Porter Cable Nail Gun Problem

[Rick_B]

Good morning - I have a PC 15 gauge finish nailer that has not been used in a while.  I was going to use it yesterday - got it oiled and set up with 2" nails, fired one nail and then it stopped.  It fires but no nail comes out.  There is a slight indent in the wood.  I checked for a jammed nail in the nose - nothing.  Any ideas on what is going on?

Thanks
Rick

[fixtureman]

Check if your driver is returning all the way back

[jteneyck]

If it's leaving a dent in the wood but not driving a nail, and there's nothing jammed in the noise, my guess is the nails aren't indexing forward.  Check the housing the nails slide in, the spring to make sure it's not broken, and try it again with a new strip of nails.  

John

[K. L. McReynolds]

Strip of nails are not feeding into place. The dent shows the driver is working.

[fixtureman]

If the driver doesn't retract all the way the nails can't move up

[Rick_B]

Well I took a closer look and it appears what I think is the driver is/was stuck down.  I was able to push it up some and discovered a nail under it - still working on getting the driver up farther and removing the nail

[MstrCarpenter]

Obviously you don't have the model with the "tool free jam release lever".  I have Bostitch, not P.C., but there's usually two machine screws on the front that hold the front and back of the nail chamber together. Sometimes they're keyhole openings so you don't have to completely remove the screws; but usually just loosening them provides enough clearance to clear a jamb. If the front is removed (and the driver is all the way up) your nails should slide easily down the magazine and right out the front. If they don't, your magazine needs to be realigned 'til they do.

B.T.W. This is typical of most nail guns.

[Rick_B]

I ended up taking the head of the nailer apart and discovered that the piston grip (a plastic piece inside the head valve) was shattered into 3 major pieces and a ton of small pieces.  New one is on order.  I also ordered a number of O-rings and a seal - figured as long as it was opened up why not.

[Bob Vaughan]

I ended up taking the head of the nailer apart and discovered that the piston grip (a plastic piece inside the head valve) was shattered into 3 major pieces and a ton of small pieces.  New one is on order.  I also ordered a number of O-rings and a seal - figured as long as it was opened up why not.

Gee Rick, that hasn't happened to me in at least a week or two. :-)
Yeah, when there's a problem with modern air tools, its best to take the back off and see what the problem is.  Shattered pieces from a catastrophic plastic component failure is the norm.  You also made an excellent call on getting a trigger o-ring sealing kit.  Its surprising what kind of failures can be caused by a little wear on a trigger o-ring.

Modern air tools (1995 and later) are lighter and more powerful than the oldies and many times cheaper, but the durability isn't there.

[MstrCarpenter]

Gee Rick, that hasn't happened to me in at least a week or two. :-)
Yeah, when there's a problem with modern air tools, its best to take the back off and see what the problem is.  Shattered pieces from a catastrophic plastic component failure is the norm.  You also made an excellent call on getting a trigger o-ring sealing kit.  Its surprising what kind of failures can be caused by a little wear on a trigger o-ring.

Modern air tools (1995 and later) are lighter and more powerful than the oldies and many times cheaper, but the durability isn't there.

I still have a couple Bostitch N-16 framers working. For general framing they're way too heavy compared to my newer N-80's and my "go to" is a Hitachi. However when working with L.V.L's, they're the only ones that will still bury a 3 1/2" nail.