Tim Uhler
“We’ve been using the new Hitachi brushless cordless framing nailer over the last few months,” reports Tim Uhler a reviewer for Tools of the Trade, a sister publication to ProSales. “I have previously reviewed gas powered nailers from Bostitch and Paslode and battery powered nailers from DeWalt. We have pretty much gone completely cordless with power tools, but haven’t been able to with nailers. That being the case, is it worth owning a cordless nailer?” Here’s his report.
How Does it Work?
Unlike Paslode’s internal combustion engine, or DeWalt’s flywheel design, the Hitachi uses an “Air Spring Drive System”. Air that is permanently sealed in the chamber is used to drive the nail “2-3 per second” according to Hitachi. The recoil feels like a pneumatic Hitachi gun, very minimal on my wrist.
There is no ramp up time, you can use the gun sequentially or in bump fire mode. It won’t compete with the fastest pneumatic nailers for speed, but it is close enough for every framing task but nailing sheathing or other high volume framing.
Features. Depth of drive is a dial type tool free design that works very well. The magazine only holds one standard strip and has a dry fire lockout, but if you want to keep the magazine full you can break sticks in half and load 1 ½ sticks. I don’t bother and just load one at a time.
The soft grip has a lock switch for safety, and the power switch shows the battery level and selection for bump or sequential firing. The gun also comes with the world’s largest rafter hook. It will actually hold the gun on a 3 ½” wall or beam. It swivels out of the way and is totally ridiculous.
What I Like
This gun shoots very fast and very consistently. It has little recoil and is probably the best gun I’ve ever used when it comes to toe-nailing due to the minimal recoil. It isn’t light but not super heavy. After using it and switching the Paslode, it becomes obvious that the Paslode is a better balanced and lighter gun. That’s not to say the Hitachi is too heavy or bulky, but it is a factor to consider.
I like too that the battery charges pretty quickly, less than 30 minutes, and that the batteries are cheap (around $40, but if you watch for deals, cheaper). You definitely need two batteries. Hitachi claims that the gun will shoot “up to 400 nails”, this works out to be 14 strips. That isn’t a lot and I found using the gun that about an hour of pickup framing and the battery was dead. With two batteries I have not run out before the other was charging.
The gun has plenty of power and had no trouble driving framing nails into engineered wood. Often on the second floor we are toenailing through LSL and this gun had no trouble. It has become my go to gun when we are framing floors or ceilings. I also use it for all blocking because walking walls without a cord is more convenient and safer.
What I Don’t Like
The gun is a little bulky. This isn’t a deal breaker for me, but if you have a lot of over head work, it’ll give your shoulders a workout. The right side of the gun where the motor is can block line of sight too.
Those things don’t bother me too much, but are worth noting. What really bothers me and almost made this gun useless for me is the rafter hook. It is just massive and hooking the gun on my belt it would swivel out when I didn’t want it too. Hitachi sent me the hook to their finish guns and that is the hook that should ship with it.
Affected by Weather?
Our climate is moderate but wet. I’ve used this gun with no trouble in pouring rain where the gun is soaked. I did have some issues shooting hot dipped galvanized nails because they were thicker. I switched brands to Hitachi and they work fine. I have seen on Instagram that the gun doesn’t do well below 25°F. I asked Hitachi about this and they said that the tool is equipped with thermal protection. The nailer is designed to shut off at 23°F. According to Hitachi, anything below 23° can cause damage to the tool and shorten the life of the internal components.
Verdict
This gun isn’t going to replace pneumatic guns for framing houses. It just isn’t fast enough for production framing and is limited by the magazine size for that kind of work. I don’t think it is intended for high volume. It is perfect for nailing joists, blocking, pickup framing, ladder work etc. As a framer I recommend this gun. It would be great too for someone who doesn’t need to frame walls all day like a remodeler.
