Nail Gun Safety

I started using a nail gun several years ago. I was putting pine tongue-and-groove wainscot on the walls of my mom's camp. A friend told me, "You're crazy if you think you can nail it all up by hand". Usually statements like this only encourage me, but in this case I listened and bought a brad nail gun and compressor. It worked like a charm, and I continue to use it today. I've purchased a couple other nail guns since then, one which will shoot finish nails up to 2" and also a pin nailer. A pin nailer uses a 23 gauge nails, commonly available in 1/2" to 3/4" lengths. Pin nails are typically used to securing the rails and stiles of a cabinet door, once it is glued up and under the control of a set of clamps. Drive a few pin nails into each of the four joints, and you can remove the door from the clamps.

Last evening I was using the pin nailer to attach a 1/4" by 3/4" strip of oak to the wine glass racks I was fabricating. On one of the remaining pieces, my nailing hand was going faster than the hand that was holding the strip, and I shot myself in the fingertip.

I was lucky; the nail entered through the tip of my fingernail and out through the fleshy part. And I was lucky I missed any bone - that may have slowed the nail enough that it would have lodged in my finger.

So here are my rules for nail gun usage:

1. ALWAYS where safety glasses. Buy several pairs and keep them scattered all over your shop, so there is always a set nearby.

2. ALWAYS keep track of your hands. This means that both hands are always in sight. No reaching behind a cabinet with one hand, and nailing from the front with the other. Keep this image in mind when you want to break this rule:

Again, I was lucky. The 1 3/16" brad went through a 1/4" of plywood, and lodged between my thumb tip and thumbnail. It only went in 1/4"; most of its energy was spent going through the plywood.

3. GO SLOW. There is really no hurry worth getting a nail stuck in your hand. If you have ever tried to pull a nail gun nail out of a piece of wood, imagine you (or a doctor) pulling that same nail out of you! Ouch.

When you are done using your gun, disconnect the air hose from it. That way if you bump it, or it falls, or you kick it, there is no danger of a discharge.