Nailers are used in every project to drive nails into wood or any other material. Brad and finish nailers are the two popular types of nailers that often creates confusion and it becomes necessary to be clarified for buyers before buying them.
According to the reports of Trends, the search rate for the difference between brad and finish nailer has increased. This topic is very confusing for house builders and carpenters, so it becomes necessary to know the complete explanation between brad nailer vs finish nailer.
A nail plays a very important role in Home Improvement. This is because to make the home look attractive there are different things that are fastened and attached to each other with the help of nails.
There is a large variety of nails available in the market and in order to drive a nail into any object a nailer is also required. There are various nailers that are used to drive different nails which is a bit confusing for buyers to purchase them.
So, in this post, I have shared with you the complete difference between a Brad nailer and a Finish nailer. In add-on to this, I have also cleared different questions related to buying and usage of nails and nailers in home improvement.
So, let’s get started.
Table of Contents
The Use Of Nailers In Home Improvement
Before you know the use of nailers, it is necessary to know the use of nails in every project of home improvement. The nails are basically made up of two different metals steel and iron. These nails fasten and are driven into objects to hold two objects firmly.
Nails can be even driven manually with help of a screwdriver or a hammer. But these manual ways are not secure and have chances of getting misdirected and may even hurt the person’s hand.
In this case, nailers play an important role. Nailers are electric machines that help to drive nails smoothly into an object without getting misplaced or hurting the person. It even does not dent the object and gives a long-lasting and smooth finish.
Nailers are a bit big machines its shape is like a gun with a small rod-type structure at the bottom. Some of the nailers also run on built-in batteries which either work on charging it or non-rechargeable cells.
Two Different Types Of Nailers
There are approximately 10 different types of nailers that help to drive different nails. All the nailers work differently from each other. These nailers are also known as nail guns as they are a machine that helps to drive nails into an object.
This post mainly focuses on giving you the difference between two types of nailers that are Brad nailer vs Finish nailer. Before knowing the difference it is important to know the basic use and definition of brad and finish nailers.
1. Brad Nailer
A brad nailer is used for small use as it is light-duty powered. It is a battery-powered nail gun that needs to be charged before usage. The brad nails are not very strong and can be easily bent with the usage of fingers.
These nails cannot be driven with the use of a hammer as they are very small in size. But the brad nailer easily drives the nail. These nailers are usually pneumatic which means that need to be connected to an external air compressor before switching on.
Brad nailers are mainly used for DIY or delicate type of projects. These are the best choice for people who do their work delicately. The brad nail guns are light-weighted and easy to carry.
The brad nails that are driven with a help of a brad nailer are very small and not clearly visible. These nails can be a substitute for glue. The disadvantage of brad nailers they cannot hold thick substances together when compared to finish nailers.
2. Finish Nailer
A finish nailer shared some features of brad nails but it is quite opposite when it comes to usage. A finish nailer is heavy-powered and usually needs a switch to be connected and used.
The finish nailers also required an air compressor. These nailers use thicker nails which can handle heavy tasks like joining two thick wood pieces. These come basically with 15 or 16-gauge nails.
These types of nailers are not recommended for delicate projects as it is robust. In furniture of home improvement, these nailers play an important role by joining different wooden pieces together.
These can easily get into thicker materials like plywood and MDF. These nailers are heavier and large sized when compared to brad nailers. If not used well it can even damage the fingers of the person operating it.
How Are Nailers Manufactured And Classified In Different Categories
The manufacturing of nails and nailers depends on each other. Nails are made up of metals like steel and iron. The end of every nail is sharp and pointed in order to drive it in easily with the help of a nailer.
Nailers are a form of a hammer. Nailers usually drive nails with the help of compressed air, electromagnetism, and some highly flammable gases. There are mainly 6 different types of nailers Pneumatic, combustion-powered, electric, solenoid-powered, pin nailer, powder actuated.
All the different types of nailers are classified based on their characteristics and functions. If you take a pneumatic type of nailer then it will depend on both compressor and an electric source. You have to just know the type of compressor and then know its usage.
When Should Be A Brad Nailer And Finish Nailer Be Used
Brad nailers and finish nailers are two different types of nailers and work completely differently from each other. You can understand the basic use of each nailer when you get to know its clear definition and the pros and cons.
As shared before, brad nailers are mainly used for delicate work in the home and DIY projects. If your project requires a mild holding power nail driver then you can use the brad nailer.
The brad nailers run quite efficiently attaching two small pieces together just like attaching two wood pieces of wood. The DIY projects require strong bondage of two wood pieces so the brad nailer is used after attaching the wood pieces with glue in order to get a stronger joint.
If you are trying to make different boxes and attach two pieces of wood together with the usage of a brad nailer then you may be wrong. Brad nailer being thin and not so strong may get easily detached when the load inside the box increases.
