That time an old framer told me to stop using my nail gun for everything

I was on a job site in Columbus about three years ago, and this guy in his 60s named Ed watched me nail off a whole wall in about 10 minutes. He pulled me aside and said I'd snap every board if I didn't start hand-nailing the first few. I thought he was being old-fashioned, but last year I had a deck rail start pulling loose because I'd countersunk everything with a gun. Went back and did his way on a new shed - drove the first three nails by hand on each joist, then used the gun. The structure feels way more solid, and I haven't had a split board since. Anybody else have an old timer give you advice that actually paid off?

2 comments

2 Comments

jesse_cooper25d ago

i saw a post on here a while back about this same thing and it made me totally rethink how i use my tools. the guy said his dad always told him to hand nail the first and last few on anything structural, and i guess there's a reason builders did it that way forever. those nails grab differently when you set them by hand, more friction or something. i tried it on a shelf i was putting up in my garage and it definitely felt tighter than when i just blast everything with the gun.

maxmurphy25d ago

Didn't used to buy into that whole hand nailing thing at all. Figured modern nail guns were better and faster, end of story. But after reading that same post and trying it on a few projects, I gotta admit you're right. The nails definitely feel different when you set them by hand, like they bite into the wood more instead of just sliding in. Now I do the first and last nail with a hammer on anything that needs to hold up, even shelves and stuff. Makes a real difference in how solid the whole thing feels when you're done.