on the next one.