nail gun repair

[coach]

I know it is off topic but.......................
My 18 g porter cable nail gun and crown staple gun both shot their last nail/ staple and the mechanism that pushes the item out won't retract and the air now continually shoots out the exhaust port at the top of the gun. I actually have 3 or 4 that have done this but it was never a concern as we always purchased new ones. Can't drop $200.00 right now to replace and hope I can repair myself. The local porter cable repair shop is gone. (went there today) I tried cleaning but to no avail. Wonder if the O rings cause this type issue?
Any help will be greatly appreciated. T I A
David

[knight_toolworks]

time for a maintenance kit http://www.ereplacementparts.com/

[navigator7]

I know it is off topic but.......................
Wonder if the O rings cause this type issue?
Any help will be greatly appreciated. T I A
David

Hi Coach!
Oh abablootly!
O-rings are mis-understood and the mis-used flat bladed screwdrivers of yesteryear. O-rings seal on four sides when properly designed and properly installed. Most goons attempt to stuff a bigger thicker o-ring into the slot without a clue of the consequences.

Yesterday, I repaired a tool somebody had attempted to make the piston o-ring bigger by winding string line around the piston.
It worked for a day....but the gun ultimately failed from string debris fouling the ports.

Knight Toolworks is spot on with the eReplacement suggestion.
We recently opened a rental store. I am the fix-it guy. Repairing air guns keeps me pretty busy.
We have an account with e-Replacement.....they aren't fast and it seems like the most common problems with particular guns are not in stock.
Often, they ship without all the stuff you order so check your order against the bill of lading. I'm not pleased with them but the other options are worse.

O-rings, proper tolerance between the sealing parts and clean lubrication are very important!!!!!!! Why some of the guns I opened up even work as long as they do escapes me.

Your leak sounds like the typical complaint we get with our guns.
Often, the fix is so easy....but few appreciate how little movement is involved or how critical proper o-rings are. Most don't even know to look inside this assembly because it looks so simple.
You've got to know how the gun works to fix it.
You gun is fired by dumping stored up air, not shooting or releasing air from the hose. The trigger is really an air dump.
The back of the gun.....where the air is leaking out... I call it the air can, has the key components that make your gun fire. It is very possible a good cleaning and lube can have you going again without spending a dime. I do it every day.

Find your gun online at eReplacement and print out a copy of the schematic.
In the air can, opposite where the nails come out are key components.
There is a moving plastic doughnut ring that has o-rings inside and out. There is also a sleeve that this doughnut moves over. This all pulls apart. But before you pull it apart...see if it really moves! It should move freely with a little pressure from two thumbs. If this doughnut gets stuck, your gun will piss out air. Sometimes it gets stuck all the way in and vice versa.
To me...this is the most important area of the gun and the least understood.

The anvil that slams the nail is attached to a piston. If it can slide freely in the cylinder...the o-ring or the cylinder is worn. Most of the time it's the o-ring....unless you like to run sand, water, string line, plastic straws, rocks and other debris through your equipment like our boys do.
The piston is just a slave/valve to all that is going on. Really simple.

I'm sure we all recognize quality tools when we use them or see them in the store. Buying price over quality is a short cut to frustration IMHO. I have confirmed my theory about purchasing future tools from my experience with eReplacement.
If you buy junk or cheap tools, replacement parts are very hard to find and the most important replacement parts are always on back order if available at all! And .... it'll definitely be a month or two if ever before you get that key component. The cost and the loss of service often totals the tool. I'd love to have a dime for every hour my boss has paid for his crews monkeying with guns while atop a sand pile with tools fouled with debris or don't work because they bought cheap throw-away POS tools.

On the other hand....quality tool components are well stocked and replacement parts are easy to come by and shipping is faster.

Since we are on the topic of nail guns.......Here is a video of us testing our repaired guns. Not. This video is a hoot!....but totally fake:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka10gNdYCxA

[knight_toolworks]

thanks for the info I have a pin nailer that I used too much pressure on and the driver won't retract. there is no rebuild kit so should I just get the piston rings?
H ave a makita cordless skillsaw that just started eating batteries in seconds it is the Lithium-Ion version. never even dropped it I don't think and it is not been used so much. any idea's on what to fix?

[navigator7]

thanks for the info I have a pin nailer that I used too much pressure on and the driver won't retract. there is no rebuild kit so should I just get the piston rings?
I have a makita cordless skillsaw that just started eating batteries in seconds it is the Lithium-Ion version. never even dropped it I don't think and it is not been used so much. any idea's on what to fix?

RE the pin nailer...its possible the o-ring on the piston is the culprit but it just as easily could be one of at least three other o-rings.

