Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Bosch BNS200-18 18-Gauge Brad Nailer

Bosch BNS200-18 18-Gauge Brad Nailer
  • Tool-less adjustable air exhaust
  • Tool-less selectable trigger - easily switch between bump and sequential fire
  • Tool-less adjustable depth of drive - adjust depth of drive on tool
  • Narrow nose for excellent line of sight and slim body for better line of sight and better control
  • In-line self cleaning air filter - keeps debris from the valve and o-ring improving life of tool

Bosch's first foray into the world of nail guns seems pretty successful to me. This gun is light, comfortable, affordable (no fancy "angled" nails required), quiet, and has oodles of power. Even starving it at 80 psi, it has no trouble sinking (and setting) 2" brads into any of the MDF or Poplar stock I've got laying around. The adjustable exhaust port is a nice touch, and it refuses to fire at all once the magazine goes empty. The case is also roomy, leaving ample space for nails and other accessories.

Unfortunately, I can't say it's perfect. The pin that holds the trigger in doesn't seem like it's held on very firmly by that tiny little washer, and I shudder to think what will happen in the event that it should go out. Mine also came with a pretty severe cosmetic flaw in the form of what appears to be a gash in one of the metal surfaces. This gash was painted over, so it's more than likely just a flaw in the casting which should not cause any problems in usage, but still, QA should have caught it. And lastly, they don't give you any kind of fitting to actually stick it on the end of your hose. A minor nitpick to be sure, but come on, how much do these things cost? Don't make me drive back to the store to buy another coupler.

Nevertheless, it gets the job done and gets it done well. Even with the minor cosmetic defect, the fit-and-finish is notably superior to that of the equivalent Hitachi gun which I had been considering before these came out. I think anyone who routinely builds picture frames, cabinetry or puts up moulding would be extremely satisfied with this gun's performance. You'll definitely want to wear goggles, though; the exhaust is unbelievably powerful, so if you forget to rotate the port away from your face, you're going to be crying.

Buy Bosch BNS200-18 18-Gauge Brad Nailer Now

I am doing a full reno of my first floor and put up doorway trim and base molding; this nailer worked flawlessly.

I was using an 18 ga bostitch nailer before, and it was not very consistent. The bosch nailer sunk 2" and 1 1/4" nails at exactly the same depth every time.

I haven't used the bump feature yet, but I'm not sure if I ever will.

I was skeptical at some of the mixed reviews, however, I am not a contractor. There is no doubt that I will be looking at Bosch's finish nailer in the near future.

Read Best Reviews of Bosch BNS200-18 18-Gauge Brad Nailer Here

I have had this nailer for a few weeks now and put it right to work on a project that was awaiting its arrival. First thing I had to do was dial the pressure back to about 80+ using a 1 1/2" nail. Then adjusted the nail set adjuster to get it just right. It cruised through the job (in oak and pine materials) perfectly. It has a well built feel and fit and finish is excellent. Its also very light but I do have it on a urethane hose which helps a lot versus a pvc or rubber one. Thumbs up so far!

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This is the second Bosch 18-guage brad nailer I've purchased, so both of us can do similar jobs at the same time. I have no idea how someone could not be able to drive nails with these; we've been working with ironwood and ipe for about six months and have no problems driving up to and including 2-inch fastners.

The first gun is a bit over a year old and while I am meticulous about tools, it hasn't been babied. Compared to the new gun, it's lost nothing after probably 5000 6000 nails driven at maximum depth settings and maximum operating pressures into the hardest woods. We've had one operator technique jam, and I think the Bosch naileers have the easiest and best jam-clearing of any nailer I've used or tried you don't open the nose, you open the magazine. Wham, you're done.

Yeah, you can buy better 18-guage nailers the Cadex comes to mind for three times this price, and you can buy worse nailers for 50% more than these cost, but for daily use, in the shop, the Bosch nailers have proven to be rock-solid and totally dependable.

And they feel good in your hand.

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I bought this gun without any knowledge of its performance. I only went with the idea that all the Bosch tools I own have been great. This gun is not what is advertised. It's size nor its weight is not smaller than other 18 ga. guns that I own (Bostich, Porter-Cable, Senco). I was hoping to find an 18 gauge gun that would sink 2" nails consistently. I just finished a job trimming a house with 3/4" pre-finished fir for casing and base. The 18 ga. is used to diminish the size of holes that need to be puttied but if you have to set nails manually with a nail set your nail hole becomes noticeably larger. Not good when doing high-end stain-grade work. The time it takes to constantly set nails manually is not cost effective. I used this gun to trim out one door and put it away after I had to manually set 6 nails. The compressor was set to 115 psi and the depth adjustment on the gun was set to sink nails all the way. The Senco is still the gun I am going to use. It will shoot 2 1/8" nails and rarely leaves them proud. The Bosch looks good but needs some work before I will consider using it.

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