Diagram illustrating how to change the belt on the Dewalt D55168 compressor

Steps For Replacing Your Dewalt D55168 Compressor Belt (N011005)

1. With a 3/8 inch wrench, loosen the idler assembly screw. If your old belt is still in position, loosening the screw will release the tension on your belt.
2. Loosen and remove your connecting rod bolt, then move connecting rod from the bearing support. Make sure you leave the piston in the cylinder.
3. If your old belt is still on the compressor, remove it.
4. If you are using the A12210 belt, place the lettering on the belt against the flywheel. If you are using the N011005 belt, place the lettering away from the flywheel.
5. Replace your connecting rod and tighten down the bolt. The bolt must be tightened to 100-120 foot pounds
6. Tighten your idler screw to 40 inch pounds
7. To properly tension your belt, using a 5/8 inch wrench rotate the idler assembly clockwise. Then rotate the flywheel a few times to equalize the tension. If you have a belt tension guage, it should read between 60 to 80 pounds. The idler assembly should be locked into place between 84 to 120 inch pounds.

How To Use Pneumatic Tools Safely

 10 Tips to Keep You Safe and Smart

Nail guns and other pneumatic tools are incredibly useful, efficient machines. With intense power and precise firing capabilities, a good nail gun can save countless hours of work and innumerable sore thumbs, arms, hands and backs. With that intense power, though, and their trigger actuated, high-velocity firing, these air tools can also be extremely dangerous. Accordingly, and like other power tools (or even trigger-actuated weapons), properly operating pneumatic tools requires diligently following a few safety measures. Use caution, common sense and adhere to these few rules to ensure your pneumatic tools can be as harmless as they are helpful – keep these guidelines in the forefront of your brain, and you’ll surely enjoy the safest, most productive performance from your air tools.

1. Be Familiar With the Air Tool and its Manual

Before operating an air tool, familiarize yourself with its manual (which will be rich with tips and facts) and with the tool itself. Because nail loading and other functions differ between tool makes and models, it is important to understand the ins-and-outs of the particular nailer you’re about to engage.

Some nail guns fire only once per trigger depression, some guns offer a sequential firing mechanism which allows users to fire repeatedly when the trigger is continually depressed and the nose piece is simply “bumped” (this firing method is often referred to as “bump firing”). Additionally, some air tools can switch between these two modes. Know what kind of gun you are firing and, if you have the ability to select between  firing methods, always know which mode the tool is operating in.

2. Inspect the Air Tool, the Air Compressor and the Air Hose Before Each Use

Before engaging an air, give it a quick once over. Ensure everything looks as it should; ensure that the right fasteners are loaded and that the safety is working properly. Also check for punctures or weak spots in the air hose which may fail under pressure and cause damage to you or to the nail gun. Ensure the hose is properly secured between the tool and the compressor and, similarly, ensure the compressor is in good working order. Use only regulated compressed air and do not exceed the recommended air pressure capacity for each particular tool in use.

3. Protect Your Senses – Wear Safety Gear

Despite your speed, wit or strength, a sharpened steel projectile rocketed out of a pneumatic gun will not stop for your flesh, fingers or eyeballs. Where safety glasses during every minute you are operating or near an operating nail gun. Because brains and other body parts are similarly vulnerable to projectiles or debris and because ears and hearing are similarly susceptible to damage from the repeated high-decibel bursts of a nail shot, always wear a hard hat and adequate hearing protection when using (or when in the vicinity of active) pneumatic tools.

4. Know When to Disengage an Air Tool

Disengage an air tool every time it is not in use. Even if you simply need to eat a sandwich or use the “powder room,” always disengage a nail gun that is not in use. Similarly, disengage an air tool before loading it, while adjusting it, while clearing jams and etc. If a nail gun jams or otherwise malfunctions, the fastener will be waiting to eject it when that problem is fixed. To avoid that nail rocketing into your leg or your coworker, disengage the tool before servicing it.

5. Know How to Disengage an Air Tool

Because an air tool becomes so pressurized during use, it is important to remain cautious while disengaging the tool. First, turn on the gun’s safety and/or turn off the tool. Disengage the compressor and disconnect the air hose. Because the depressurization of the tool may eject debris from the nail gun, do not aim the tool at anything or anyone, and do not point the gun toward yourself; debris can be ejected at staggering velocities. Please use caution.

