Grip-Rite GRTMP16 Mini Palm Nailer

• Shoots up to a 16d nail
• Powerful compact design
• Lightweight at only 1 lb
• 70 Percent lighter and smaller than similar palm-sized air nailers
• Magnetic nose

Grip-Rite GRTMP16 Mini Air Nailer

I've just finished building a deck, using this mini-nailer to attach several dozen joist hangers and hurricane straps.

Pros:

As you can see from the Customer Images, this mini [palm] nailer is so small, it can fit into places a full-sized palm-nailer wouldn't. On this specific deck, there were two situations where only a mini nailer would fit, so I'm glad this tool was available. Size is this tool's advantage over a full-sized palm nailer.

This tool is very light. Although Grip-Rite doesn't call it a "palm-nailer", the design is a copy of its larger cousins. It's so tiny, "finger-tip" nailer seems about right.

Cons:

The Grip-Rite is far less powerful than a full-sized palm nailer, which isn't surprising. Small hammers aren't as powerful as large hammers.

As a test, I used it to drive a dozen 14 penny nails (3 5/6" long; .015" diameter), into a 3.5" thick beam of Laminated Veneered Lumber. LVL is one of the denser construction-grade wood products on the market. The Grip-Rite took at least 2 full seconds to drive each 14d nail, and took up to 5 seconds for many nails; even then, most nail-heads were not flush. 5 seconds is an eternity for a palm nailer. As a comparison, my Bostitch PN100 (a full-sized palm nailer) took 1/3 second to drive each and every nail flush; faster than you can say "amazing".

For [short] 10d joist hanger nails into southern pine, the mini-nailer is OK, although it's noticeably slower in hard wood than a full-sized palm-nailer, which sinks those short nails in an instant.

My Grip-Rite nailer leaked from the get-to between the two tool halves; and the factory Allen screws were tight. Not much air escapes, but enough so that a small air compressor comes on every 5 minutes when not using the tool. The "warranty" doesn't even cover seals, so if you buy one of these, check for air leaks immediately, before using it. Your best recourse with a leaking tool is to return it promptly for a refund. Of the dozen air tools in my shop, it's annoying that this is the only one that leaks. (I also removed the screws and the seal looked fine and was properly installed.)

Other:

As with any palm nailer, use hearing protection EVERY time you use it, even if driving a single nail. These tools are incredibly loud; even more so in confined spaces.

Summary:

If you don't own a palm nailer, my advice is to buy one of the full-sized models. Full sized palm nailers won't fit into super-small spaces, but they can drive a huge variety of nails into any wood in well under a second. This Grip-Rite is much more limited in its range of applications, and is simply unacceptable for large nails in hard wood.

However, if you already own a full-sized nailer, if you're a builder, or you are a tool nut like me; and you do so many projects that you'll likely face cramped spaces, mini-palm nailers like the Grip-Rite and Senco PC1195 are the smallest palm nailers on the market.

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Very handy, won't replace your nail gun but will drive nails where you can't use a hammer, screw gun, or nail gun. Only short coming was toe nailing, but it more than makes up for that with what it does well. I used it to put up 3/8" soffit under eaves. Looped Mini Air nailer air hose over ladder with nail in it. Positioned soffit, held soffit with one hand and used nailer with other. You can reach out while holding on to ladder and drive nails one handed, so much lighter than nail gun. Worked very well driving nails next to fascia. If I wear it out I will replace it.

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I own a Ridgid full size palm nailer and bought the Grip-Rite Mini nailer because I had to work in some spaces where the full size nailer wouldn't fit. My Ridgid drives all kind of nails, big or small, quickly and surely, but the Ridgid's size is a limitation just like a regular hammer. So, enter the Grip-Rite Mini. It does work, fairly well, on big nails and gets into places the big nailer will not.

My Grip-Rite leaked air, right out of the box, requiring tightening of 3 of the 4 cap screws to get it to stop. After fixing that, it worked fine, within its limitations. Contrary to what the company material says, the Grip-Rite Mini won't drive 16d nails well, if at all. The heads on 16d bright common nails are too large to go into the nose piece (impact socket). The opening in the nose piece is just slightly smaller than the average diameter of those nail heads found in a box of Grip-Rite 16d 3 1/2" bright common nails. Since the Mini wouldn't accept and drive their own common nails, I switched to 16d 3 1/2" finish nails for the spots I needed to use the Mini nailer. The shanks are smaller on the finish nails than on the common nails and still, the Mini nailer had difficulty driving them fully.

As a side note, I also own the Senco PC1195 Mini Palm Nailer which won't accept the big nail heads on the 16d common nails either, which was why I bought the Grip Rite Mini. Senco's manual tells you that their mini nailer has a head limitation and won't accept anything larger than .339" and the Grip Rite Mini manual states a head limitation size of 5/16 or .311". (The moral to that story is that I should have gone to Grip-Rite's site and downloaded the manual, instead of only reading the sales hype before buying the nailer.)

Measuring several 16d bright common heads revealed an average head size of well over .350". Measuring the heads on a dozen 12d 3 1/8" coated sinkers gave an average of over .330", but all of them easily fit into the opening of the Grip Rite Mini nose piece, which actually measured .350" on my unit.

In short, either Mini nailer is nice to have around, to complement a full size palm nailer. If you're wanting a palm nailer that simply works well on anything you want to throw at it, my advice would be to buy a full size nailer, like the DEWALT D51180 Heavy-Duty Palm Nailer or the Bostitch PN100K Impact Nailer Kit, instead of the Mini. The difference in power and ease of use is well worth the extra money for a full sized palm nailer, in my opinion.

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After seeing this tool on the Cool Tools show on tv, I bought three of them, one each for my dad and stepdad and one for my father in law for fathers day. They were amazed at the power and stability of it and all three said they would never use a hammer again unless absolutely necessary! I'm a woman and I tried it myself and it was so easy. It can get into tight spaces where hammers can't. Driving the nails is effortless and it gets the nails flush and there are no hammer marks on your wood. This definitely is a cool tool! I would recommend this to anyone.

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Best palm nailer I've used, including much larger ones. It packs the same punch with a faster hit speed than my older one, and it really is small!