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Proper Care and Feeding of a Flooring Tool
By W. Scott Hill, Porta-Nails, Inc.
Choose your tool wisely.
Probably the most important decision you will make when you are ready to install a floor is the tool you will use. Each tool manufacturer
goes to great efforts to accommodate as many shapes and sizes and manufactures of flooring as possible. Despite this, each day literally
hundreds of different flooring products from different manufacturers, originating from different countries, manufactured under different
standards, are being purchased and installed. The task of keeping up with the various flooring configurations is daunting even for the
most conscientious and diligent tool manufacturer. Whether you've talked to the flooring manufacturer, the rental store professional,
the tool manufacturer, a local flooring installation professional, or the guy down the block who put his own floor in, there is one
thing you must do to ensure a successful flooring installation. Take a few pieces of your flooring, something representative, but that
you can afford to discard, and do some test nailing before you start your installation. It may cost you a few sticks of flooring and a
few flooring fasteners, but in the long run you'll save a lot of headaches if you ensure that you have a tool that is compatible with the
flooring you've chosen. Also, keep inspecting your installation as you progress, using adequate lighting and looking for any flaws in the
installation. It's much easier to address the problems as you work than it is to go back and make repairs later.
Types of Flooring.
Cutting tools used to mill flooring nowadays are usually Computer Numerically Controlled machines capable of providing repeatable
consistency that can vary less than the thickness of a human hair. With this nice consistent cut, in most cases, you can get a good
tight fit with very little effort. Since hardwoods are a natural product, there are limits to what can be accomplished. You'll still
run into the occasional bow, knot, or split flooring. While great strides are being made in addressing these problems through engineered
flooring, solid hardwoods will be around for quite a while yet. Wood still expands and contracts with changes in temperature and humidity.
The result is that getting your floor too tight and not allowing for expansion can mean you end up with a nice washboard look each time the
temperature and humidity climb. Using heavier gauge fasteners on thin flooring can cause the laminated wear surface to dimple showing each
and every fastening point in the floor with the right lighting. Successfully installing today's flooring continues to become more and more
complex. Read and understand the installation instructions and recommendations of your flooring manufacturer. Identify and use the right tool,
the right fastener, and the right technique. And finally read and understand your tool's manual and provide the appropriate care and maintenance.
There's always time for lubrication.
Each day before you start using your pneumatic flooring tool, how many drops of oil do you put in the air inlet? Hopefully, your answer to
this question would be something like "It depends on the type of flooring tool you are using." Most people when asked say that you apply two
or three drops of oil into the air inlet port of the tool each day before you begin using it. Most people would be wrong most of the time when
it comes to flooring tools. For example, the Senco flooring stapler does not require routine oiling. The PNI Portamatic® model 421 flooring nailer
does not require oiling at all, but requires re-greasing after approximately 2-4 cases of nails. The PNI Portamatic® model 470 flooring nailer requires a
few drops once or twice a day, depending on usage. While the Primatech P240 flooring nailer is listed as virtually oil free, it does require one to two drops weekly.
So given that different tools recommend different frequencies of oiling, what is the worst that can happen? Some people might say, "If two drops are
good, then more would be better." Again, in most cases some people would be wrong. While all pneumatic tools have some combination of valves, seals,
o-rings, or other moving parts that require lubrication, too much oil in a tool that requires oil can cause o-ring failure, seal failure, and damage to
internal parts just as easily as too little oil. When a tool does not require oil, adding oil can be just like adding too much oil to a tool that uses
oil. The Portamatic® model 421 is lubricated with synthetic grease which is similar to a thick, creamy soap that contains oil. The thick soapy consistency
of the grease helps to keep the oil that is suspended in the grease in contact with the o-rings, seals, and mating surfaces. When you add oil, it dilutes the
soap and washes it away leaving those internal parts with too little lubrication. Additionally, the excess oil can come out through the exhaust or through the
nail path creating additional problems.
Tools stored for extended periods of time need a little extra TLC when you pull them out for use, especially pneumatic tools. In most cases, the lubricant in the
tool may have drained to the lowest point of the tool, seals and o-rings may have dried out, the piston may have settled to the bottom of the firing cylinder. The
best approach is to treat the tool as if it had been used hard before being put up. Follow the recommended service on the tool. If necessary take the tool apart and
wipe down the internal components and reapply the appropriate lubricant before reassembling the tool and connecting the air. Dry seals and o-rings provide very
little protection and perform very poorly, so check these out before you fire your pneumatic tool.
