Accessories

Must have for a serious tool junkie
I'll admit... I don't use this tool very often. I have three other nailers that do a better, and much faster job at setting nails. But every once in a while, I find myself in a situation where this is the ONLY tool for the job. When the space is tight, and I don't have the room to swing a hammer (much less fit a framing nailer), this tool is a lifesaver. I'd definitely put it near the top of my list of favorite tools to own. It's relatively inexpensive, easy to use, built very well, and comes with a bunch of attachment which I'll probably never need, but somebody else might. It came in especially handy for changing out or adding studs in the basement. You can drive nails down through the top plate and into the stud from between the floor joists above. You won't be disappointed in this tool.

Great tool!
I got this for doing a seismic retrofit in my crawl space and retrofitting my deck with Simpson ties. So far I've done several of the Simpsons on the deck and where it would be torture to reach between a 4x4 and the house to drive a nail, this is a cinch! I first used a 1 gallon compressor and it would drive one and a half 16d nails before I had to stop so I got a 4 gal. compressor and I haven't outpaced it.

I was feeling kind of bad when I saw the Senco at Home Depot for half the price, but what the heck - I love this tool. The Senco's glove looked pretty cheap and it didn't have the hammer and finish guide. When I first tried the tool it didn't work, but the manual said the internal valve could be moved if the tool was dropped and to whack it's back on some wood. I whacked too weakly for fear of hurting it but finally really whacked it and it worked fine.

Something you need to know before purchasing
I recently purchased, and ultimately returned this nailer after I discovered a design flaw - not a manufacturing flaw but an honest to goodness design error. Specifically, Porter-Cable's design of the nail magnet is poorly done - A real suprise in light of the marvelous adapters, integral glove and carrying case accessories, all of which are excellent. The problem is that PC chose to use a small rare earth magnet in the side wall of the nail holder. The magnet is so weak that upon placing an 8 penny nail in the tool and turning it over, the nail will fall right out. I had the tool repaired by a factory authorized repair center and when I picked the item up, I showed the technician that the unit still had the original problem even though they had replaced the magnet. His reaction was, yeah, we noticed how undermagnetized the nail holder was even when replaced. I've used other brands of palm nailers and never experienced this problem. I compared it to the Senco PC 0781 I found at the Home Depot and the Senco unit has a magnetized cylinder that firmly holds the nail in place. By comparison once the 8 penny nail was inserted into the Senco, no amount of shaking would dislodge the nail. This is an important point because when you are up on a ladder trying to hold things in place, you don't need to be worrying if the darn nail is going to fall out. When I called PC support, I had to spend 10 minutes explaining to the clueless phone person that I wasn't talking about a nailgun but a palm nailer because she kept insisting that I was loading the "nails" (plural) in the gun the wrong way. After, I cleared that hurdle, the end of her support "script" was soon reached and since PC could offer no other remedy, I decided to return the unit for a refund. This really pains me because my other PC tools are great, this item had the whole feature set, but the execution of design is lacking. My suggestion is if you don't need the ability to drive oversize nails, buy a different palm nailer - Who knows, maybe PC will fix the problem in the future.

Pint-Sized Powerhouse
I bought this tool back in the summer with only one project in mind - since then it has earned its keep in several projects. I first saw it on HGTV and the host was showing a homeowner how to use it as they constructed a pergola; I thought the concept was pretty cool and was sold on it after watching the show. Now that I own one I can't say enough good things about it. I have numerous Porter-Cable tools and all have served me well!
This palm nailer assisted me in the construction of a 12'x16' shed, my daughter's playroom, the extension/remodel of a hallway wall and I'm sure it will be involved in many more projects throughout the years to come.
It's extremely easy on the hands (even let my 3-year-old drive a few nails (with supervison of course) and she just kept coming back for more!) Because of it's small size it fits just about anywhere and worked great with my porter-cable pancake air compressor.
Has a great little carrying case and enough bays to fit it's additional accessories.
The strap on the back side of the nailer combined with the leather case make it extremely comfortable and adjustable to fit well in your hand and allow for hours of nailing with minimal fatigue. Even used it in the rain and all it took was a simple wipe down, stored it, and it was ready for the next day's task.
They say the right tool can make a job a pleasure and this nailer is definitely the tool that should be in any DIYers toolbox!!

The perfect hammer
If you ever need to nail anything, this tool is a must. I built steps in no time and it took about two nails to master the technique. If you are doing more precise work where a nail gun won't do, this is the perfect tool. After using it for an extended period of time I was amazed at how little fatigue there was and how easy it was to nail 12d & 16d nails!