Tools of the Trade: Tool Tests and Reviews

Lightweight Framing Nailers

Thu, 2 May 2013 01:29:42 EST

These sub 8-pound nail guns are comfortable to use and surprisingly powerful.

Tools Up Close: Graco ProShot Paint Sprayer

Mon, 7 Jan 2013 07:13:52 EST

Last summer, my painting company added a new sprayer to its arsenal: the Graco ProShot. For those who missed the hoopla surrounding the introduction of this tool, it's a hoseless 2,000-psi piston pump sprayer that takes pro-style tips and is powered by an 18-volt battery. The ProShot is sold exclusively through Sherwin-Williams and should not be confused with Graco's TrueCoat sprayers, which are aimed at the DIY market.

Tool Test: Airless Paint Sprayers

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 03:41:24 EST

We gathered nine pumps, ranging from midlevel budget models to a few suited for everyday use on smaller jobs – they just had to be able to handle the pros' requisite .019-inch tip. Our painter of 25 years used them with interior and exterior latex paints to determine their worth from a full-time painting contractor's point of view.

First Test: High-Pressure Pneumatics

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 01:06:05 EST

Makita is bringing its high-pressure nailer line to the U.S., and we were the first framing crew in the country to get our hands on its framing and siding coil nailers and brand-new 400-psi compressor. High-pressure nailers are more common in Japan, where the affinity for efficiency and compactness drives a lot of product designs. Makita's models have been available there for about three years; they were released in Europe last year. Now it's our turn.

First Test: Bosch's First-Ever Nailer

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 01:06:01 EST

Out West where I build, the Big Three of framing nailers are Hitachi, Paslode, and Senco; if you've shot a 12d nail here, chances are it's been through one of these. There is no shortage of companies making framers, as I found out in our test of 19 full round-head nailers last year, but an unexpected name just entered the field. After decades of making every other tool imaginable, Bosch has introduced its first nailers and compressors, with all-new designs from the air intake up.

First Test: Nail Kicker Pneumatic Nail Remover

Tue, 5 Feb 2013 01:28:57 EST

For such an ingenious tool, the Nail Kicker is based on a very simple concept. What if you could use a nail gun instead of a hammer to pound a nail back through a board? All you would need is a nailer without a magazine, right? That's the idea behind the Nail Kicker.

First Test: NailOut Pneumatic Nail Lifter

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 01:06:12 EST

The NailOut is an air-powered cat's-paw designed to work just like a manual cat's-paw but without the hammer swing. Essentially, this tool is an adaptation of a pneumatic tool called a scaler that's used in the metal fabrication industry. A scaler's simple reciprocating action–or stroke–is similar to an air chisel's except that its square-shank bit stays in a fixed position relative to the inline handle and does not rotate in use. Since the NailOut has a scaler's body, you can buy chiseling and scraping bits other than those supplied with the tool to make it do double duty.

Lightweight Air Compressors

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 09:44:22 EST

My life changed 30 years ago when my boss showed up on our jobsite with a used 2-gallon, 1-horse air, belt-driven compressor and a couple of roofing staplers. That old compressor chugged day in and day out, just barely keeping pace with our tools but driving our production to a new level.

Hoseless Nailers

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 05:03:41 EST

As a builder in the Washington, D.C., area, I spend a lot of time with a nailer in my hand and, of course, a lot of time dragging an air hose around the jobsite. It was an eye-opening experience for me to try out the current generation of hoseless (a.k.a. cordless) nail guns, both framing and finish; it's an impressive array of capable tools, whether they are powered by gas fuel cartridges or by rechargeable batteries. After a few months of testing, I came to the conclusion that we are inching closer to a time when air compressors will be a thing of the past. I'm convinced that we are already at that point with finish nailers and, hopefully, are on the threshold of a great leap forward with framing guns, too.