While I have a number of air tools, having just bought a house, I have no easy access to compressed air. With a lot of paneling & trim work to do, I looked into the electric brad nailers. Seems from the reviews the Stanley line is pretty undependable, with a lot of poor reviews. Only one I found with decent reviews was the Senco, and a little more looking turned up one at Northern Tool, which I think is a rebadged Senco. Here:

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...5555_200305555

Got it today, and beelined to our local building supply store for nails. Bought Bostich 18 gauge X 1". Loaded her up & tried her out. Sunk the 1" flush into a 2X4 with no problem. Tried a piece 1/4 inch plywood to a 2X4, again sunk it flush.

At $55.00 w/ free shipping, it's looking good. Time will tell about reliability, but it's off to a good start. Reviews did mention that you have to use a heavy extension cord, or the nails may not sink all the way using a light/long cord.

Had to laugh, tho, as a box of nails from northern were $3.49, but adding them to the order added a $5.89 shipping charge! Bought the nails locally for $3.89 tax included!

 

Try using it on something other than pine (like oak, maple) and let me know what you think then. It should be putting the head below the surface of the wood. Check to see if there is an adjustment for that. It might have been better to get a paslode (yes I know how much they cost) but you can not beat air or gas powered nailing tools.
Hopefully it works out for you though.

 

After reading your post, I went down cellar & grabbed a piece of 100 year old oak, which is harder than a banker's heart. 1st two brads, 1 in end grain, one perpendicular, went in flush. The driver has a plastic nose piece to prevent marring, so I removed it to see if it would drive them below flush. Guess what, it wouldn't fire! Turns out it popped the 15 amp breaker. Reset, and fired two more - one went flush, one bent over- but there was a knot where the one bent. Don't know if there is an adjustment for depth. I do think that 1-1/4 brads might be pushing it in hard wood. But, my use is pine trim, 1/4 in plywood over 2X4s, etc, so should be adequate. Kinda like using a cordless tool vs corded - gotta give up something to gain the advantage of being cordless. (So I give up the extra power to not need air). Of course that doesn't mean it won't drive half a pack of nails and crap out, the jury is still out on that aspect. But, so far, so good.

 

I've got an electric Arrow nailer, takes up to 1". Works okay for putting the backings on Ikea furniture, but pretty much useless for installing baseboards or crown moulding. Nails pulled out of the drywall. Had to step up to an air nailer that'll take 2" brads.

 

So how does it hold up long term? Any jams, misfires? Perhaps all the bad reviews I read were only from a few disgruntled users, and the majority didn't review it? I can see where a 1" wouldn't work for crown moulding, or on the thinner baseboard molding. Got to get through the drywall into the framing....

I have a bunch of 1/4 inch paneling to put up, into 2X4 and 1x3, so I think it's gonna be ok. Then it's for the wood shop - drawer bottems, carcass assy, etc.

 

I bought a cheap electric one at HF. Doesn't sink nails in anything. What a waste of my time. You can't beat AIR. At least you have some pressure adjustment. Live and learn.

 

Looks like it nailed your wallet.... Actually, Harbor Fright makes some "ok" tools, not real good ones. Unfortunately your nailer wasn't one of them. I like their cheap grinders - 4-1/2, 6, and 9 inch. Have one of each, have only managed to kill one, a 4-1`/2 inch. Took a lot of beating before it died tho.What the hey, it was only $10 back then. So, I pitched it and bought another. The 6 and the 9 inch ones are going strong, and I don't baby them in the least. Oh, yeah, their cheapie hammer drill sucks...ask me how I know!

 

HF grinders are good and cheap...they also give you an extra set of brushes. Actually alot of the Central Pneumatic air tools are pretty good from HF. My dad has a air brad nailer and air stapler from HF and they are pretty good for how cheap they were.

 

HF doesn't make anything; they sell foreign-made, sometimes single-use tools. I'll admit I
buy some things from 'em but it's for light-duty, occasional use only. I borrowed a harmonic
balancer puller from a friend who had purchased in at HF and used it once. On its second
use - when I went to use it on my 400 - the POS potmetal thing broke into two pieces.

 

Mine doesn't misfire or jam. But, when I get on a roll, I tend to forget about the nails and run out. I used it to install wainscotting in our old townhouse, had no problem going through the drywall into the stud. But the nails weren't long enough to go through a chair rail or baseboard and then drywall into a stud. That's why I had to get the 2" air nailer.

Actually, if I could find an 1-1/2" electric nailer, that'd probably be perfect. But I don't do alot of finish carpentry much anymore.