Hitachi 23 NP35A Gauge Micro Pin Nailer

• Large fastener capacity for fewer reloads and less downtime
• Dual trigger for safe and accurate placement of fasteners
• Rear exhaust directs oil and debris away from the work surface
• Reload Indicator for easy visual recognition of low nail quantities to avoid dry firing
• Depth adjustment for flush drives into a variety of surfaces
• Comes with a 5-year limited warranty

I usually don't write reviews of a tool until I've used it quite a bit, but I'm going to make an exception in this case because there is only one other review. I would like to thank Jim, the first reviewer, as his comments inspired me to take the plunge and try this product.

This Hitachi NP35A is my first micro pinner, although I do own and use a few larger pneumatic tools (15 gauge nailer, 18 gauge nailer, 2 staplers). I typically prefer to use screws rather than nails, but there are occasions when the unique attributes of a power driver nail outweighs it's many disadvantages.

Here are my first impressions of the Hitachi NP35A 23 Gauge Nailer.

Pros:

o compact, lightweight, and comfortable to hold.

o high quality product, for example magazine slides in and out with smooth precision.

o trigger is comfortable, double trigger is relatively easy to get used to.

o the soft nose tip leaves no mark whatsoever on even soft woods.

o very quiet, pleasant to use (no hearing protection needed with this little guy).

o easy side loading of pins, and automatically adjusts to different pin sizes.

o using the soft tip, appropriate air pressure, and good technique, pins are driven to a perfect depth just below the surface (the depth is adjustable via the use of a hex wrench on the nose piece).

o surprising nice blow molded plastic case.

o an easy to see bright orange "low pin indicator" (of course, it doesn't work if one is not paying attention and doesn't look at it ... just one of my many faults I'm afraid....)

o although the minimum specified pin length is 5/8", I was able to use the 3/8" pins without a problem (this is quite a good thing, for my projects).

o made in Taiwan (often a significant step up in quality compared to China made goods).

Cons:

o the manual has a few typos (e.g. "all crews must be tightened..."), and it is bloated with the usual tedious and uninformative safety stuff (dictated by lawyers, presumably), but really, you can probably see that I'm nit-picking here.

Notes:

I have tested this product primarily with Western Fir (actually harder than many "hard woods"), and a sample piece of 100 year old clear white oak (recovered from a badly broken desk). As long as one presses the tip firmly to the wood all pins are driven flush, although one does have to crank up the air pressure a bit for longer pins and harder wood.

I used Grex 23 gauge pins (since they come in a convenient multi-size package, available here on amazon for about ten dollars).

The longest pin length I tried was 1". This gun is specified to be able to handle 1-3/8, and I do not doubt that it will, but for now I can't see myself needing or wanting to drive these incredibly tiny, thin little needles into anything that would require longer lengths. However I know that many people do use much longer pins. Perhaps as I become more comfortable and experienced with this tool I too will join the super-sized crowd.

As you probably know, these pins are much smaller than 18 gauge brads, and much less noticeable. However, they are not invisible, especially in lighter woods. Nonetheless, they are much less visually distracting than their 18 gauge cousins. Also, if you build small things (say drawer inserts using 3/16" thick dividers) an 18 gauge brad is simply too big it would split the wood whereas a 23 gauge pin works very nicely (along with a bit of glue).

Hope this information is helpful to you.

Buy Hitachi 23 NP35A Gauge Micro Pin Nailer Now

Had purchased a pin nailer from HF about 7 months ago and now finishing up a trim job on kitchen cabinets it decided to quit accepting 1 inch pin nails. Ran a search on Amazon and found this one. I have 2 other Hitachi nailers, so I ordered this for overnite delivery (Amazon Prime). Used it today and absolutely no problems. Its light, accurate and the nose pad protects the work piece. You do have to adjust the depth when using the nose pad. Adjustment is quick and easy. Hitachi makes some questionable quality items, but I have found their nail guns to be of a high caliber. If you need a high quality pin nailer, this is it.

11/4/2010

UPDATE:I guess I spoke too soon !! All of a sudden it started to jam. Tried various manufacturers pin nails and they all jam frequently. A real shame!! Gonna have to return it.

Read Best Reviews of Hitachi 23 NP35A Gauge Micro Pin Nailer Here

I bought this gun when my 5 year old Porter Cable gun gave up. What this gun does that the PC didn't is shoot 1 3/8" nails and set them below the surface in hardwoods. The PC was/is a good gun, but I feel this gun is better. It shoots bigger nails and costs less. As long as I get at the least the same amount of use from it as my PC, I'll be a happy woodworker.

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This little gun is awesome to use. It is well designed, fits in your hand well, is quiet and comes with tool oil, glasses, and 2 tips!! This gun is very easy to use. I have no complaints with it. I have other Hitachi tools and find their quality to be top notch. It is amazing that nails this skinny could be used without the nails bending, but it works without failure. The nails are so small that the holes are unnoticeable, and the 2 included tips are awesome. I can't imagine using a gun like this on your fine projects without using a tip. Others are more expensive, but this little wonder does the trick. Buy this gun, you will be very impressed and satisfied, like me.

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I was so glad to get my micro pin nailer in the mail. It did let me down however. This nailer would consistently drive the nail too shallow despite trying to adjust the depth. I had to take off several moldings and trim pieces due to the remaining nails sticking out about 1/4 of an inch. I do not think this device was made to drive nails in that are greater than 1 inch despite what the manufacturers details may tell you. The product is made to drive fasteners up to 1 and 3/8" but in my experience this was not the case. I will return the product and save my money for the Grex micro pinner.