6. Use Only the Proper Fasteners

Always use the fastener size your air tool was designed for. Using incorrect fasteners will cause jams and misfires, can cause serious damage to the tool, and can cause very painful injury to you or others in your work area.

7. Be Aware of Your “Blast Radius” and Surroundings

Before you fire an air tool, be aware of every body (animate and inanimate) in your work area. Always know what is on the opposite side of your nail gun and what is behind the material your fastening. Because you can’t see through the wall you’re sheathing, know what’s behind it and warn others of your work area.

It’s also important to inspect the material your fastening. Imperfections in wood like splits, knots, difficult grain structures or existing fasteners can cause a nail to shift or behave unpredictably; a fastener may deflect off of a nailing surface or pass entirely through that surface embedding in whatever is on the other side. Accordingly, be cautious of each point of entry; avoid firing fasteners tool close the edge of your material, never fire a fastener on top of another fastener, never fire a nail gun at an angle and never fire a fastener into something you (or someone else) is holding. As a rule of thumb, you should maintain a distance of at least twice the length of your fastener from the point of fastener entry.

8. Don’t Fiddle With the Trigger (or Nose Piece)

Never touch the trigger of an air tool unless you are entirely prepared to discharge it.

Do not touch the nose piece of an air tool to anything you do not intend to shoot.

Be aware of how you handle, hand-over, and set-down an air tool. Ensure the nose piece touches nothing but the surface you intend to fire into. When the gun is resting, ensure it is secure and not susceptible to jostling; bumping a nail gun may result in unintentional firing.

Never pull the trigger of air tool twice at the same point of entry. After depressing the trigger, immediately release it and remove your finger from the trigger. Firing twice will result in two nails shot which is both wasteful and terrifically dangerous.

9. Properly and Maintain Air Tools and Air Compressors

Properly and regularly maintaining your air tools and air compressors is an integral part of using these tools safely and efficiently. Keep your tools clean and inspect them routinely. Oil your nail gun each time you use it and, because water will accumulates inside your compressor during operation (and will subsequently cause rust and water damage), drain your air compressor after each use.

10. Don’t Be Ridiculous

And by ridiculous, of course, I mean dumb. Don’t be dumb. This is perhaps the most important rule of safety when operating air tools (and, perhaps, more generally speaking as well). Don’t be dumb. Use your common sense and always operate machinery with great caution. Don’t ever point an air tool at something you don’t intend to shoot. Always be in control of your nail gun. Your nail gun is not a toy nor a hammer. And seriously, never tape or otherwise force down the trigger or nose piece of an air tool; that is stupid and unforgivably dangerous. Don’t be reckless, always be accurate and, again, please for the sake of all our hands, fingers, shoulders and knees, don’t be ridiculous – be careful.

And, for the most part, those rules should keep you safe while operating air tools. Be smart and expect those around you to act smart, too. Being always aware is the best way to keep yourself in one happy piece and the best way to yield the best performance from your air tools. Best of luck and happy firing!

How to Clear a Jammed Nail Gun

Disclaimer: This “Quick Tip” is significantly less quick than its predecessors; it is, however, equally important. Use these guidelines to keep safe and productive while working with air tools.

Though the intricate systems of valves, cylinders, pistons and springs that make up our air tools may appear, by all counts, prepared to fire nails into eternity, there are a number of factors that can contribute to a jammed nail in your air tool. Of course, the most common cause for encountering a jammed nail is human error, but, essentially, a jam occurs when a fastener gets caught in a nail gun or when a fastener fires into something (like another fastener or a tough knot) that deflects the nail backward into the gun. In either case, a jam must be unjammed. Fortunately, for us users, unjamming an air tool requires only a few simple steps and the due amount of caution.

To clear a jammed nail from an air tool, one must first disengage the tool by turning it off and/or disconnecting its air hose or battery. Next, open the gun’s magazine and remove all racks of unfired fasteners. Do not bypass this step; it is imperative that you disengage the tool and remove any fasteners from potentially firing. Because the nailer will be waiting to obey the firing command it was given before the jam prevented discharge, as soon as that jam clears, it will attempt to fire. Accordingly, the tool must be in all capacities prevented from unintentionally discharging a nail. So, no matter what, disengage the tool and remove all the fasteners from its magazine.

