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Last week here on the blog I finally shared the shed I built for our pet pig, Oliver.
I talked about a lot of things in the post.
Including why I decided to build a shed instead of buying one, what to consider when planning your shed and some absolute necessary tools you’d need if you are planning to build one too.
The most important tool for a job like this and the tool that has become my all-time favorite tool I own is the Dewalt Cordless 21 Degree Framing Nailer.
However, when faced with the decision of buying a tool like this can be overwhelming if it’s your first time using one.
I know it was overwhelming for me and I had to weigh a lot of options.
Assuming you might be facing the same predicament I thought I’d pull together a complete review about my Dewalt Cordless Framing Nailer.
Hence the reason for this review.
P.S This post will be covering not just The New Dewalt Cordless 21 Degree Framing Nailer, but all things framing nailer need-to-know info.
This is a long info-packed post so I recommend saving it for later reference!
Here’s what I’ll be covering in this review
Table of Context
- Why it’s important
- What to consider when buying
- Choices out there
- Features of the Dewalt cordless nailer
- Pros vs. Cons of the nailer
- Conclusion
Why I’m reviewing the Dewalt Cordless 21 Degree Framing Nailer
I’ve been wanting to do a review of this tool for a while now. However, I wanted to wait until I shared the shed with you and now I have.
When I first accepted that my Ryobi cordless Brad nailer simply couldn’t handle a project like this, and I had to invest in a framing nailer I did what I always do before making a big purchase.
I did some research.
Tools, in general, are expensive. But Nailers, in general, is a completely different ballpark.
I didn’t realize until this point how many different kinds of nailers there are. They all are designed to handle very different kinds of projects, and they really can’t substitute each other for another function.
There are finishing nailers, brad nailers, roofing nailers, just to name a few.
These nailers all have one thing in common. They are vital to the overall composition of a structure, therefore they are important. And expensive.
A framing nailer is pretty self-explanatory. It is the tool that constructs the frame of a structure.
Framing nailers are used when building any sort of large structure. Such as a house, a room, a garage, you get the picture.
In this particular case the tool we use to build a shed.
I had no prior knowledge about framing nailers so I first had to figure out if it was really necessary to have to buy an additional tool for my DIY Shed.
Then I had to decide what nailer to actually buy.
Types of Framing Nailers
I’m a very indecisive person and get overwhelmed with choices easily. When it comes to large purchases I always do research so that later I don’t get buyers remorse. The same thing was true for this nailer.
Here were things I needed to decide before purchasing
- Cordless vs. Air vs. gas
- New vs. used
- Degree needed
I’ll go through and explain each point, and why it’s important to consider. Every decision usually has pros and cons.
Cordless vs. Air vs. Gas
I have always been a huge fan of cordless tools.
Every tool I owned up until this point had been either battery-powered and then later gas powered.
Air Powered Option
Air obviously requires an air compressor and your nailer must be attached to the hose connected to the compressor.
Personally, I hate the idea of having a cord attached to my tool.
If an air compressor is needed I’d have to first buy that first. Then forced to lug it around every time I was doing something.
Paslode/ Gas Powered Option
Paslode or Gas is the closest thing to battery-powered. It doesn’t require a hose or an air compressor.
However, it does require purchasing individual gas cartridges that are inserted into the nail chamber. This is what powers the nailer.
Battery Powered Option
Using a cordless framing nailer only recently became an option because they hit the market only a few years ago.
They don’t require an air compressor, hose, or separate gas cartridges. Just like all other battery-powered tools they are operated by a single rechargeable battery.
There are only a handful of battery-powered framing nailers on the market because of this.
On the flip side, some people would argue that battery-powered tools simply don’t have the same kind of power as an air compressed operated tool does.
In my experience, this is only sometimes true. It all depends on the tool and how much power it needs to operate.
For example, my Ryobi cordless drill works great on average battery size.
While my Ryobi battery powered circular saw eats the average battery power up in a matter of minutes and therefore requires a large battery.
Framing nailers require a lot of power because unlike Brad or Finishing nailers, they require large nails to hold large structures together securely.
Because of this framing nailers up until the last couple of years had all been operated by an air compressor or Paslode (aka gas).
I decided that the best option for my preferences was to continue with my battery-powered tool fetish.
New Vs Used
Since I decided I was going with the battery-powered option that pretty much ruled out the used option because battery-powered is pretty new for framing nailers.
However, if you go the air compressed route I’d highly recommend the used option. You’ll save a lot of money especially if you already have an air compressor.
I did not. So this would have been around a hundred dollars on top of buying the nailer.
You can find a lot of used framing nailers on sites like Craigslist or eBay for a very reasonable price.
I found that well-known tool brands for framing nailers ran anywhere from $60 to $200.
Your Options: Degree Variations
On top of needed a specific type of nailer for each job, once you are searching for a framing nailer you also have to decide on the degree you’ll need.
Degrees range from 15 to 34 degrees. The degree of a framing nailer describes your nailers’ magazine angle.
I want to make it clear that the degree of the framing nailer has nothing to do with how the nail is driven. All nailers drive nails in horizontally straight.
What the degree of your nailer does determine is the amount of nails the magazine will hold, the nail collation, and the nail coating.
15 degree framing nailers are high in popularity compared to others because they hold more nails is fully-round head, and wire-coil collated.