Finish nailers are used when you are doing your home improvement or big projects. These nails are thicker in size and stronger when compared to brad nailers. This type of nailer is more effective in home improvement than woodwork.
This type of nailer does quite heavy work. This nailer is quite costlier than the brad nailer. This is because the finish nailer does work effectively and requires a higher load of electricity and different resources.
The type of nailer and nails clearly depends on its usage of it. There may be some projects or work in which brad and finish bot might not work then in this case you have to go for a different type of nailer according to your use.
How To Use Brad Nailer And Finish Nailer
Nailers are machines that are a bit dangerous and might injure the user. Due to nail gun or nail injury, 37,000 people visit emergency hospitals every year. By these injuries, nail guns have become no.2 cause of construction injuries.
These nail injuries can be avoided if you know the proper way of driving the nail inside an object with the use of nail guns. However, it is not at all recommended to use dangerous machines like nail guns without having any experience or training in them.
The usage of nailers depends on the type of nailer you have. In every nailer, you will find a safety tip that is often ignored but make sure to read it thoroughly in order to avoid injuries.
At one top corner, you will find a “Jam Release Latch”. The switch which is the triggered button will help you switch on the machine and insert nails inside an object.
To adjust the nails, you can use the “Drive Adjustment Nails” which you may find near the trigger button.
Also do not forget to adjust the air pressure according to the material and the screw size. Insert the nails inside the nail gun by releasing the magazine. Before you test your nail gun make sure to wear a glass, do all your adjustments, and add nails to the nail gun.
While testing makes sure that the material you are going to insert the nail is just for testing purposes because if you use the real material then in some cases it might damage it.
Brad Nailer vs Finish Nailer: Based On A Few Parameters
As shared before, both of these nailers are different from each other but still share some common characteristics. Sometimes, buyers get confused to buy any of these nailers so below I have shared the difference between brad and finish nailers based on different parameters:-
1. Ease Of Use
Nailers have replaced hammers just only because nailers are easy to operate. When it comes to ease of usage Brad nailer is very lightweight and doing low-duty tasks it becomes easy to use it. Ease of usage also depends on other external accessories such as air compressors and switches.
2. Compatible Nails
The compatibility of each nailer is clearly mentioned in the product info or in the safety tips behind the nails. Brad nails are compatible with very thin nails whereas finish nails are compatible with thick nails as it requires a heavy-duty job.
3. Delicate Projects
Home improvement includes both delicate working projects and rough projects. In this case of delicate projects, brad nailers can be recommended because their nails are the very thing that when inserted do not overlook the wood or the material you have inserted.
4. Rough Projects
In all houses, the furniture made up of wood or any other material is known to be very strong as they have to store different items in them. The finish nailer allows you to drive large and thick nails which will make your furniture items stronger.
5. Cost
Last but not least price of the nailer matters the most. The price depends on the accessories and materials used to make the nailer. In the case of brad and finish nailers, brad nailers are known to be budget-friendly.
Different Gauges Of Nails
The gauge is the term that is used to mention the thickness of a nail. The more the gauge number thinner the nail. In brad nailers gauge of the nails are more as they are thinner. Most probably gauge nailers are of 18 gauges.
Whereas, in the finish nailers the gauge is less when compared to brad nails. This is because finish nailers are used in heavy projects. It is found that 16 gauge is the best gauge for finish nailers.
Wrap Up On Brad Nailer VS Finish Nailer
Brad and finish are just two different types of nailers, there are still many nailers which you should know before you start any task at your home for your home improvement.
Before you buy any nailer, make sure that the nails you have and the material is suitable for the nailer. If you buy the wrong nailer then your material may get damaged.
If you are not yet understood thoroughly the usage of nailers then you must consider taking the help of a professional who is an expert in this type of work.
I hope you found this post very informative and helpful, if you have any doubts regarding Brad nailer vs Finish nailer then kindly write a comment through the comment box below and we will try to reply to you soon.
FAQ: Brad Nailer VS Finish Nailer
Nailers are a huge topic and differentiating between two nailers also causes some questions and confusion in mind. So, below I have tried to clear a few commonly asked questions that you may face after reading this post.
Q1. Can a brad nailer also be used for finishing?
Ans: Brad nailers are used for delicate projects as it is having a larger gauge. For delicate materials, brad nailers can be used for finishing. But in case you have a thick wood material then the brad nailer will not provide finishing.
Q2. Which is better brad nailer or finish nailer for baseboards?
Ans: Baseboards are somewhat thick that is used to cover the bottom of every wall. The baseboards are thicker and also can easily be removed if you use a higher gauge nail. So, for the baseboard on each wall finish nailers are a more suitable choice.
Q3. Is a finish nailer more versatile than a brad nailer?
Ans: Yes, in terms of versatility finish nailers are more versatile than brad nailers. This is because they have a lower gauge and can hold large materials in one place.