Next, you must access the jam. The gun’s manual will show you how to best do this. Most nail guns, however, have a flip-style locking mechanism on their nose piece. This should open without tools, but, if not, you may gently release the latch with pliers or the claw of a hammer (the “claw” being the curved prongs on a hammer’s back-side).

If there is no latch on the nose piece of your gun, please do not attempt to open it; instead you will likely access the jam through a latch on the top of the gun. This will have a flip-style latch mechanism or a few screws that will need to be removed in order to reach the interior of the gun. Bearing in mind that you may need to remove one or more components to reach the jammed nail, open this access to inspect the jam. In the event components must be removed, be careful not to damage them and be equally careful reinstalling them; ensure each part is restored to exactly the manner in which it was removed.

Next, you need only remove the jam. You may be able to clear it with your fingers, but, if the nail is bent or otherwise caught or obstructed, you may need to use a pair of long-nosed pliers to release it. After removing the jammed fastener, inspect the nose piece and the nail path for damage or anything that appears out of the ordinary.

Next, simply close-up shop (or, close the mechanism you opened to remove the jam), reload your magazine and reengage the air tool. Fire a test-shot to ensure all is well and, assuming it is, be successfully on your way. If, on the other hand, the gun is still jammed or jams again, reopen the tool to look for additional jammed fasteners or for visible damage to the gun. If upon this inspection, no jams or damage are found, take your nail gun to an authorized service center for diagnosis/repair.

How to Replace the Brushes in a Porter-Cable Pancake Compressor

A good air compressor is a key factor in ensuring the progress and quality of our work. This means that our responsibility to that compressor and its health is equally important. Maintenance, in fact, is our most useful tool in achieving longevity in our equipment and what we produce with it.

Fortunately, the responsibility of air compressor maintenance and repair is not nearly as daunting as it may sound. In fact, it’s relatively simple when you arm yourself with just a few facts and a few simple steps. Take replacing your compressor’s brushes for example, this procedure is both simple and totally imperative to the vitality of your compressor. And yet, with the following few steps, you can replace the brushes in your compressor with perfect, professional ease.

Before beginning this repair procedure, though, it is extremely important to disengage and unplug your air compressor. You must aslo ensure the tank is entirely bled of air pressure. This keeps you, as well as your compressor, more protected from injury or damage during repair.

It is also important to note that you must always replace your brushes in pairs. Regardless the good-looks of one brush, if one is worn or broken, you must always replace both brushes as a set. Oh, and please don’t underestimate the value of your owner’s manual. Read it, make it your friend, and bask in your new-found knowledge.

Okay. Now, to begin, you must first remove the compressor shroud, or the casing that contains the tool’s motor. To do this, simply unscrew the screws holding the thing together (these are usually set fairly deep into the shroud) and pull the shroud apart separating it at its split down the middle. Set the shroud and screws aside safely. 

Next simply locate the brushes, there will be one brush on each side of the armature. Disconnect the brush lead terminal, or, the wire connector attached to each brush, of the brush you’re presently replacing. Very carefully move the spring away from the brush ensuring you don’t damage its springiness, get a hold of the first brush’s lead, and remove it from its holder. 

Carefully slide the new brush into the brush-holder in the same orientation the former was removed. Making certain the spring rests against the brush, replace the spring as delicately as you moved it aside. Next, reconnect that brass terminal ensuring it attaches in the same manner as prior to its disconnection. 

Next, simply repeat the above steps with the second brush, carefully and securely replace the shroud, and you and your compressor should be all set. Before you go rolling to the next job or project, though, reengage to compressor and give the thing a minor test-run to ensure your brushes are making complete and proper connections. If the compressor doesn’t run smoothly, remove the shroud once more and retrace your steps to make certain each brush is making a proper connection. If you can’t isolate the problem, it is best to quickly take your compressor to an authorized service center for a more thorough inspection.

If everything does run smoothly, then, many congratulations, you have successfully replaced the brushes in your Porter-Cable pancake compressor.

