Greetings all -

I begun installing our birch floor in diagonal form, so far I am very please with the results even thought it's only four rows

I am using staples with pneumatic floor nailer, then I would use my 15g nail to blind nail as much as I can. However, I begun to notice there are situations I have to face nail on the really short boards (12" or less). My question is - Is it dangerous/not advised to use pneumatic nailer to face nail? I am using 2" Bostitch nails and gun (OMG I love this gun!). I experimented on scrap pieces, sometimes they split sometimes they don't. I really hate inconclusive results:(

What are the thoughts here, and best practices on using this approach.

Thank you.

Are you close to the edges or ends when you're getting the splitting? Are you holding the gun in the correct direction so that the nail doesn't act as a wedge along the grain? What does you flooring manufacturer's installation directions say about face nailing?

Hello Jimmie -

Unfortunately the wood I have is no name brand, did not come with any instructions

The splitting happens near the end of the board, but interestingly I have tried on smaller pieces near the end with no issues. I tried different positions, with and opposite of the grains and again the darn results varies.

When I blind nail using this gun there is no issues what so ever, my only concern is face nailing. Should I worry about the air pressure adjustment? I currently have it set to 80 for both my floor nailer and hand nailer.

Thanks.

If 80 psi sets the face nailed nails correctly then backing it down will mean that you will have to finish by hand and use a nail set and they may still split. Another option is a 16 ga nailer which you don't have. Or to just about guarantee no splits you could predrill the holes and hand nail. Are the boards you are practicing on well supported underneath? How close to the ends are you nailing? You want to be a minimum of an inch from the end of a board. Some manufacturers specifiy a minimum of 2 or 3 inches from the end of a board. What are the dimensions of your flooring? If you can face nail away from the edges without splitting you could always install the nails close to the edges by hand.

Hello Jimmie -

The practice boards were supported.

After practicing a little more this afternoon, I found the magic areas on the boards:
About 1.5" from each side towards the middle and about 1" inwards from the end edge.

The interesting thing is I had the same behavior using my 16g nailer, it appears these boards are a little touchy.

In case any one interested, the Bostitch model N62FNK-2 is a fantastic nailer. The only thing would make it perfect is an angled tip for the tongue side of the boards for consistent nailing pattern.

Thank you for the pointers.

Gibran

When I have to face nail I use an 18ga brad nail with a little construction adhesive underneath. The nails are only holding the board down until the adhesive does it's job.