# pneumatic nailer storage



## BrownsFan (Jul 11, 2011)

Over the past few years I have accumulated several used nailers. Some of my best finds were a Porter Cable 18g brad nailer for $5 at a garage sale and a 16g Bostitch finish nailer online for $36!

Anyway, none of my nailers came with cases. How do you store your nailers outside of a case? Do you toss them in a drawer? Do you hang them upside down…right side up…does this even matter in terms of keeping the tool lubed? What do you do?


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## Raymond (Mar 12, 2008)

I have the same problem here. And I have no solution as yet.


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

A couple years ago I had a major portion of my roof recovered. Obviously the roofers were using nailers, which put up quite a racket since they did the job on a weekend when I was home. About noontime, I noticed a definite decrease in sound, and also heard what I thought was a hammer. I went up on the roof, and sure enough, there lay two guns down for the count. I told them let me have the guns. I took them into my shop and it was obvious they had been living in the back of a pickup truck and had not seen oil for ages. I removed the heads, cleaned all the shingle dust and rock from all places, put 3-in-one oil on the heads and two three drops down each air coupling, and fired them up on my own air compressor. They both worked perfectly. I took them back up on the roof where I was met by three very grateful roofers who made sure there no nails in my yard before they left!
Moral of the story - no matter where you keep your nailers, if they stay reasonably dry, and you keep them reasonably oiled, it's not a big deal.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

It's a good idea to put caps on the air fittings so excessive dust 
doesn't get in too much.

Definitely only use nailer oil in nailers. Regular air tool oil has
detergents in it that destroys the sensitive o-rings in nailers.


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## SCOTSMAN (Aug 1, 2008)

Back into the box each time for my newer dewalt 18 v nailer but the other ones mainly bostitch hang from the wall bracket I made from a satelite dish bracket. Alistair


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## rance (Sep 30, 2009)

I got my PC 18g brad nailer from the trash. No, it didn't work. I took it apart, cleaned it, oiled it, and put it back together. It's worked fine ever since. I lube the inlet when I use it(if it is convenient). I keep it in a drawer. I should find or make a cap for the inlet. Maybe I'll make a wooden case for it one day.


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## devann (Jan 11, 2011)

I do what Loren said, gun oil, not oil for your impact or sander. Plus I hang them upside down on a wall. And doesn't hurt to get them out every six months or so and shoot a few nails through them too. Some of my old framing guns and coil nailer don't see much use these days.


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## BrownsFan (Jul 11, 2011)

Ha! The trash! That is great. Who in their rght mind would throw out a Porter Cable?!? I like the cap idea. My pinner has a cap but none of the others do. I think I will buy a few caps.


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

Go to my project titled "I hate those plastic cases" for the nail gun storage solution. I love mine!


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## DMIHOMECENTER (Mar 5, 2011)

Baby Bungees are about 25 cents or so. Hang them anywhere… pegboard, nail, screw, etc. Never had one fail.



















The cap was put there for a reason. Good advice.









I also use the baby bungees to bundle small trim together (base cap, scribe, cove, screen bead, stop, mullion, etc.)


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## rogerw (Jan 14, 2011)

i put the cap on the air fitting, back in the bag it came in, back in the box it came in, and into a drawer.


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## FirehouseWoodworking (Jun 9, 2009)

I store all my finish nail guns in a zippered softsided case I got from Bucket Boss. My framing nailer (Porter Cable) stays in the plastic case it came in. The framing nailer on our rescue truck stays in the same softsided case from Bucket Boss.

Framing nails go into surplus Army ammo cans. The .50 caliber size. Each will hold about two boxes of framing nails available at the big box stores. The ammo boxes are painted different colors and marked with the nails inside.

Finish nails go in heavy duty, clear plastic divided cases, available at sporting goods stores. Each is marked on the lid as to what nail is in each compartment.

Firearms oil is all I use. No gunk, easy on seals, o-rings, etc.

I use rubber fingertips, available at office supply stores, to cover the quick connects. These things are what mail sorters use on their finger tips to more easily sort paper.

All told, it's easy for me to store my guns out of the dust, easy to load them if I am going to work outside my shop, and easy to find (and keep inventory of) the nails. Works for me!

Cheers!


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## SnowyRiver (Nov 14, 2008)

I have quite a few Bostitch nailers. I always take them out of the boxs and just hang them on hooks on pegboard (see them in my workshop gallery.) Like Loren said, I try to either cap the air intakes so dust doesnt get in them, or I hang them so the air intake is down. I also test fire them into some scrap wood every now and then so the gaskets stay lubricated.