Just like virtually every other thing in life, your air tools require a certain degree of maintenance to perform at their peak, a little bit of premeditated tenderness to keep them operating smoothly. Fortunately, though, despite the overwhelming importance of oiling our pneumatic tools, the lubricating process is surprisingly simple.

Before I spill all the beans, though, let me say a few words about why properly oiling your air tools is so important. First, and as you know, pneumatic tools are built around a beautifully intricate system of gears, rotors, pistons, o-rings and so forth, that are designed to work together to convert compressed air into raw working energy. However, when you convert this air into that energy, condensation, or moisture, is produced within the tool which, in turn, mingles with the oil already existing within the tool. Together they become, essentially, a mess. The oil becomes gloopy and gummy causing more violent metal upon metal impacts inside the tool, this also generates more heat and invites the ever tragic reality slaps of premature wear and tear.

Ultimately, unless properly maintained, the action of doing exactly what it’s designed to do, attacks the overall performance and efficiency of our pneumatic tools. It’s a sad lot, but this wear and tear, or, really, component erosion, is easily and entirely preventable. Simply oil it, and your pneumatic tool will continue building, creating, finishing, and etc for all the live-long day.

To oil the thing, simply wipe-down the tool (it is always good practice to keep your tools clean) and, either before or after each use, plop in just a couple drops of air tool oil; keep in mind that sometimes even just one drop is perfectly enough to lube-up your tool. If you use the tool heavily, it is advised to oil it periodically throughout the work-day, or once every (approximately) 3,000 shots. Whether you oil-up your air tools before or after using them is entirely up to you – many crafters, however, prefer to oil at the end of a work-day as the extra oil will protect the tools interior metal components from any residual moisture produced during the day’s use.

While oiling, though, ensure the oil doesn’t get all over everything else, and if it does, make sure you clean up after yourself. While it is important for some components to be lubricated, it is equally important that some components stay dry.

It is also extremely important that you don’t over-oil your tools. Over-oiling can cause nearly as much damage as under-oiling rendering the tool’s innards sludgy and under-performing. So remember, despite the need to oil your air tools often (every day or with every use) they never require more than a few tiny drops to stay lubed.

With all that said, you now know how to properly oil your pneumatic tools. Yay!

How to Maintain an Air Compressor

Having a good air compressor is a vital part of the woodworking and production industries. Accordingly, properly maintaining said air compressor is perhaps the most vital part of using and powering pneumatic equipment. Because your air compressor is the muscle behind your pneumatic tools, and behind your results as well, ensuring their performance from the ground up is just as important as your end results.

Read the Owner’s Manual –

The very first step to properly maintaining your air compressor (or any other piece of equipment for that matter) is becoming acquainted with the operating/owner’s manual. Although some crafters see their manuals as entirely inferior to their own massive knowledge, in reality, the manual contains a smorgasbord of truly valuable information that will help you ensure your compressor performs optimally for the longest possible amount of time. So, read and practice the guidelines in your operating manual, they will not lead you astray.

Storage –

Where you store your compressor is another important factor. Whether you use your compressor once per month or you use it everyday and store it only at night, you must store the thing in a cool, clean (dust-free) and dry environment. Where possible, you should also cover the machine ensuring it suffers from as few of the elements as possible. 

Compressor Types –

Additionally, there are two main types of air compressor – those that require regular oiling (designed for the heaviest industrial applications) and those that are oil-less and therefore require no oiling (designed for lighter-duty applications). Oil-less compressors require less regular upkeep but also wear more quickly and consequently require replacement more often. On the other hand, compressors that require oiling, despite demanding a bit more attention from their operators, enjoy a rejuvenating oil-bath and the required regular maintenance that ensures healthy components and a longer life-span. Because you have already read your owner’s manual, you know which type of compressor you have.

Certain aspects of your compressor’s maintenance require a little more frequency that others. Some procedures need to be performed everyday or with every use, while others require attention only on a monthly or six-month basis. The following describes the best practices and time intervals for properly maintaining your air compressor. 

Daily Maintenance –

On a daily basis or at least with every use, to prevent rust and water damage it is important to drain any moisture from the air compressor’s tanks. To do this you must first release the air pressure from the tanks, open the drain valves and allow all moisture to completely drain. If you work in a particularly dusty environment, it is also smart to blow or wipe any debris from the tool. This ensures your components remains clean and clear of clogging debris and perform optimally. 