In some instances you may be required to use your pneumatic tool in extreme temperatures. Most tools are built with moderate climates in mind since most floors will
be installed in rooms that are climate controlled. However some applications may require using the tool in extremes of temperature. Most tool manufacturers can
recommend a cold weather lubricating oil which will be of lower viscosity to allow it to flow more easily in colder temperatures. Some will recommend ethylene glycol
or an equivalent for its lubricity and its resistance to freezing. Those manufacturers that use grease can recommend a lower viscosity equivalent to make sure your tool
operates in colder climates. Your best bet is to contact your manufacturer to determine the appropriate lubricant for your conditions.
When a bigger hammer is not the answer.
Everybody knows someone who thinks the answer to every problem is "a bigger hammer". Conventional wisdom has always been that to get a good tight floor, you have to
hit the tool as hard as possible. While you might save on the number of hammer blows you use and you may make your floor nice and tight, getting too heavy handed can
also damage your tool. Most manual tools are designed to transfer the force of the hammer blow through a solid steel ram and a captive steel driver blade to the nail.
Some of this force is also transferred to the floor, but the force that isn't transferred to the nail or the floor is dissipated through some or all of the following:
a rubber hammer cap, a rubber ram cap, a rubber ram washer, and/or the metal body of the tool. You feel some of this force dissipation as you hold the tool in position.
In much the same way as your car has crumple zones to protect you in the event of a collision; the ram cap, hammer cap, and ram washer are there to protect your
tool. When two objects meet at a high rate of speed, something has to give. The rubber components are the softer components and they yield to dissipate the excess
force that is not or can't be transferred through the metal components. Without these, you would see damage to the ram head, the hammer, the tool bodies, etc.
accumulating with each hammer blow. It's important to keep these rubber components in place and in good condition; otherwise, you could be replacing the more
expensive metal components. Also remember, that even these precautions have limits. Just as your car is designed to protect you from a crash within reasonable limits,
your flooring tool is designed to perform well under a reasonable amount of force. Use of excessive force is no substitute for properly racked flooring with a proper fit.
Another problem with use of excessive force is that it can cause the tool to jam or misfire. Essentially, most tools have a pusher mechanism that has a tension spring
which 'pushes' the clip of fasteners into the firing chamber where the driver blade picks up the fastener and drives it into the flooring. The excessive force can cause
the clip of fasteners to defeat the tension spring and actually pull back in the magazine as the driver blade comes down. This can cause the fastener and the driver
blade to jam in the firing chamber or the driver blade can fail to pick up the fastener which results in a misfire.
Work smarter, not harder.
Pneumatic tools are designed to make your life easier when installing a floor. If you're going to hit the tool just as hard as you would a manual tool, why wouldn't
you use a manual tool? Just think of your air tool like the bubbles on that bathroom cleanser commercial. It works harder so you don't have to. Pneumatic tools work
by taking the force stored by your compressor in the form of compressed air and reallocating that force in measured bursts. With that burst of compressed air, your
pneumatic tool does the same thing that you do with the hammer when you use a manual tool. It transfers the stored force of the compressed air through a piston/driver
blade assembly to the nail driving it into the wood. One of the keys to how this works is the combination of seals and valves that release the measured burst of air.
When you strike the ram cap of a pneumatic flooring tool, you cause a valve seal to open allowing the tool to fire. The amount of force required to open the valve
can vary from tool to tool but most pneumatic tools operate within a pressure range somewhere between 70 and 100 PSI. So most likely the amount of force actually
required to fire the tool is somewhere around 70 to 100 pounds of force. While this amount of force sounds small, it would definitely be uncomfortable if applied
to a part of your body; say your thumb for example.
When you use more force than the 70 - 100 pounds of force required to fire the tool, the excess force is dissipated through a similar combinations of components
with a key difference. Any excess force which would be transferred through the solid steel ram, the driver blade, and then the nail in a manual tool, is instead
transferred through the firing valve, the body casting, and the shoe to the floor. The firing valve in most pneumatics can contain o-rings, seals, and other
semi-flexible components as well as precision machined metal and plastic components with valve seats and sealing surfaces. Most pneumatic tools are designed to
handle moderate blows in excess of the force required to actuate the tool, however repeated use of excessively heavy blows can damage your tool. Over time, the
excess force applied to the valve can damage these internal components and cause the sealing surfaces to deform, o-rings to fail, and plastic components to crack
or break. When that happens, your tools performance begins to degrade. Some might even respond by hitting the tool harder and further compound the damage. A good
rule of thumb to use is to never raise the hammer more than a foot or so above the tool before striking it. You're using a pneumatic tool, let it do the work.
