Had a chat with an old timer who convinced me to stop using nail guns for everything

I was framing a shed last Saturday and this retired carpenter, must be 70 years old, walks up and starts watching me. He said 'you kids rely on those guns too much, you don't feel the wood anymore.' I laughed it off at first but then he showed me how he hand-nailed a joist and it honestly sat tighter than mine. I timed myself and it only took like 3 extra minutes per board to hand drive. Now I'm thinking about switching to hammer for smaller jobs and keeping the gun just for big production work. Anybody else ever go back to hand nailing after using a gun for years?

2 comments

2 Comments

phoenixh744d ago

Told my neighbor I was gonna hand nail my son's treehouse to "feel the wood" and he asked if I'd lost a bet. But honestly three extra minutes per board is nothing if it means you're not blowing through a box of nails on stuff that doesn't need it. Ngl I still use the gun for rafters and joists where I'm doing 50 of them but for framing a single wall by hand it's kinda satisfying like hitting a baseball. Just don't tell my supplier I'm curing my nail gun addiction, he'll start selling me aromatherapy hammers or something.

robinc664d ago

Wait, hand nailing a whole wall isn't just for old guys on YouTube? I always thought you were nuts but now I kinda wanna try it on my next shed.