Weekly Maintenance –

Once per week, remove any debris or other such obstructions from the air intake vents. Wipe them down well ensuring they are clean as a whistle and, if you use a compressor with a filter, get that filter whistling clean as well (you’d be surprised how dirty these things can get) and replace it as needed. If you use your compressor extremely rarely, is is probably not necessary to do this each week, but do do it after (about) every five uses. 

Monthly Maintenance –

Take a moment each month to give your compressor a good-old-fashioned check-up. Inspect its nooks and crannies paying special attention to moving parts, hoses and cords. Ensure the safety release valve opens properly, releases air pressure properly and closes properly without any air leakage. Similarly, ensure your hoses are leak free and in otherwise good condition, and that your cord doesn’t have any breaks, kinks, scrapes or cuts. Because the electrical hazard of using a damaged cord is so great, do not use your air compressor (or any other machine or appliance) with a damaged cord. 

Bi-Yearly Maintenance –

Take a little bit more time about twice each year (every six-months) to ensure your most critical working parts are working correctly. Check each of the compressor’s fittings for air-tightness ensuring there are no leaks and test that your gauges are displaying the correct readings. Replace parts and filers where necessary, and, should you run into more serious issues, quickly take your air compressor to an authorized service center for professional inspection.

And that’s just about the size of it. Remember to give a little time back to your air compressor and it will continue powering your tools and projects for years to come.

With the surplus of new power tools having recently entered the industrial market, many of which being quite incredible, the short-list of this year’s most exciting new power tools has been surprisingly difficult to compile. With comprehensive tool line-ups (Makita, Dewalt, and Milwaukee each introduced a new line of cordless 12v power tools) and some acute power tool innovations that will change the way power tools are henceforth produced (like Bosch’s articulating miter saw and Senco’s pneumatic fusion technology), it seems there are more bar-raising power tools to kudo than can feasibly be mentioned. But, with effort to show no favor to any particular manufacturer or tool type, and in no particular order, let me briefly honor this year’s picks for the most intense, most innovative, or simply most awesome new power tools.

- Bosch’s GCM12SD Axial Glide Articulating Miter Saw:

Producing a virtually unparalleled smoothness of cut this Bosch saw is unbelievably precise and offers optimal operator control throughout every conceivable working condition. Its new axial system completely replaces the miter saw’s former (and, comparatively, totally underdeveloped) rail system with two multi-joint articulating, or hinged, arms. This design enhances both the precision and durability of the saw, and also folds to sit flush with the back of the saw saving up to one foot of workspace and allowing you to use the saw with literally zero clearance behind it. The saw is surprisingly compact and with totally unparalleled efficiency, the axial glide miter saw truly has no equal.

- Milwaukee’s 2426-22 M12 Cordless Oscillating Multi-Tool:

Milwaukee’s version of the multi-tool is one of the lightest models on the market, its terrifically precise, and surprisingly powerful. Unlike other multi-tools, and a major part of why this tool is so cool, Milwaukee’s 2426-22 is manufactured to be compatible with Bosch multi-tool accessories and includes a universal accessory adapter which allows the tool to be used with accessories from nearly every competing brand. This bold maneuver from Milwaukee coupled with the tool’s superior design, quality, and value render it one of the coolest new power tools in the industry.

*Additionally, if you are more interested in a corded multi-tool, Bosch has also just released their Multi-X MX25EC-21 – a tool that truly deserves to share this space among the top 5 best new tools. It’s a seriously awesome machine with tremendous powerful, and unlike the cordless models, it provides this big power without any limitations. Like the Milwaukee, this model also offers a universal accessory adapter but includes quite a few more accessories.

- Dewalt’s DCT410S1 12v MAX Inspection Camera:

After a significant amount of research and testing, Dewalt has brought to the table a product unlike any other the industry has ever seen, a cordless inspection video and still-shot camera with more innovation than you’ll want shake a stick at. Featuring a flexible, waterproof three-foot extension cable, a 3.5-in detachable LCD screen with a 3x zoom capacity, and a lasting, lightweight, and fast-charging battery system, the DCT410S1 camera allows users to see into, record, and photograph all the jobsite’s otherwise impossible to reach spaces. This new breed of inspection camera allows users to see behind walls, inside pipes, and into the depths of other workzone nooks and crannies with unrivaled ease, range, and efficiency.

