WEN 61720 3/4-Inch to 2-Inch 18-Gauge Brad Nailer

• 18-gauge brad nailer fires brads 3/4 to 2 inches in length
• Operates at 60-100 psi with a 1/4-inch NPT air inlet fitting
• Rubber-wrapped handle; quick-release for jam-clearing; aluminum body
• Magazine holds 100 brads; includes oil, wrenches, and custom case
• Tool weighs 5.4 pounds

I had read the reviews so i went ahead and purchased this for about 35.00 shipped. I got it in the mail and opened it up.The case seemed very cheap. Now i pull out the nailer, It seems like WEN didnt pay much attention to the details. Some of the paint looked touched up, the trigger was just a piece of metal and some of the other pieces of the gun looked of questionable quality.This doesnt look even close to the beautiful, yellow, quality DeWalt that my buddy loans me.So nervously i hook it up and put in a stack of 1 3/4" nails, they loaded nicely. I test the gun on a 2x4.I tap a couple in and the nails go so deep i thought it misfired. So i turn the little depth wheel under the tip,(which feels kind of cheap but actually works better than the dewalt) and tap a couple more till perfect. I start laying some base board and the gun has a very smooth and solid yet lighweight feel to it. Not one misfire. Also the gun doesnt jump around. and the tip looks like it would destroy the board but actually did very well. I finished the kitchen and hallway and am very impressed with the gun. I have used a DeWalt to baseboard and trim two entire houses, and comparing the two I actually think the WEN performs better. I have only shot a couple of hundred nails out of the WEN so I will have to see how it holds up. but for 35.00 I could buy a few of these at the cost of the others. It's even starting to look prettier than the DeWalt.

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This nail gun is a good value, and seems well made. It works well when you use the right kind of nails, which, as the descriptions says, is 18 gauge, from 3/4 to 2 inches.

Unfortunately, the standards for nails are such that not all 2 inch nails will work with this gun, because believe it or not, 2 inch nails come in two different lengths. I have never found actual 2 inch nails: they are either a bit longer (51mm), like Porter Cable and many other brands, or a bit shorter (50mm), such as Bostich. Only the 50 mm nailes (such as Bostich) fit; 51 mm (like Porter Cable) does not; I have tried both brands.

This is unfortunate, because the 51mm type is more readily available, for example at Home Depot. I had to do a lot of looking around to find 2 inch nails that would work with this gun, but I did eventually find a store (a lumber yard) that carried the Bostich brand. It is obvious when the nail won't work: you simply cannot load it.

I bought this gun to be able to shoot 2 inch nails. It would have been a very simple engineering change to support both 50 and 51 mm nails. Therefore I am taking a star off for not supporting the commonly available 51mm size. I wish also that it would accept 5/8" nails. It actually might, but I'm not going to buy a package to find out that they don't work, or worse, that they jam the machine.

If you are considering this gun and want to use 2 inch nails, be sure a local store carries them before you buy it.

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This is a Pneumatic tool meaning you need at least a very tiny air compressor to run this. The tiniest 120 volt portable air compressors will run these, most of the very cheap small air compressors are less than $100. If you don't own an air compressor, I will tell you it's a safe investment. They last for 20 years or more, I bought one 14 years ago, and have never changed the oil or done anything. If you want it to last forever, get an "oil" air compressor not an "oil free." They cost about more, but they last forever. As for the size, just go with the largest one you can afford, and make sure it's portable, and something that you can haul in your vehicle if you need to take it somewhere for a project.

About the 18 gauge brad nailers:

I purchased a Harbor Freight 18 gauge brad nailer. I was very happy with the performance, but I noticed that the rear latch was made of soft plastic. If you dropped it once it would shatter the rear latching mechanism into bits. I returned it and got my $32 back (after tax). I went to all the major websites, Home Depot, Sears, Lowes, but Amazon had lower prices on all the different models of air nailers. I have been a mechanic and carpenter for 16 years. I built my own air compressor when I was a kid, so I have a very good understanding of air tools, and tools in general. I have not tried the WEN yet, as I just ordered it. But here are some selling points.

1.) The Dewalt has a lot of bad reviews about it jamming

2.) The Harbor Freight nailer spits a lot of oil out and can be messy, and had no power adjustment. It is also made of soft cheap plastic.

