I usually don't write reviews of a tool until I've used it quite a bit, but I'm going to make an exception in this case because there is only one other review. I would like to thank Jim, the first reviewer, as his comments inspired me to take the plunge and try this product.
This Hitachi NP35A is my first micro pinner, although I do own and use a few larger pneumatic tools (15 gauge nailer, 18 gauge nailer, 2 staplers). I typically prefer to use screws rather than nails, but there are occasions when the unique attributes of a power driver nail outweighs it's many disadvantages.
Here are my first impressions of the Hitachi NP35A 23 Gauge Nailer.
Pros:
o compact, lightweight, and comfortable to hold.
o high quality product, for example magazine slides in and out with smooth precision.
o trigger is comfortable, double trigger is relatively easy to get used to.
o the soft nose tip leaves no mark whatsoever on even soft woods.
o very quiet, pleasant to use (no hearing protection needed with this little guy).
o easy side loading of pins, and automatically adjusts to different pin sizes.
o using the soft tip, appropriate air pressure, and good technique, pins are driven to a perfect depth just below the surface (the depth is adjustable via the use of a hex wrench on the nose piece).
o surprising nice blow molded plastic case.
o an easy to see bright orange "low pin indicator" (of course, it doesn't work if one is not paying attention and doesn't look at it ... just one of my many faults I'm afraid....)
o although the minimum specified pin length is 5/8", I was able to use the 3/8" pins without a problem (this is quite a good thing, for my projects).
o made in Taiwan (often a significant step up in quality compared to China made goods).
Cons:
o the manual has a few typos (e.g. "all crews must be tightened..."), and it is bloated with the usual tedious and uninformative safety stuff (dictated by lawyers, presumably), but really, you can probably see that I'm nit-picking here.
Notes:
I have tested this product primarily with Western Fir (actually harder than many "hard woods"), and a sample piece of 100 year old clear white oak (recovered from a badly broken desk). As long as one presses the tip firmly to the wood all pins are driven flush, although one does have to crank up the air pressure a bit for longer pins and harder wood.
I used Grex 23 gauge pins (since they come in a convenient multi-size package, available here on amazon for about ten dollars).
The longest pin length I tried was 1". This gun is specified to be able to handle 1-3/8, and I do not doubt that it will, but for now I can't see myself needing or wanting to drive these incredibly tiny, thin little needles into anything that would require longer lengths. However I know that many people do use much longer pins. Perhaps as I become more comfortable and experienced with this tool I too will join the super-sized crowd.
As you probably know, these pins are much smaller than 18 gauge brads, and much less noticeable. However, they are not invisible, especially in lighter woods. Nonetheless, they are much less visually distracting than their 18 gauge cousins. Also, if you build small things (say drawer inserts using 3/16" thick dividers) an 18 gauge brad is simply too big - it would split the wood - whereas a 23 gauge pin works very nicely (along with a bit of glue).
Hope this information is helpful to you. Hitachi 23 NP35A Gauge Micro Pin Nailer
Had purchased a pin nailer from HF about 7 months ago and now finishing up a trim job on kitchen cabinets it decided to quit accepting 1 inch pin nails. Ran a search on Amazon and found this one. I have 2 other Hitachi nailers, so I ordered this for overnite delivery (Amazon Prime). Used it today and absolutely no problems. Its light, accurate and the nose pad protects the work piece. You do have to adjust the depth when using the nose pad. Adjustment is quick and easy. Hitachi makes some questionable quality items, but I have found their nail guns to be of a high caliber. If you need a high quality pin nailer, this is it.
11/4/2010
UPDATE:I guess I spoke too soon !! All of a sudden it started to jam. Tried various manufacturers pin nails and they all jam frequently. A real shame!! Gonna have to return it.
I bought this gun when my 5 year old Porter Cable gun gave up. What this gun does that the PC didn't is shoot 1 3/8" nails and set them below the surface in hardwoods. The PC was/is a good gun, but I feel this gun is better. It shoots bigger nails and costs less. As long as I get at the least the same amount of use from it as my PC, I'll be a happy woodworker.
excellent product for the money when compared to high end guns like grex or duofast.very light and comfortable to work with, not to mention easy loading.it's one of the few nailers in the $100 price range that shoots 5/8"-1 3/8" 23 gauge pins
I was so glad to get my micro pin nailer in the mail. It did let me down however. This nailer would consistently drive the nail too shallow despite trying to adjust the depth. I had to take off several moldings and trim pieces due to the remaining nails sticking out about 1/4 of an inch. I do not think this device was made to drive nails in that are greater than 1 inch despite what the manufacturers details may tell you. The product is made to drive fasteners up to 1 and 3/8" but in my experience this was not the case. I will return the product and save my money for the Grex micro pinner.
I bought this pinner a while back after deciding I wanted something that leaves smaller holes than 18 gauge brad nails and won't split delicate pieces.
I narrowed my choices down to the Hitachi and the Grex P635. I'm sure I would have been happy with the Grex, and kind of still want one, but the Hitachi was on sale and included a free polyurethane (the light, flexible kind) air hose. I placed my order and grabbed some Grex pins to go along with it.
The gun itself is very small and easy to handle. I have meaty fingers and never have any issues with the double trigger safety, a standard on pin nailers. It has a nice rubber nose piece to protect workpieces.
Pins are easy to load, but I can't say much for jam clearing, as I haven't had a jam with this pinner yet.
The main reason I bought this gun was to use it to pin hard maple corner blocks into place in the small arcade stick cases I build while the glue sets. Even with the cases made of hard maple or walnut, the gun has performed flawlessly. At 85 psi, with the gun firmly held to the work piece, it sinks the pins below the surface every time, and never splits the small 3/4 x 3/4 x 1 3/8" hard maple corner blocks. The pins hold tightly while the glue sets up.
It's not very loud either, but I can't imagine any of the pin nailers being loud.
To sum it up, it's a great pin nailer for the money, all things considered. It has a 5 year warranty too, which a lot of premium nailers don't even have (Grex is 1 year). It's handled everything I've needed of it, so as much as I'd like a Grex, the Hitachi will probably be my standby for a very long time. - 23 Gauge - Porter-cable'
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