# What is the best roofing gun for the money ?



## duranduran

*The best gun for the money?*

It's not made anymore. It was the Senco scn40r trouble free and oiless. I've been on my for around 4 years solid and it's never been to shop or need a part yet. It sold for 300.00


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## RooferJim

They have all ready beat this topic to death. but ill say it again. Hitachi by far is the choice of full time shingle
roofers, at least in this area.

RooferJim
www.jbennetteroofing.com


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## 2ndGen

Picking one winner among this group was tough and it ended up being a three-way tie: Bostitch, DeWalt, and Hitachi stand tall. They're all great. 

The Bostitch works flawlessly, and it has just the right blend of durability and features to stay at the top of the food chain. 

Hitachi's magazine, depth-of-drive, and bulletproof design are excellent, too; you could probably drive an 18-wheeler over this tool and it would still work. 

The DeWalt is smartly designed and ruggedly built with excellent features. 

The Senco and Porter-Cable tools hit the mark, too, with tireless operation during every phase of the test. 

The Max is rugged and reliable, but it's on the heavy side, its shingle gauge loosened up on me, and the nail canister wasn't my favorite. 

The Paslode, Makita, Ridgid, and Craftsman need more power, and the stylish Spotnails needs better ergonomics. 

For me, after having used several guns, The Bostitch is the only one that has performed seemlessly. I've used Hitiachis and they seem like good guns, but for me, nothing flows with one's work like a Bostitch. Adjusting it for the work at hand is easiest (dependant on re-roofing, new work, especially soft/hard substrates, weather, etc...). Loading it is instinctual. I unlock the hinge, with the hand that my gun is in I flip it open in one swing like a revolver, drop in the coil, feed in in one move and flip it back to lock with the same hand it's being held in. Takes about one (long) second. Any other gun takes significantly longer with two extra steps needed to open and close the feed.


Big news? Hitachi's got new guns coming out this year:

http://www.hitachipowertools.com/store_item.php?iID=607&arrPath=1,6,40,p607,

I'd give it a shot to see how good it is. But knowing Bostitch, they are probably already working on their next RN46.


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## fogbutt

*?*

don't you mean a mastic gun?


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## buildenterprise

Can't go wrong with Hitachi. We bought a cheapie from Harbor freight, and it sucks. You can't just bump fire it continuously, you have to lift and release the trigger before firing the next nail. And there's no way to change it like other nail guns.


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## johnk

*milwaukee rocks!!*



[email protected] said:


> MJW: where can one obtain info on the newer MILWAUKEE and what model is it ?


I ve had a milwaukee for some time now,very trouble free good value for your money.they have a few on ebay right now for around 130 brand new


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## roofer paul

*coil nailers*

went thru several brands hitachi is the most reliable:thumbup:


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## RooferJim

one word only. Hitachi . almost every real roofing crews that put down squares use it without exception.


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## johnk

*Try a Milwaukee*

The Milwaukee has come down remendously in price(130-250 on ebay).Ive had mine for over a year and roof all the time with it.Never had a problem with it,before that I used Bostich for round 13 yrs,very durable and trouble free as well.I like Milwaukee better now that Ive used one..:whistling


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## 2ndGen

I'd really like to see a Bostitch/Hitachi comparo.

Sort of a VS thread. 

:detective:


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## sdc1

We use Poter Cable and have not a bit of trouble with them


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## 2ndGen

First gun I ever used was a Porter Cable so I have a soft spot in my heart for them. It was a decent gun (and I say this after having used others). 

Good weight, decent balance. Not bad.


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## woodisgood

I prefer the bostitch you can get a free gun when you buy a pallet of nails. My original gun is 12 years old never been rebuilt thanks to oil two or three times a day when going strong. For the last seven years I've used over a pallet of nails each year so they have been used and used hard.


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## 2ndGen

That's the order of the day. 
I love maintaining my guns. 
I love cleaning them, brushing their visible parts free of any asphalt with WD40 and leaving them nice and lubricated. 
Oil for breakfast, oil for lunch. 

If I leave it sitting for more that 10 or 15 minutes, I disconnect it altogether.


