Brad nailer

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Brad nailer

Postby mark48 on Wed Oct 07, 2015 10:31 am

I am reading posts and rereading the manual in preparation for my PS kit delivery. I see multiple references in the PS manual to Geoff Kerr having used a pneumatic brad nailer with stainless brads in his build of PS#1 (footwell, forward deck, seat backs, etc.) I do not see any reference to the brads being removed after the epoxy has cured (while there are notes to remove screws (clearly identified as temporary) in other parts of the building process). Am I correct in assuming those brads remain in the glued wood which is later covered by fiberglass? And is the gauge of brad determined by the size of the material being glued? (I've no experience with pneumatic tools, but one seems very useful in the building process so any advice from those with experience will be much appreciated.)

Thanks,
Mark Nunlist
Lebanon, NH
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Re: Brad nailer

Postby DanaDCole on Wed Oct 07, 2015 12:37 pm

You are right that the brads remain in the wood and are sealed up in epoxy, so personally I do not understand why they have to be stainless steel but I bought 'em anyway just in case they know something I don't. (I do know for a fact, though, that if stainless steel is deprived of oxygen it will corrode, but once the glue sets the brads don't have any function so it makes no difference.)

Brad nailers are inexpensive and you don't need a very big compressor/tank, so unless you want to invest in a larger unit for other uses this will not be a huge investment.
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Re: Brad nailer

Postby ddemasie on Wed Oct 07, 2015 2:25 pm

I did not use a brad nailer at all. I found that using common drywall screws driven through a small square (1x1) piece of thin plywood to protect the surface of the plywood boat part from damage was extremely effective.

Using a bread nailer would indeed make a couple of the processes (like attaching the seat back covers) a bit quicker, but it did not justify the cost of the equipment for me.

I also had 2 problems with the brad gun - first I didn't want to leave any brads in the final product- the drywall screws always come out easily as long as I was careful to not get wet epoxy on the heads of the screws - and second, I felt I had much more control of exactly where they screws went in, what angle they went in, and how deep they needed top penetrate (I used 3 different lengths of drywall screw depending on the application).

I also kind of enjoyed the task of pulling out the screws from the parts once the epoxy was cured - it gave me a chance to really enjoy the final product and examine it carefully as I was pulling out the screws.

There is a great picture/description of that strategy in the manual in the pages covering attaching the cabin roof - it works like a champ.

One downside - I sometimes did have to epoxy fill a small hole that was left by the drywall screw shaft after removing it, but I got that technique down very quickly.
Dennis DeMasie,
Aurora, IL
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Re: Brad nailer

Postby jwv630 on Thu Oct 08, 2015 7:58 am

Hi Mark

Welcome to the PocketShip builders group and good luck with your project. Lots of good people and info on this blog that will save you much time and headache....

Jimmy V
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Re: Brad nailer

Postby ddemasie on Thu Oct 08, 2015 1:54 pm

Thanks for the reminder, Jimmy - I forgot completely to welcome a new builder to the 'family'.

Mark - Welcome - I remember when I first got the shipment of my kit from CLC. I took my first picture of the pile of plywood, milled pieces (I bought the milled lumber package) the fiberglass, and the epoxy resin and hardener - I titled it "There is an awesome sailboat in there somewhere".

I am just finishing my pocketship (painting the hull starts Saturday) - all of the piles of materials have dwindled down to almost nothing, and I have nearly used all of the 10 gallons of epoxy resin/ 5 of hardener.

What a fantastic and rewarding project it has been.

I have just a few pieces of advice for any new builder:

1) Take your time with each and every step - patience always rewarded me, and hurry seemed to always result in a problem.

2) Trust the kit. This kit's CNC pieces are very accurate, and the parts nearly always fit like a glove. If something doesn't fit right together, it is likely you have one piece upside down or backwards.

Like raising children - enjoy the journey - even though it took me almost 24 months (I had to completely stop because of the cold in my garage during the winter months) - it will be done before you know it.

Best decision I have made in many, many years was to build my own pocketship.

Good luck to you.
Dennis DeMasie,
Aurora, IL
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Re: Brad nailer

Postby mark48 on Thu Oct 08, 2015 2:57 pm

Thanks for all the encouragement. I'm sure I'll have more questions, so thank you (all) in advance for assistance along the way.

Keep posting pictures of the finished project(s), everyone; they encourage those of us looking at the pile of raw materials!
All the best,
Mark
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Re: Brad nailer

Postby Pascal on Thu Oct 08, 2015 3:55 pm

I completed Naoned few years ago ...my only wish is to have more time to use her on the water.
Would love to do the project all over again....Best of luck to newcomer....very jealous here.
CLC has very high quality product and all staff member are very very helpful
Pascal
 
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Re: Brad nailer

Postby Keith on Tue Mar 22, 2016 10:09 pm

It's probably not a factor in this case, but if you ever need to install fasteners where you need to do any cutting, planing, sanding or routing, consider the composite polymer fasteners by Raptor. You never have to worry about rust or corrosion either. Raptor makes nails, brads and staples. They would be good for strip building or cold molding. The financial investment would be for the drivers, but once you have them...

See their website at http://raptornails.com/.
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Re: Brad nailer

Postby John in CC on Wed Mar 23, 2016 10:54 am

I used drywall screws and removed them after the epoxy cured also. I had the brad nailer but could not find stainless steel pins. I probably spent more time looking for the s.s. pins than it took to line up the drywall screws :lol: It really was not that big a deal to line up the screws.
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Re: Brad nailer

Postby DanaDCole on Wed Mar 23, 2016 12:18 pm

I was able to find stainless brads very easily, but the thing is, why bother? If regular steel brads are totally sealed up in epoxy they are not going to rust. The fact is, contrary to what one might think, stainless steel rusts when it does not have access to oxygen. The oxygen forms a protective layer around stainless steel. John pooh-poohed this but it is in all the literature on stainless steel. In fact, to test this, I put a piece of stainless steel into a wet, oxygen-starved environment and sure enough, it started forming rust spots. So if it were up to me, as long as you are sure the brad will be totally sealed up in epoxy, I would use regular steel.
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