Tried a cordless framing nailer against my old pneumatic last month

I finally got around to testing a Milwaukee cordless framing nailer against my trusty old Bostitch pneumatic on a townhouse job up in Beaverton. The pneumatic has been my go-to for over a decade, but I was curious if the battery stuff was really ready for prime time. After three days of framing out interior walls, the cordless was noticeably slower on the reloads and the battery died twice on me by noon. The pneumatics just kept going with no drama, no charging, and the weight difference wasn't enough to sell me on the switch. I can see the appeal for small punch lists or working up on a roof where a hose is a pain, but for a full day of framing the air gun still wins. Has anyone else found a cordless model that actually matches up for production work?

2 comments

2 Comments

victor_jones991mo ago

Man I felt that battery dying by noon thing. I swear my cordless nailer knows exactly when I'm on the last row of sheathing and decides to take a nap. My old pneumatic might weigh a ton and sound like a jackhammer but at least it doesn't quit on me right when I'm trying to beat the rain.

eva_adams681mo ago

My buddy runs a crew that does nothing but ti-downs and shear walls in the coast range, and he swears by a Senco cordless for that specific use because the magazine holds more coils than the Milwaukee. But you're right on the money about production framing, those extra seconds on reloads and the battery swap add up over a whole house. I noticed the pneumatics also have a nastier kick that seats the nail deeper in dense LVL, which the cordless sometimes leaves proud.