Chet Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 I have never had a pin nailer but I am coming up on my current project were some parts will need a little something to hold things in place while the glue dries. I did a lot of researching and looking some at the reviews. I decided to get one from a company called Metabo. It got some of the best reviews from a number of different places. It was $89 on Amazon and $99 at Lowes. For the amount that I would use it, this was an attractive price. I went ahead and ordered through Amazon and it arrived Tuesday evening. Wednesday morning I gave it a test drive. I looks really well made has a nice balanced feel and is pretty light weight. But as soon as I started to test it there were problems. It wasn't sinking the pins below the surface. They say to set the pressure to between 65 and 100 psi. Well at 70 psi it was leaving 1/8 on an inch on a 1 inch pin sticking out. I adjusted the nose per instructions and nothing changed. After this I kept upping the pressure to 100 psi and it got better but still not right. At 100psi it still left the pin above the surface. Then I noticed that it was leaking oil from around the trigger area. So at this point I wiped it down and packaged it back up and shipped it back for a refund. I was really wanting to like this nailer and thinking and hoping that the leak was causing all the problems, I decided to give it one more try, something I don't usually do. I went to Lowes and picked up a second nailer, got it home tested it out. No Joy, it was better but it was still leaving them proud of the surface so back it went and I moved on. I decided I was going to have to put more money into this purchase and I spent some more time looking on line and a lot of them that I would have gone for are, like a lot of things right now, are on back order. I found a Grex P635 at my Woodcraft store, but still they only had one so I asked if they would hold it until I got there. This is more then I really had hoped to spend, but having used it for just a little while I an happy with the purchase. The price only hurt for a little while and I guess this is one of the cases were you get what you pay for. One thing I noticed right away was it was a lot quieter then the other one. It also has this little window (red arrow) in the side of the magazine that lets you see when you are getting low on pins, I wish my Senco finish and brad nailer had this. So far I am giving it an A. 5 Quote "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 Nice! They are really nice to have around I wish I could justify an airless but for the amount of times I use it I couldn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushwacked Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 23ga has been on my wish list for years ... just never could justify it as I am not sure I would use it too much, yet. Just need that 1 big project and its coming home with me haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 Thanks for the review! I need to add one of these to my shop as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenskye (Bryan) Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 I have heard Grex makes a good gun. I have a Bostitch 18 and 23 ga and they both work great. Definitely handy to have in the shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 (edited) Nice! As I was reading your experience I was thinking about mentioning Grex to you. I have tried out a couple less expensive 23g guns and haven’t had good luck. The same issues @Chet was mentioning. Wouldn’t sink the pins in hardwoods. Or they would jam up after a couple of nails. I first had the Bosch and I wouldn’t give that to any of you guys as I like you all to much. Second and current is the ridgid. It jams way less than the Bosch but it’s hit or miss on if it will sink the pin. Really I don’t even use it much with the worries of having a nail exposed where you were originally trying to hide one. Long story short is to buy the grex. Have used them in the past shooting thousands of pins. Not one misfire. Great tool! Guys don’t wait on getting a 23g gun. You won’t use your 18g after using it. Edited March 30, 2021 by Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 I recently bought my first pin nailer to hold the glass retainer strips in my door and can see using it frequently. It’s a Bostitch 23 ga. and it works great. The only down side is that the safety is a double trigger and you don’t depress the head to fire it. I learned quickly though after one misfire. I returned my first Amazon product Saturday and kind of felt bad about sending it back but ...... not really! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 1 minute ago, Coop said: I recently bought my first pin nailer to hold the glass retainer strips in my door and can see using it frequently. It’s a Bostitch 23 ga. and it works great. The only down side is that the safety is a double trigger and you don’t depress the head to fire it. I learned quickly though after one misfire. I returned my first Amazon product Saturday and kind of felt bad about sending it back but ...... not really! I know what you are saying with the double trigger. If I’m using my nailer a lot which also has the double trigger I just use a little tape to hold the safety trigger out of the way ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 @Chet, on a similar note, will this nailer live in the original hard case? The reason for asking is that I’ve heard several people say they discard them but not the Festool sustainers. For me, a tool that is used infrequently stays in the original box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted March 30, 2021 Author Share Posted March 30, 2021 29 minutes ago, Jamie said: If I’m using my nailer a lot which also has the double trigger I just use a little tape to hold the safety trigger out of the way I say this with all due respect. Just remember its called a safety trigger not a gets in my way trigger. Its there to make you think about what you are doing. I hope before you have an accident, you rethink this. Please. 25 minutes ago, Coop said: @Chet, on a similar note, will this nailer live in the original hard case? The reason for asking is that I’ve heard several people say they discard them but not the Festool sustainers. For me, a tool that is used infrequently stays in the original box. Yea, I do Coop. One thing I know about pneumatic tools of any sort is they don't get along with dust of any nature. 32 minutes ago, Coop said: you don’t depress the head to fire it I don't think most pin nailers work this way. They are a finish tool and you don't want to have an extra ding or dent in you project from banging the head to fire. 1 Quote "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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