Could this be the only tool in my shop that isn’t working? Anything I say about this gun would be speculation because this unit has never fired a nail. Despite the picture showing a half clip of nails locked and loaded, this Bostitch N70 Framing Nailer never worked. Happy Friday the 13th.

I can’t justifiably rate this tool.

Comments:

I received this old tool new in box. The box was still sealed, it was a new gun, even though the manufacture date was many years prior. Basically, someone gave me a brand new older model Framing Nailer. I hooked it up, but nothing… no leaking air sounds, no action. Nothing. Since then I’ve hung on to it for over ten years even though it doesn’t work. I’m not sure what I’m expecting.

I have experience with the N70/N80 nailers from years using Bostitch Framing guns on General Construction projects. My first ten years as a carpenter were spent Framing and Sheathing with a Hitachi in one hand and a Bostitch in the other.

I have several other Bostitch pneumatic nailers, some listed on this site already. I trust the name for weighty but long lasting nailers.

Links:

The current highly rated Bostitch framing gun is the Bostitch F28WW Framing Nailer.
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others include the Bostitch F21PL.
and the Bostitch N100S

One of the best tools in my truck is the Bostitch H2B Hammer Tacker. This is such a great tool that it’s almost a shame it’s a stapler. If they stopped making the H2B, I feel badly for everyone that has to tack on house wrap, staple insulation or apply roofing felt. This is by far, the best hammer tacker I know of.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Experience:

I think there are 5,000 staples in a box and I know I’ve emptied a half-dozen boxes. Seeing as I’m in ‘general construction’ I get a part of everything but don’t have to do one particular thing around the clock… well sort of. What I mean is, a hammer tacker is on my job to get the wrap on a house. I’ve used this one on a few roofs and it’s always handy for tarping down open construction projects. I have a use for this tool on a year-round basis but to really know how long it will last you’d have to put it in the hands of roofers, who are hammering down day after day.

Comments:

Until I came across the H2B I hated the hammer tackers I’d used. Some guy I worked with had this ugly Bostitch H2B on a job. I trusted his opinion and saved up the $70. The H2B is a heavy tool. When it does jam it’s easy to free. It doesn’t jam as often as my pneumatics do and it takes a beating. I’m impressed with how clean and well-working my Bostitch H2B is after all this time.

The Bostitch unique crown staples aren’t available everywhere. I was afraid to order them but they arrived well-packaged with minimal breakage. There’s nothing worse than a bunch of broken rows of staples. No matter what I end up dropping the box and spilling the staples.

Links:

Staples for the H2B – Bostitch SHCR5019 3/8

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The Bostitch N64C is a pneumatic coil nailer specifically for designed for fencing and siding nails. 15-Degree Wire Collated Hot Dipped Galvanized Ring Shank Coil Nails are grippy little bastards that aren’t likely to bend when misfired. The N64C is one of my better pneumatic nailers and my favorite siding nailer of the bunch.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Features:

• Magnesium housing for job site durability
• Quick-release canister for fast, easy loading
• Adjustable depth control for flush nailing
• Rubber grip for comfort
• Adjustable deflector conveniently directs exhaust
• High-impact composite canister survives falls
• Large coil capacity holds up to 350 nails

Experience:

I picked up this particular Bostitch nailer at the Depot because I needed a third gun on a larger siding job. Since then I’ve stashed the others and carry the N64C. Over the past five years I’ve owned this nailer it was only required a few times a year, unlike my finish, brad and pin nailers that are in use almost every day. The Bostich N64C has been a good performer despite issues I’ve had with a Bostitch Framing Gun. I have owned 4 large Bostitch guns, one of them was a dud.

As far as experience, I’ve installed more than 20,000 feet of siding with the N64C firing a dozen+ boxes of nails. It’s an easy gun to operate that leaves no mark when fired. It’s arguably lightweight and doesn’t jam like some guns but the coil type nails can and will get hung up in the cylinder.

Comments:

When siding, setting the nail just below the surface is a close tolerance. Too far and you risk the thin material of modern siding but too shallow and the painters will be pissed. Attaching your nailgun to someone else’s compressor means a change in operating pressure and likely a change in nail depth. I’ve had to use a few different compressors, all to fine results. It takes a method not to double shoot with the N64C but once you’ve got it, you can keep the double-taps down to a few per roll.

As with all coil nailers you’ve got to protect the coils before they make it into the gun to insure the smoothest feed possible. The most common issue with this gun is the coil getting hung up. Other than properties inherit to the design of coil nailers, I like this tool for it’s light footprint and smooth shot. (It’s hard to qualify ‘smooth’ in pneumatics but the Bostitch N64C seems to be a pretty smooth operator!)

Links:

N64C - Industrial Coil Siding/Fencing Nailer at Bostitch.com (Product Data)

Bostitch N64C-1 Industrial Coil Fencing / Siding Nailer at Amazon.com

Bostitch N66C-1 1-1/4-inch to 2-1/2-inch Coil Siding Nailer with Magnesium Housing
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BTW: Nails are a lot cheaper at Amazon.com than they are at my local store.
B & C Eagle Round Head 2-Inch Hot Dipped Galvanized Ring Shank (5,400 per Box)