What Is a Pneumatic Nail Gun and How Does It Work?

You don't have to manually drive nails into wooden planks or surfaces using a hammer. Instead, you can use a nail gun. Also known as a nailer, a nail gun is a powered tool that's designed to quickly and effortlessly install nails. While some nail guns rely on propane, though, others use a pneumatic method of operation.

Overview of Pneumatic Nail Guns

Pneumatic nail guns are characterized by their use of pressurized air. Like all nail guns, they are used to drive nails into wooden surfaces. You can place a pneumatic nail gun against a wooden surface, and when you pull the trigger, it will drive a nail into this surface. Pneumatic nail guns simply use a pneumatic method of operation.

How Pneumatic Nail Guns Work

Pneumatic nail guns work by leveraging pressurized air to drive nails. They typically require a connection to an air compressor. You can't use a pneumatic nail gun by itself. Instead, you'll have to connect it to an air compressor. Once connected, you can pull the trigger to drive nails.

Pulling the trigger on a pneumatic nail gun will release a nail. The air compressor will supply the pneumatic nail gun with pressurized, compressed air. As long as the pneumatic nail gun is connected to a compressor -- and it has unused nails remaining -- pulling the trigger will release a nail.

Benefits of Using a Pneumatic Nail Guns

Being that there are other types of nail guns available, you might be wondering what benefits pneumatic nail guns offer. They are relatively inexpensive. Pneumatic nail guns cost less than most propane nail guns, in fact, making them a popular choice for consumers and professionals on a budget.

Pneumatic nail guns are easy to maintain. They don't feature a combustion engine, nor do they require fuel like propane. Most of them still require some maintenance. But pneumatic nail guns are low maintenance.

While they may feature a simple design, pneumatic nail guns are still powerful. They are among the most powerful nail guns on the market. You can use them to easily drive nails into thick pieces of wood.

In Conclusion

Nail guns are often categorized according to their method of operation. Propane nail guns use propane to drive nails. Battery-powered nail guns use electricity from a rechargeable battery to drive nails. Pneumatic nail guns, on the other hand, use compressed air from a connected air compressor to drive nails.