3.) The NuMax looks good, and will work fine, although it has no power adjustment, and no quick release to take the front apart to clear out jams. If you get a jam, it will take 5 minutes to fix it, instead of 1 minute.

4.) The Hitachi looks poorly made, the rear latch mechanism doesn't look like it's made out of metal, and the tool is ugly! But this is just my opinion, more research is needed to see if the rear latch is made of soft plastic.

5.) The other brands, Porter Cable, Campbell Hausfield, etc, are too expensive.

6.) The WEN has

A.) Depth adjustment. This is important because a normal brad nailer set at full power at 120 psi will blast a nail so far into the wood that you won't ever see it again. You need either to regulate the pressure down to 70 psi or maybe even lower for some very soft woods, or some type of power adjustment on the tool. The Wen has this adjustment capability so you can use it without turning your pressure way down at the air compressor. Most air compressors come with a factory air regulator, so it's not the end of the world if your air tool has no adjustments. It will still work fine without them. But I wanted the convenience of not adjusting the air pressure all the time.

B.) The WEN has a quick release to remove the front piece to clear out jammed nails.

C.) The WEN has a METAL latch on the back, and it's on the side of the tool, not sticking straight out the back like some. This means you would have to try really hard to damage the rear latch mechanism, and it looks about 10 times stronger than the Harbor Freight tool I returned which was only $13 less.

D.) Good reviews, no jams.

Now if you purchase the Wen and want to use 2" brads, use Bostich brand only, as they are the correct length.

I will post more after I've received and used the tool for a few months.

March 24, 2013

I've now owned the tool for 1 year. I have built many things with it, I have never had a single jam. My original review still stands. I have used the longest nails you can possibly use in this tool, the 2 inch nails, and it drives them in with power to spare and leaves a tiny pin head print, without damaging the surrounding wood, unlike the cheap staple/brad nail combo guns which leave the very large chunk out of the wood from the staple driver head, this WEN only leaves a tiny, tiny dent in the wood, which is not really noticeable, so it is good for finish work, and the adjustment for depth does work perfect, so you can protect "over driving" the head into the work piece for fine finish work, but it will take a couple test shots to see how much depth you want.

I noticed when driving the 2" nails, it has more than enough power, and doesn't jam, although using such a long nail is much stronger, it is difficult to drive them straight because any angle at all will be amplified when attaching two thin 1/2" pieces of plywood together using an excessively long brad nail (2 inches), which doesn't leave much room for error. I still enjoy using the 2" brad nails that I bought from Harbor Freight which work perfect in this gun, because they are stronger than the shorter ones, although I don't feel that it's necessary.

Notes:

1.) Oil can shoot out of this gun from the top vent onto your work piece. That's the only disadvantage I've seen so far. However, you can turn the vent to the side and it will blow away from your work piece, rather than on top of it, so that's something that is up to the user to control. Also you could very easily put a small rag on top of this WEN brad nailer to cover the exhaust port when doing ultra fine finish work to protect 100% from oil. However, I built several boxes with fine oak veneer plywood and during that time with 60 brad nails I only had oil fall on the wood 1 time (and it easily sanded off) because I wasn't paying attention to the direction of the vent on top.

2.) I love love this brad nailer. The handle is super comfortable. I've never owned a nailer, although I've owned over 30 air tools, this one has a quality feel to it, it's not very heavy, but not plastic and cheap either.

3.) Pressure does need to be reduced below 120-90 psi for ideal results, because you don't need full pressure, even with 2" inch brad nails this gun has more than adequate power to get the job done, so either use the limiter on the tool for depth, or reduce the pressure. I found that reducing the pressure down to about 60 psi was all that I needed to do to get perfect depth control without changing any settings on the tool. Your results will vary. Most air compressors have a small black control knob near the tank, with an output pressure gauge, this is so you can reduce the pressure for nail guns, and paint gun.

The case is not very well made, but the tool its self is very high quality. Overall, after 1 year I'm extremely happy and would never trade this tool for anything. Well worth the investment.

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This brad nailer works very well. The tip can mark your surface, so be careful. No problems with jamming. Feels and performs like an expensive nailer. Would recommend to anyone who needs a brad nailer.

I've never used a brad nailer before. However, I wanted a way to quickly/easily re-attach all of the baseboard throughout my house (I removed it to install tile floors) and this brad nailer worked great! I paid around $35 shipped and a comparable 18 gauge 2" brad nailer at the big box warehouses sells for $70 and up!