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## SamD (May 19, 2012)

Here's what I made to solve this problem. It wasnt very difficult. I bent a piece of sheet metal i purchased at Lowes into a channel, and mounted the female air couplers. This is a prototype, but I plan to build several more for friends.

Sam


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## JackBarnhill (Mar 8, 2009)

Interesting idea. I like the concept. How did you mount the female air couplers?


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## mechanicalengineer (Sep 27, 2010)

I store mine in the plastic cases which they came. The others without plastic cases are stored in a "zipped" tool bag.


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## SamD (May 19, 2012)

I couldn't find a standard nut that fit the coupler, so I used a female to female adaptor that was located with the other air tool fittings. The adaptors are acting like expensive nuts (~$2.00 each!!). I also needed to use two 1/2" washers per coupling to get a tight fit.

This isn't the cheapest storage rack to build (about $6.50 per "slot"!!), but I think it gives easy access to the tools, uses space efficiently, and I think it looks good. If you can find a standard nut to fit the coupling, I think you could build one of these for about $4.50 a "slot".

Sam


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

I put oil in them before use, as instructed. I used to run an 
oiler in my air line but I don't anymore. For sanders and things
like that an oiler is essential but for guns in a 1-man shop
it is overkill because nailers don't get used that much really
when the focus is craftsmanship and joinery.

I'm kind of loose with storage but I do try to point the
inlets more down than up so airborne dust doesn't fall
into them.


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

I have never seen an oil specifically for nailers. Just been usin' air tool oil. Is this oil available at a borg?
Bill


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## teejk (Jan 19, 2011)

thanks Sam D…it looks like "uni-strut" material and I'd never thought of that idea hence I've been hanging mine on wall mounted fold-down brackets.

up or down doesn't seem to matter since cases lay flat or on edge but either way no drainage or pushing oil to the head and all instructions all say a few drops of daily anyway. I use Marvel air-tool oil and can't see any difference from what came with the PC tools (3 in 1 oil would probably be the same) and is easier to use with the pop-up spout that you can close rather than tipping it over and having to clean it up.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Regular air tool oil swells the o-rings in nailers which causes
premature failure… kind of like that StopLeak steering fluid.

It can be hard to tell but I reckon the best thing is to
use oil that specifies air nailer usage. Some tool oils
have detergents in them and that's what causes
the ring failure.


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## greasemonkeyredneck (Aug 14, 2010)

Mine hang above my work table. I have trot line string (285 lb. test) hanging down with flower pot hooks on the ends of the strings. The nailers hook onto these hooks. I use vacuum line caps (they can be bought in any parts house) to cap off the air line holes so no dust gets in them.


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## RibsBrisket4me (Jul 17, 2011)

Upright in a wall cabinet.


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## PutnamEco (May 27, 2009)

I store mine in the cases they came in or soft sided bags. Some soft sided bags to consider are 
Occidental Leather 9050 Oxy Nail Gun Case Tool Bag
DTPRO TACTICAL NAIL GUN BAG by Duluth Trading
or smaller nailers
Senco Soft sided cases
Porter-Cable did a kit with a pinner and a brad nailer that came in a soft sided case, might find one in a bargin bin somewhere or order one as a replacement part.

I'm often going out on the road with tools, If I was only working in the shop I probably would have them in a cabinet, stored in a rack.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Re:
*Bill White:*
I have never seen an oil specifically for nailers. Just been usin' air tool oil. Is this oil available at a borg?
------
Paslode has oil for nailers at just about every Home Depot I've ever been in, They often even have in stock a complete kit of both a nail gun cleaning spray and oil in one package.


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## LeeBarker (Aug 6, 2010)

Mine are stored in my assembly table, parallel to my bench. A small advantage of this setup: The air hose is usually hooked to a blowgun, hanging to the left of the tools. In an awkward moment, which would usually involve glue, I can grab that hose, dump the blowgun and put the air to the right gun and get it involved in the current not-enough-hands crisis.

I am a lefty. That will make this more easily visualized.










Kindly,

Lee


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## BreeStephany (Jun 1, 2012)

I have several racks very similar to SamD's rack for storing my shop guns and other air tools in the shop. I use a flat piece of 2" wide 1/4" thick bar stock with holes drilled 24" O.C. I then take 3/8" NPT steel couplers and weld them to the bar stock spaced generally about 4-6" apart from one another, then take 3/8" male threaded quick disconnect air couplers and thread them into the steel couplers. I find these to be very hand and sturdy for storing air tools while protecting them from damage.

For my larger guns that didn't come with cases, I use canvas soft sided cases to store them.


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