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Overall Rating

Very good for the price - with some drawbacks
Update 8/12/08 - always add a little lubricant for every 3 hours of use
Still functioning like the champ!

I had used a friend’s Bostitch coil nailler several times in the past. It was finally time to buy one of my own. I have always been a fan of Porter-Cable tools. The fantastic price offered by Amazon on this refurb was too much to resist.

I unboxed my nailer to find it in almost new condition; one slight scuff mark. i was suprised to find it much smaller and lighter than the Bostitch I had used before. I had ordered a RN175AR and received a RN175A. R - for refurbished.

Part 1

A couple of weeks later I was ready to put it to the test.
Location - Luling, Louisiana - 25 miles from New Orleans

I had a circa 1960, 11 square roof that had been redecked with 1/2 plywood over 1 x 10 planks.
In keeping with the 30 year, architectural, shingle manufacturers specifications ( driven nails must extend through decking) I chose to use a 1 1/2 inch nail.

Compressor PSI set to 100 lbs.

Six nails into the job an obvious issue became apparent. Some of the nails had not been driven completely - a few whacks with a hammer and all was ship shape. Time to look for the depth adjustment. Whereas I had recieved a safety brochure but not an operation manual - I was left to clever out the depth adjustment mechanism. ( pretty obvious - as was the operation of switching between single nail and multiple nail settings.)

With the depth adjustment set to maximum I made another test. Same problem.

So I increased the compressor pressure to 125 lbs - Same problem.

Then 130 lbs ( the stated maximum for safe operation of the the tool.) - Same problem.

For every 10 nails attempted- 1 or 2 needed to be massaged with a hammer. Time consuming but assuredly better than hand nailing.

On that job a fellow worker was using his Rigid coil nailer. Outside of a couple of minor differences - the Porter Cable and Ridgid nailers appeared to be quite alike.

Was he having the same problem? Yes.

So I was able to conclude that this particular application exceeded the abilities of both of these nailers.

There was a section of roof that contained all new wood. In that area both guns worked flawlessly.

Part 2

Several weeks later a friend, who has far more roofing experience than I, asked to borrow the Porter- cable coil nailer. He had loaned his Bostitch RN145 out and could not wait for it to be returned.

Apprised of my experience - he thought of a possible solution. He chose to change the hose nipple at the rear of the gun from 1/4″ to 3/8″ to configure with his equipment. It seemed to make sense that this may solve the problem.

Unfortunately not.

Similarly, he was able to nail without problems into all new wood and only found difficulties when nailing into time hardened subdecking.

Conclusion

Putting our experiences together we have conjectured that the porter-cable because it is light and small is a great choice for new construction. However, the extra weight and size of the Bostitch (bigger piston with more mass) for about the same price (refurb), may be the better choice for rennovations.

Caslo