Other framing nailers use paper or plastic collation. The wire-coil as you can imagine makes the gun much heavier, and the paper collated nails aren’t ideal for more humid worksites.
The Dewalt 21 degree nailer uses plastic collated nails.
I found that the nails were cheaper and obviously less heavy. The 21 degree nailer can also get into tighter spaces compared to the 15 degree nailer.
The downside to these is that occasionally you’ll find plastic bits surrounding your workplace. This wasn’t obvious enough for me to notice though.
The other downside to plastic is that it’s not necessarily environmentally friendly.
It’s up to you to decide what is more important for your needs.
Features of the Dewalt 20V MAX 21° PLASTIC COLLATED CORDLESS FRAMING NAILER KIT
This is the product Overview and Feature Specs from Dewalt’s site
Description
The 20V MAX* 21° Plastic Collated Cordless Framing Nailer delivers the performance demanded by pros to get the job done. The DCN21PL can drive a range of plastic collated fasteners up to 3-1/4 in. and 0.148 in. diameter into a wide range of materials. Its compact shape, well-balanced design, and easy-to-operate features make it a highly productive tool capable of getting the job done quickly and efficiently. 100% battery power means you can show up and start working without wasting time setting up a compressor or spending money on costly fuel cell replacements.
FEATURES & SPECS
- Dual-speed motor optimized to drive a wide range of fasteners for versatility
- Tool-free selector switch for sequential or bump-fire modes
- Tool-free depth adjustment for precise nail placement
- High-strength aluminum magazine with easy-to-operate pusher latch
- Stall release lever to reset driver blade in the event of a jam
- Adjustable rafter hook
- Easy access to the nosepiece for removing jammed nails
- Dry fire lock out prevents tool from firing when nails are low
- 21° magazine holds up to 49 plastic collated nails
- Capable of driving 0.0148 in. diameter nail into dense lumber
SPECIFICATIONS
- FASTENER DIAMETER RANGE .113- .148 IN
- FASTENER LENGTH 2- 3-1/4 IN
- FIRING / ACUTATION MODE BUMP AND SEQUENTIAL
- MAGAZINE ANGLE 21 DEGREE
- MAGAZINE CAPACITY 49.0
- MAGAZINE LOADING TOP LOAD
- SYSTEM 20V MAX*
- TOOL HEIGHT 16.5 IN
- TOOL LENGTH 13.25 IN
- TOOL WEIGHT 8.5 LBS
INCLUDES
- DCN21PL Framing Nailer
- No-Mar Tip
- Manual
- DCB204 20V MAX* Battery
- DCB115 Charger
- Kit Bag
Pros vs. Cons
Pros
- Battery Powered
- No cord required so you’re able to freely move around
- No air compressor or other gas cartridges necessary so additional purchases unnecessary
- Cheaper nails comparatively
- Holds up to 3-1/4 in nails
- Can access tighter areas compared to 15-degree nailers
- Very powerful based on my experience
- It’s a Dewalt. That’s it, can’t do better than Dewalt in my opinion
Cons
- Heavier than other nailers weighing 8.5lbs
- More expensive for the gun alone compared to pneumatic or Paslode nailers
- Hold fewer nails than other nailers meaning more frequent reload breaks
Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Alright now time to share some final thoughts and opinions.
The first opinion,
I LOVE my Dewalt 20V MAX* 21° Framing Nailer!!!!
Like I mentioned earlier a lot of people are skeptical of it’s power being that it’s battery-powered. In my experience, this couldn’t be farther from the truth.
In fact, it’s scary powered I was not at all expecting it to be that powerful when I first drove the first nail.
You can get seriously hurt if you’re not careful with this guy so always pay attention and be careful.
I’m serious, I made the mistake of not paying attention while nailing one of the rafters in for Oliver’s house and I just barely nicked my right thumb bone. It was bruised and sore for weeks, and when the wound healed I still had a small scar.
In addition, some of my other powerful battery-powered tools like saws I’ve noticed eat up the battery very quickly.
I was worried this would be the case for this nailer but it was not. The battery lasts a surprisingly long time for how powerful the gun is.
I probably only had to charge the battery a couple of times while building Oliver’s house.
Now to reference some consumer concerns.
There have been some people who have said sometimes the nail doesn’t go flush with the wood completely and this is sometimes true.
However, the nailer has the ability for you to adjust the depth so if you notice your nails not going all the way in all you have to do is tinker with the depth and your good.
The one thing I’ll admit to is that this framing nailer is heavy. At 8.5lbs plus nails, you’ll be getting a workout if holding it for long periods of time.
That being said, I’m pathetically weak in my arms and I could still operate the framing nailer just fine.
The one single “complaint” I could say about this Dewalt 20V MAX 21° Plastic Collated Cordless Framing Nailer Kit is the number of nails the magazine can hold.
The magazine holds a single strip of nails and has a Dry fire lock out. So when you get to about 4 nails or so the gun will no longer fire and will require you to reload.
I can see how this would get annoying to someone who is frequently framing like contractors and construction workers.
I just kept a few strips of nails near me so I could more quickly reload.
All in all, the quality of this framing nailer is exactly what you would expect from a Dewalt tool. Solid. And a tool you can trust to be around for years to come. I highly recommend it and would say it’s 100% worth the price, which since I bought mine has become even cheaper.
Thank you so so so much for stopping by my blog today.
I hope you guys enjoyed this tool review and found it helpful!
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