In some tools such as Bostitch, and the Portamatic® model 470 & 472, the depth to which the fastener is set can depend on the force applied when firing the tool.
In tools such as the Senco P240, and the Portamatic® model 421, the force applied does not change the depth to which the fastener is set. In all cases, however,
there is a point where too much force can accumulate damage to the tool.
Filtration.
Just like you and I, Pneumatic tools need air. Each air compressor is different and one of the keys to successfully operating a pneumatic tool lies in matching
it to the appropriate supply of air. Without exception, the air supply needs to be clean, dry, and in adequate supply. Your compressor should have filtration at
the intake port as well as the outlet port. Filtration at the inlet port provides a supply of clean air to your compressor and protects it from potentially damaging
particulates in the surrounding air, such as sawdust. Make sure your compressor is in good operating condition and is well maintained to prevent oil, water, and
particulates from getting into the air reservoir. Condensation is virtually inevitable in an air compressor, so make sure that the reservoir tank on your compressor
is drained frequently to reduce the amount of water that can be transmitted to your pneumatic tool. Finally, you should have some form of particulate filter, coalescing
filter, or preferably a combination of the two at the outlet port. The best set up is a combination regulator/filter with an automatic drain and a coalescing filter.
The filters as a general rule have elements that can be changed periodically. This is important because filter elements overloaded with particulates will produce a
drop in air pressure and eventually starve your tool for air.
Pressure.
The regulator protects you and your tool by 'regulating' how much air pressure is supplied to the tool. Never adjust the regulator to supply more than the maximum safe
pressure recommended by the tool manufacturer. Most compressors have an automatic switch which turns the compressor on when reservoir pressure drops below a certain point
and turns the compressor off when the reservoir pressure reaches a point just below the maximum reservoir capacity. The point at which this switch cuts on and off is
usually preset at the factory and cannot be adjusted by the end user; however some compressors permit this switch to be adjusted. Check your compressor manual and follow
the manufacturers' recommendations if you determine that this switch can be adjusted. Usually, the cut-off point will be set at or just below the maximum rated capacity
for your compressor. The cut-on point varies depending on the compressor, but ideally it should be at least 15 PSI higher than your operating pressure.
For example, if you are using a compressor rated at 125 PSI, then your cut-off will probably be at or near 125 PSI and your cut-on would probably be at or near 105 PSI.
For this compressor, 90 would be your maximum optimal operating pressure. You could work at higher pressures, but you may experience periods where you had to wait on the
pressure to build up. How long the wait would be would depend on the CFM(Cubic Feet per Minute) rating of your compressor. The higher the CFM rating is for your
compressor, the faster the recovery time. For most pneumatic flooring tools a CFM of 3.5 is adequate. If you were using a brad nailer to install shoe moldings, you could
get by with an CFM of 1.5.
Hoses.
There is no hard and fast rule as to what the appropriate length of hose should be. A good rule of thumb is that it should be no longer than is required to
reach the work area and allow you to move about freely with your flooring tool. You should avoid extremely long hoses to reduce the amount of pressure drop
you experience at the tool. Unless taken to extremes the drop caused by the length of hose should not be significant. An adequate hose for general use would be
3/8" X 50' of reinforced polyurethane or reinforced rubber air line with 1/4" fittings. Hose can be added in 50' lengths as needed to reach the work area.
In Line Oilers.
Let's take a brief look at inline oilers. These are usually located on or near your air compressor and provide an atomized supply of oil to your pneumatic tool
through the air line. If your pneumatic tool does not use oil, be sure you bypass the inline oiler and run air through the line to clear most of the oil out of the
line before connecting your tool. If possible use a different hose than the one that had been connected to the inline oiler.
If your pneumatic tool uses oil, read and follow the instructions for the inline oiler and adjust the supply of oil to the rate that matches the recommended oiling
requirements in your pneumatic tool's manual. You won't need to put oil directly into the inlet port of the tool, as it will be delivered by the inline oiler. Keep
in mind that too much oil can be as bad for your tool as too little oil.
Wrapping Up.
Each tool is designed differently and it has different needs. Where I am headed is that you really need to spend a little quality time with your tool manual and get
to know your particular tool's wants and needs. If you treat it well by providing the recommended care, it will take care of you by providing longer, better service
at a lower cost of ownership.
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