- Festool’s 564250 T 15+3 Cordless Lithium Ion Drill:

Ahh, Festool – a manufacturer that never ceases to improve not only itself but the industry around it has developed a cordless drill with unequaled precision and ethereally smooth performance. The T 15+3 squeezes an intense amount of power into a terrifically compact design, and with the drill’s FastFix tool-less chuck, easily interchangeable accessory chucks, and the ability to insert a bit directly into the motor, the drill literally does the work of five different tools (including a right angle drill) while remaining true, precise, compact, and lightweight. So, with a lasting, energy efficient brush-less motor, electronic torque and tool health monitoring, two speed settings, magnetic bit storage, the most intelligent lithium-ion battery and charging system, and despite being expensive, the T 15+3 is pretty much the coolest drill ever.

- Senco’s FN65DA Cordless Fusion Finish Nailer:

Combining the very best of both pneumatic and cordless power tool technologies, Senco’s Fusion is one of the most groundbreaking developments the power tool industry has ever seen. Requiring no cords, hoses, compressors, or fuel cells, the fusion finish nailer is completely streamlined for superior efficiency, and with a surplus of other perks like an integrated LED light, powerful, fast-charging battery system, patented Reflex-Shot mechanism, and incredible accuracy, Senco has, essentially, built the most self-sustaining, most evolved, most efficient, effective, and influential nailer ever built. As if that wasn’t quite enough, Fusion technology is also more environmentally friendly earning this tool an overall assessment of super awesome.

And those beauties comprise my top 5 new power tools of 2010 and 2011. BUT, as I stressed before, there has been an influx of tremendous additions to the industrial power tool scene. Said influx, in fact, cannot go without a few more accolades. Accordingly, I have also put together a list of “honorable mentions,” if you will, and I must digress for a small moment if only to say that it pains me to label these tools with a only measly “honorable mention.” Each of them is uniquely innovative, awesome, and entirely deserving of something better than a “mention” of any caliber. But alas, here they are, the most honorable of honorable mentions (in no particular order)(click on the tool descriptions for more information):

• Makita’s SH01W 12v Compact Cordless 3-3/8” Circular Saw

• Makita’s LXFD01CW 18v Compact Cordless 1/2” Drill-Driver AND Dewalt’s DCD710S2 12V MAX Drill Driver Kit (Sorry, I realize having two tools here is cheating but these drills are equally awesome and are really designed to perform in two separate spheres so one can’t necessarily “beat out” the other, so, it makes perfect sense include them both, right? …)

• Dewalt’s DW611PK Compact, Two-Base Router Kit

• Milwaukee’s 2458-21 M12 Cordless Palm Nailer

• Milwaukee’s 2625-21 M18 Cordless One-Handed Hackzall

A Future With Fusion

Senco has been long and globally recognized as one of the most integral and innovative builders of power fastening and pneumatic equipment. In fact, for nearly 60 years they have been growing the pneumatic industry as well as the demand for pneumatic products with an extensive line of nailers, staplers, and screwguns meticulously designed to revolutionize pneumatic power and performance.

Now, despite consistently blazing new paths in the pneumatic community, Senco has presently and completely outdone itself paving an entirely new and sparkling highway with their exclusive Senco Fusion Technology. Uniting the very best of both pneumatic and cordless technologies, Senco Fusion ditches cords, hoses, fuel cells, and essentially the competition providing a light-weight, well balanced, no-maintenance, uninhibited pneumatic gun. With the power of Lithium Ion Phosphate and with the ability to shoot nails hard, fast, and secure with ethereal ease and accuracy, Senco Fusion nailers are a new species of gun with a new set of completely exploded standards and expectations. 

