Nail Gun Maintenance | Guide to Nail Gun Troubleshooting

After tons of speculations, we equip our tool arsenals. Surely nail guns, being a top contender on that list, do deserve more on maintenance. If you want your nail gun to be a long-lasting tool in your tool board, you have to maintain your nail gun regularly. Maintaining a nail gun is quite easy, you just need to oil it and clean it often.

Nail Gun Maintenance

Maintenance is all about regularity. You have to keep your nail gun in top shape if you want it to work perfectly. 

It is crucially important to check your nail gun before working and after finishing your work. Make sure to follow the following tips to have a healthy nailer.

Safety and Other Precautions

Before you begin your inspection, you need to check off some safety measurements first. Then you need to turn off your nail gun for starting the inspection.

Safety Measurements

You should never be careless about handling nail guns. Always take necessary safety measurements before inspecting or working with your nail gun.

Power Off

You have to make sure that your nail gun’s power is off. If it is a pneumatic nail gun, make sure to disconnect the nail gun from the air compressor. And also you need to disconnect your air compressor from the power outlet.

Broken Parts

After turning off your nail gun, you need to check if your nailer has any broken parts in it or has any damages. You need to check for broken parts especially before starting work and after finishing your work. If you do see any broken parts, make sure to change them as soon as you can.

General Inspection for Your Nail Gun

Though maintenance can be a bit different for different nail guns, some common tasks are applicable for all nail guns. You need to follow these nailer maintenance tasks for all types of nail guns.

Cleaning Your Nail Gun

At first, you should clean your nail gun by dusting off the dust, dirt, debris, and other materials. You can use a small brush or a soft cloth to wipe the dust. 

If you are using your nailer regularly, you should clean your nailer after each use. Otherwise, the dirt and debris can clog up the inner space of the nail gun.

Screw Inspection

There are several screws, nuts, and bolts in a nail gun. Over time they can get loosen. You need to check if they are tight enough or not.

Before using your nail gun, check the screws and bolts if any of them are missing or not. Working with a missing screw or loose bolt can bring fatal accidents. 

Battery Maintenance (Cordless)

If you are using a cordless gun, you have to keep your gun’s battery in good shape. Check the expiration date of the battery in the manual and never use an expired battery. It is both harmful for you and the nailer.

Never overcharge your nail gun. Charge your nail gun within the particular charging time written in the manual of the nail gun.

Lubricating The Nail Gun

Lubricating the nail gun is the most important part of Nail Gun Maintenance. Do not use a completely dry nail gun. To use your nail gun smoothly and without any trouble, oil or lubricate your nail gun regularly.

Avoid Moisture For Your Nail Gun

Moisture is the enemy of your nail gun. Put your nail gun in a dry place where there is no moisture.

Inspection for Your Pneumatic Nail Gun

Among the nail guns, pneumatic nail guns need extra care. If you own a pneumatic nailer you have to take great care of it. You have to clean and oil both the nail gun and its air tool daily.

Cleaning The System

It is very important to clean the nailer’s feed system regularly. A pneumatic nailer creates more specks of dirt than other nailers. Use a soft cloth to clean the debris regularly before using.

You can separate the air hose easily. After separating the air hose successfully, clean the air hose as well. For better results, you have to clean the air compressor from time to time.

Oiling The Air Tools

In a pneumatic nailer, you need extra tools to create air pressure. After separating the air hose, put some oil in the inlet. Make sure to keep the nail gun upside down otherwise oil will fall over in places. Don’t put too much oil, put the oil according to what your manual says. 

Check The O-Rings

At the end of the air hose, there is a seal called O-rings. These seals are important for tightening the area. So that air can not leak and the pressure doesn’t get low. Check your O-rings regularly, if you see any cracks immediately change them.

Using The Right Air Compressor 

Use the right air compressor according to the manual guide of your nail gun. If you use the wrong air compressor with your pneumatic nail gun, it will affect its performance. The pressure will not be created enough. As a result, the nailer will not last long.

The Right Nails

You have to use the right size of nails according to your nail gun. You can see a nail gun gauge chart to know what size of nails you need for your nailer. The wrong size of nails can damage your nail gun permanently.

Nail Jam

Sometimes, the nails get jammed in the nail gun. As a result, the nailer can’t shoot the nails. If you do not want your nails to get jammed in the nailer, you have to check the nail magazine before using your nailer. Furthermore, after finishing your work, you have to remove the nails from the nail magazine.

Importance of Nail Gun Maintenance

Keeping your nail gun in good shape will give you a long-lasting nail gun. The more you take care of your nailer, the longer it will perform. Using a damaged nailer can bring disaster to you and your house. In order to prevent that, give effort to your nail gun maintenance.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do you need to lubricate a nail gun?

Yes, you need to lubricate your nail gun often. Use a lubricator that suits your nailer.

2. How often should I oil my nailer?

You should oil your pneumatic nail gun daily. Always oil it before starting your work.

For a general nail gun, you have to oil it according to the manual. Some nailers don’t need to be oiled daily, you just need to oil them before using.

3. How many drops of oil do you put in a nail gun?

You will need 5-10 drops of oil. You have to drop the oil into the air inlet, the nozzle where your air hose attaches to the tool.

4. How often should I check on my nailer?

You should check on your nail gun daily. Regularly inspect your gun to prevent damages.

Conclusion 

You should not use regular oil in your nailers, rather use lubricating oil for pneumatic tools. Regular oil can make the o-rings swell so that the nail gun can not work correctly. Moreover, daily maintenance can increase the lifetime of your nail gun by many years.