Factory-Reconditioned Stanley Bostitch U/CPACK300 3-Tool and Compressor Combo Kit

• Kit includes: 18-gauge brad nailer, 18-gauge finish stapler, and 16-gauge finish nailer
• Includes factory-reconditioned six-gallon oil-free compressor (2.8 CFM at 90 PSI with 150 max)
• Accessories included: 40-foot PVC hose
• Includes canvas carrying case
• One-year limited warranty

I purchased this reconditioned unit for a home workshop because it seemed like a good deal and was supposed to have been returned to new like condition by the manufacturer.

I recieved the compressor with three guns, brad, finish, and stapler.The brad and finish nailer fired once and jammed. (yes I used the correct nails and brads for each gun). The problem was that the internal driver pin that drives the nail or brad froze and could not be unjammed to allow more that one nailing at a time.

I contact Bostich and was refferred to a local tool repair company who refused to service the guns. I ended up sending the whole thing back to Amazon for a refund.

The only good thing about the purchase was that Amazon was prompt in giving the refund and din't charge return shipping.

The Bostich seemed like a good deal but was nothing but a hassle and I'm still looking for a good brad and finish nailer combo kit for my Home workshop.

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Overall, this is a nice product for the money.

It has some scraches but is almost new.

Compressor holds about 140 psi (advertised as 150 psi ) and works well with three guns provided.

Cons:

Shipping package was very poor.

No foam cushions for compressor and guns.

No accessories are provided (no oils and no sample nails)

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I received the package today and it was damaged beyond repair which was evident as soon as I opened the box. The plastic handle was broken, the case on the compressor was broken, and there was absolutely no packing around the compressor or any of the tools to keep them from being broken. I have Grandkids who could have done a better job of packing. Now I have to wait to have it picked up and hope the replacement is OK. Its not the shippers fault as the packing was not done right.

UpdateI received a replacement yesterday and it worked perfectly. The item is a really good buy, I just can't understand why it's not packaged so it won't be damaged in shipment. The nail guns had 1,000 fasteners with each of them, and they all worked fine as did the compressor itself. This is a good buy if you are willing to take a chance on getting it shipped without damage. Otherwise, spend a little extra and buy direct from the factory or local retailer. I already have a couple of projects planned where I'll really put it to the test.

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Upon receiving my compressor I was relieved to see that it was well packed and the box was in great condition. When I went to try it out for the first time, I flipped the switch and was surprised that it did not turn on. I then looked at the pressure gauge and realized it was shipped it to me fully pressurized at 140 PSI. When I drained the pressure out of the tank about 1/3 of a cup of rusty water came out along with the air. I then pressurized the tank again and adjusted the pressure regulator valve to allow air to flow and noticed there was a hissing leak around the pressure regulator gauge. To fix this I had to remove the plastic cover, remove the gauge, put Teflon tape around the threads (there was none), then put everything back together. I fired it up one more time, adjusted the regulator gauge, and plugged in the supplied hose. Once again I hear a hissing sound! This time it was coming from the hose. There was a small puncture hole in the center of the hose. I threw away the supplied hose replaced it with one I had laying around and now FINALLY I have a functioning air compressor.

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Packaging is not a strong point. Tool bag had a hole in it from rubbing against other contents in transit. Amazon has graciously offered me an acceptable adjustment for this defect. All other items were intact; oil and nails were included; appearance was very nice. Then I tried to start the compressor. NO GO.

Called the 800 number in the instructions, spoke with a very nice lady who gave me the location of their nearest repair facility, unfortunately thirty miles away. I called there, spoke with two very friendly people, and will be taking it there tomorrow. (2-2-10) I was told it should be a simple repair. If this is true, I will be very happy with this purchase and may change this review. I really don't want to return everything. Testing at the factory and packaging should be improved but value seems outstanding.

Update 2/15/10

Dropped off as planned on Feb 2. Was told it should be ready Feb 5 and I would be contacted. No call. Waited until 1:00 PM Feb 12 to call them; was passed around to three people, put on hold twice, and finally told it hadn't been looked at yet, but since I had called, it would be "moved to the front".

At about 2:00 PM I was left a message that it was ready to be picked up. Amazing that it took almost two weeks to do a five minute repair that would not have been necessary if they had started it at the factory; a repair that cost me four hours and 130 miles ($70.00+ at IRS rates)

Pros Good price adequate product good Bostitch customer service

Cons Bad quality control Bad packaging Pathetic repair center purchase savings wasted on repairs

Extremely poor repair service has caused this low rating. The product seems fine if you live near a reliable repair center.

Gasoline Portable Single Stage 5 Gallon Air Compressor

I Bought this compressor to use for basic maintenance of my 4x4 truck on the trail and at home. The weight is more manageable than I thought to move around, the Round tube bars on top are comfortable to use for carrying and away from the hot parts. I run a 3/8 impact off of it and it works perfectly. The Motor runs quite loud but disengages and runs a little quieter once it reaches 125psi then kicks in again at 95psi. The motor builds pressure quickly and with constant use of a blow gun it mantains 90psi at running full speed. Quality of the Mi T M is top notch with braided lines, perfect powder coat and Made in The USA in Iowa. Mine was shipped direct from Mi T M in Iowa to my home in California in 4 days. It was boxed up really good and arrived without a Scratch. I checked the Mi T M website for service centers and they have several local to me, since I plan on keeping this a long time this was a concern of mine. 1 year warranty on compressor and 3 years on the motor how could you go wrong, Nice as they come.

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!