When the nailer fires, air drives the piston out but air also drives it back.
You'll see little bumpers inside that prevent the unit from tearing itself apart.

A 1" piston can exert about 300 Lbs of force at 100 PSI. If you over pressured, it is likely an o-ring split, got deformed or twisted right out of its home, or dirt particles have carved a slot in the o-ring. Worse would be a carving or deformation of some of the plastic components.
If the anvil or hammer falls forward when to tip the gun down...it could be the piston o-ring for sure! The piston o-ring is one area where you can experiment and get by with something not stock.

NAPA makes an 0-ring kit that fits absolutely nothing except American made tractors and old style stuff. I've had great success with an o-ring repair kit I bought from...... Er?????? McMaster Carr, Grainger, Fastnel, Tacoma Screw...I really can't remember but I bought a metric version. It consists of a pony tail of about 2' or 3' lengths of different size metric o-ring material that you place into a jig and cut with a super sharp razor and then glue the ends together with super glue. It's a "get-you-by" approach until the real o-ring arrives.
I found I could free-hand an o-ring in seconds.
I'm sure some o-ring repairs I did 15 years ago are still working!
Dirty hydraulic oil or dirty air is death on those components.

As for the Makita battery....I don't have much experience with repair. The only success I've had with batteries is looking for broken leads inside battery.
I hear this: "This battery is brand new and doesn't work!"
I open it up and the leads are broken.
I see guys all the time using the battery as a hammer to start a nail
A little solder and they work again.
There is supposed to be some magic solution to battery repair.
I don't know what that is.
Most of the batteries I open up are full of water.
HTH.

[knight_toolworks]

there is no rebild kit so I have to buy the o rings separately. not a big deal. on the saw it's not the battery they work fine in the drill but in the saw they drain real fast. so there has to be a short or something in the saw. I use the saw mainly to cut scrap up but I guess it is time for the repair shop.

[gene]

Try this first. Disconnect the air hose . push the tip of the gun down on a scrap board. Pull the trigger and hold it while you hook up the air hose. If it is hung between cycles this will reset it . Good luck:)

[bcondon]

Steve,

I have a Grizzley (Panasonic) drill and small (4") skill saw. The drills are inexpensive ($70 for 18V) and has a lot of power.
They were well rated against the more expensive brands for drilling and driving screws). I have several batteries and chargers so I can keep up with the use.

The drill will run all day on 1 battery but the skill saw chews through a battery with steady use in under an hour or less. I think it is the nature of the beast.

I recommend Grizzley simply because they work well and are inexpensive.

Bob

[navigator7]

Steve,
The drill will run all day on 1 battery but the skill saw chews through a battery with steady use in under an hour or less. I think it is the nature of the beast.

Bob

Bob,
If you drilled holes with a radius as large as the circular blade...the drill battery would **** out in minutes.
And...if you drilled holes with a circular saw it would go all day.
Way more work coming off the saw than a drill motor.
Still amazing tools!
One of these days we will be buying power tools with batteries that last a life time.
Of course, in my case that may be only one or two weeks!
;-)

[michael_schwartz]

I have the milwaukee V28 kit, and the circular saw does pretty well. Cut down quite a few sheets of 3/4 advantech OSB one one charge. The saw will also cut allot of 2/4's I suppose you could frame a small shed on two batteries. Unless I need to get out an extension cord, setup a cut station, and get out my Hilti, I just use the cordless saw. The 28v cordless sawzall works really well too.

I wouldn't want to even try to power a saw with the 18 volt lithium ion batteries for my makita since they are the lower capacity ones that are lighter weight. The drill is very nice however, and while the batteries don't last as long as the higher capacity version, the charge time is 15 mins.

I also had a Ryobi on the other hand and that struggled to make a single cut through a sheet of plywood before the battery would kick. The drills on the other hand worked just fine, and for the price they were worth it.

[navigator7]

On my own personal batteries, I try and care for them properly which means charging them only after they have been discharged.
Then, charging them fully.
Then, removing them from the charger.
I don't charge my personal batteries on square wave generators.
This concept is lost on most who simply want to power a tool ... now.
Batteries are left on chargers for days and weeks at a time, recharged when not discharged and surely over charged all the time.

I know there are some smart chargers around but we don't have any.

[knight_toolworks]

discharging them was only needed with old nicads. Anymore it does not matter. storing them in the charger though is a bad thing. though with the lithium they can stay in the charger since the chargers are smart.

[knight_toolworks]

the saw did fine till something went wacky. but a 4" blade would not be enough for what I need to cut sometimes.

[navigator7]

discharging them was only needed with old nicads.
Yikes! All we have is Nicads.
I feel old.