Why does nobody talk about how bad cordless nailers are for trim work?

I was on a job last week in a 1920s house near downtown, fixing up some crown molding in a library room. The homeowner handed me his fancy new cordless finish nailer, said it was a game changer. I tried it on the first piece and it left these little dents deeper than any pneumatic gun I've ever used. Then the nail angle was off by like 3 degrees, so I had to fill every single hole with putty. Took me twice as long as if I'd just used my old Senco compressor setup. My buddy Dave swears by his cordless but he mostly does framing where nobody sees the face. Has anyone else noticed this with finish work, or am I just stuck in my ways?

2 comments

2 Comments

robert_craig2d ago

Have you actually tried adjusting the depth driver on that cordless gun? Most have a dial that lets you fine-tune it way better than a pneumatic setup. I've used both on trim for years and once you get the settings right the cordless is actually smoother for me.

emmap161d ago

That "dial" you mentioned is the same one I always forget exists until I've already messed up three pieces of trim. Guess my brain is too old to adapt, or maybe I just like having an excuse to complain about my tools.