Powered with an advanced and exclusive Lithium Ion Phosphate (LiFePo4) battery system, the tools are sleek, light-weight and perfectly balanced for the most comfortable operation. Because the battery system additionally receives an 80% charge in only 15 minutes and a complete charge in only 45, Senco Fusion Technology redefines the craftsman concept of power efficiency and productivity on the job. The new fusion nailers additionally feature Senco’s patented Reflex Shot mechanism which delivers an instant trigger response for an instant shot, no dallying, up to 500 drives per charge. 

Fusion makes all this happen with a gear box and lifter which together force the piston and driver blade against a recycling pocket of self-contained air (or, more accurately, nitrogen) inside the cylinder. This action compresses that nitrogen enabling it to powerfully and consistently drive nails with the simple pull of a trigger. Additionally, the air pressure inside the gun is pre-set and permanently sealed during fabrication and, allegedly, requires absolutely no recharging. 

In other words, it’s not necessarily an exaggeration to say that Senco Fusion nailers are the beginning of the future of pneumatics.

Senco FN65DA Fusion Finish Nailer:

The Beginning of the Future of Pneumatics 

Combining the very best of both pneumatic and cordless power tool technologies Senco Fusion is one of the most groundbreaking developments the power tool industry has yet to see. In fact, there is an extremely high-probability that this Fusion Technology will change the entire future of pneumatic power tool manufacturing and design. 

You see, the Senco FN65DA Fusion finish nailer wields no cumbersome cords, hoses or compressors, and no extra weight or expensive fuel cells. The tool is light-weight (weighing only 6.2 lbs) with a sassy and stream-lined design that renders it one of the most effective nailers ever built. Utilizing an exclusive an intensely cool Lithium Ion Phosphate (LiFePo4) battery and charger system the gun is seriously efficient, and because the battery accepts an 80% charge in only 15 minutes and a complete charge in only 45, the nailer keeps you firing for longer periods and with far less idle time. This LiFePo4 battery power is not only lighter, but also more environmentally friendly than its competition, a factoid I think we all can appreciate, and yet another cherry atop the Senco Fusion sundae. 

So, if you’re wondering how the Fusion makes all its magic happen, how it intends to bring down the house with the most brilliant pneumatic innovations in more than a handful of years, let me tell you a bit about how the guts work in this new breed of precision nailer. For starters, a streamlined gear box and lifter work together to force the tool’s piston and driver blade against a recycling pocket of self-contained air (or, more accurately, nitrogen) which rests inside the cylinder. The action between parts immediately compresses that nitrogen enabling it to powerfully and consistently drive nails with the simple pull of a trigger. From here, your fasteners fire instantaneously and with striking accuracy to deliver a smooth shot and perfectly secure results. Additionally, the air pressure inside the gun is pre-set and permanently sealed during fabrication and, allegedly, requires absolutely no recharging. This means Senco has built, essentially, the most self-sustaining, most evolved, most efficient nailer on the market today; a trophy tool well worth all the accolades. 

The nailer additionally features Senco’s patented Reflex-Shot mechanism providing an instant shot with each trigger-depression (up to 500 shots per each charging cycle), and with their EZ-Clear removable magazine, removing fasteners is quick and simple as well. The gun’s magazine (with its 110 fastener capacity) and drive cylinder are additionally built with a durable aluminum to enhance the tool’s balance and overall longevity, and with a nose-mounted LED light integrated into the tool, the gun offers superior visibility despite tight, dark, or otherwise imperfect working environments. Of course, the Fusion also features a selectable drive switch, a thumbwheel depth of drive, and an adjustable and reversible belt hook (which is actually quite cool) for the very best of convenience, capacity, and mobility.

Ultimately, with unrivaled durability, precision, and pneumatic technology, the tool is ideal for an endless number of applications from baseboards and cabinets, to trim, paneling, and door and window casings. Additionally, for your pneumatic nailing convenience, the nailer also includes an 18v battery and charger, and a portable, durable tool case.

Your Nail Gun is Not a Hammer

Although it is tempting when in a pinch to use the backs of our pneumatic guns as a kind of hammer or pounding apparatus, don’t do it. This can cause extensive damage to the endcap and seal which, in turn, will cause the gun to lose air. This, of course, will render the gun nearly useless and requiring repair. In short, pounding with your nailer is just not worth it – Use a hammer, or a mallet, or someone else’s nalier. Just kidding. Use a hammer (or a mallet).