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## johnk

Milwaukee is the best gun for the money,hands down.Anyone else run Milwaukee?If not give them a whirl,Ive used porter-cable(nothing but problems),bostich(always rock solid),and of course Hitachi.But any gun has nothing on a Milwaukee,I was leary at first but now I own a few and have many thousand square on them,I'll stick with them.Especially when you can pick them up on ebay from $150-250.:thumbup:


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## 2ndGen

johnk said:


> Milwaukee is the best gun for the money,hands down.Anyone else run Milwaukee?If not give them a whirl,Ive used porter-cable(nothing but problems),bostich(always rock solid),and of course Hitachi.But any gun has nothing on a Milwaukee,I was leary at first but now I own a few and have many thousand square on them,I'll stick with them.Especially when you can pick them up on ebay from $150-250.:thumbup:



John, I've heard nothing but good things about Milwaukees and their prices are right. Their typically going for less than $200. 

But now, even the Bostitchs are going for about the same ($200.). 

I'd like to try a Milwaukee just to try it. 

However, unless is has a one piece magazine for me to load my coils in one fell swoop, I won't leave my Bostitch! :laughing:

Not only do Milwaukee's sound good, but they look great...really mechanical.


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## lodigirl07

*nail gun*



[email protected] said:


> Hi ALL: I have been hand banging for years and now my shoulders are shot and am looking to purchase a good light weight coil nailer... what are your opinions as to what/model/price is the best from your experiences and maybe even where to purchase a good one in new or used condition ? I am a little leary of EBAY bargains though. JIM


hitachi roofing gun with a hitachi air compressor are the best out there trust experience


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## dapostilv

*Roofing guns and nails*

If you are interested in Milwaukee Roofing guns I can get a hold of brand new ones in a box for 200.00 plus what it would cost to ship! I also sell coil nails for roofing really cheap. (EXAMPLE: pallet price 45bx; 11/4; 7200count per box= 28.00per box; PU only.) Price subject to change with market value.


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## SLSTech

dapostilv said:


> If you are interested in Milwaukee Roofing guns I can get a hold of brand new ones in a box for 200.00 plus what it would cost to ship! I also sell coil nails for roofing really cheap. (EXAMPLE: pallet price 45bx; 11/4; 7200count per box= 28.00per box; PU only.) Price subject to change with market value.


Thanks, but no thanks - I will stick with a reputable dealer / seller that has a valid location & phone number

Take your spam elsewhere


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## A W Smith

River Rat Dad said:


> I was snooping the web the other day and saw a generic gun for $79. I got thinking at that price you colud just buy a new one every three or four jobs .....:jester:


I bought a new Hitachi back in 01 if i recall. for over 300. few years after that i had a guy i had worked with in the past help me do a roof. he brought along his partner. now i knew for a fact this partner had his own gun but refused to use it on my job and insisted i loan him mine. (me and this partner of his have a history and just don't get along) I loaned him mine and in the mean time stripped off the lower roof. I didn't do any roofs after awhile but next job few months afterward I noticed my Hitachi was leaking air and looked quite banged up. I suspect the guy swapped out guns on me but i couldn't prove it. I took it to a certified shop for repairs but the guy ends up stripping out one of the threads in the housing for one of the four head bolts and puts a longer bolt in instead with a nylock nut. Says he was working on it for a couple hours trying to get it to stop leaking completely but no charge. Says I need a new housing. I throw him 30 bucks anyway for his time. It leaks now only intermittently. Sometimes i can do an entire roof with no problem. other times it hisses but it doesn't seem to effect its performance and sinks nails OK. A year after the repair I attended an annual auto swap meet and spotted a vendor with two tables of used Hitachi nail guns. i spotted a gun the same model as mine and picked it up for 45 bucks. An offer i couldn't refuse. That was supposed to be my back up gun for my sometimes hissing gun or if i had a helper. but i ended up being my primary and my sometimes hissing gun the back up. I like the feel of the Hitachi. When i was shopping for guns originally i didn't like the feel of the Bostitch as it felt big and clunky. I would still buy another Hitachi of the same model even after the leak problem i had. In this region it appears that almost all the roofers use Hitachi's. if Hitachi's had a reliability problem you wouldn't see that. I cant speak for other guns as i haven't used them.


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