Choosing the Right Type of Nail Gun: What You Should Know

Are you thinking about buying a nail gun? Nail guns offer a faster and more efficient way to drive nails into wood. As you may know, they are power tools that shoot nails. Rather than manually hammering nails into wood, you can use a nail gun. There are different types of nail guns, however. While they are all designed to quickly drive nails into wood, they don't use the same method of operation.

Pneumatic

The most common type of nail gun is pneumatic. Pneumatic refers to the use of air. Like all pneumatic tools, pneumatic nail guns leverage pressurized air. They feature a compressor and a power source. The compressor is responsible for pressurizing the air, whereas the power source -- such as a battery or corded outlet connection -- powers the compressor. Pneumatic nail guns are powerful, easy to use and require minimal maintenance.

Gas

Some nail guns are powered by gas. You can find propane-powered nail guns, for instance. They require a small propane tank. During use, propane-powered nail guns will burn some of this gas within a cylinder. As the propane burns, a piston will move forward while simultaneously projecting the nail out of the nozzle.

Solenoid

There are also solenoid-powered nail guns. A solenoid is an electromagnet. Solenoid-powered nail guns feature one or more electromagnets. Like pneumatic nail guns, they require a power source. Solenoid-powered nail guns will only project nails when their respective electromagnet or electromagnets receive power. Regardless, you may come across solenoid-powered nail guns when researching the different types of nail guns.

Roofing

Roofing nail guns are exactly what they sound like: nail guns designed for roofing. Most of them use a pneumatic method of operation. Unlike other pneumatic nail guns, though, roofing nail guns are designed specifically for roofing. You can use them to quickly and efficiently project nails into roofs.

Flooring

In addition to roofing nail guns, there are flooring nail guns. Also known as finish nail guns, flooring nail guns are designed for flooring. They feature an ergonomic design that makes it easy to project nails into floors. Like roofing nail guns, most flooring nail guns use a pneumatic method of operation.

In Conclusion

Not all nail guns are the same. While they can all project nails -- typically at high speeds -- they are available in different types. Common types of nail guns include pneumatic, gas, solenoid, roofing and flooring.