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TIPIt takes a crew of three to get the most speed out of a roofing nailer: one person driving finishpro1818–gauge2inbradnailer nails, the others Laying shingles in place.Air compressorIf you have your own compressor, you''ll save about $25 per day when you rent an air nailer. So if you plan to use a nailer for eight days or more, buy a compressor. If you''re framing up a wall or two, renting a framing nailer probably isn''t finishpro1818–gauge2inbradnailer and finishpro1818–gauge2inbradnailer worth the trouble. But it will save hours on a big job like a garage or an addition. You''ll nail studs, joists and rafters quickly, but more important, you''ll nail sheathing to walls and roofs 10 times faster than you could with a hammer. A series of accidents involving air-powered nail guns last summer brought home the fact that the productive and powerful tools are also highly dangerous and need to be finishpro1818–gauge2inbradnailer handled with respect. In the most finishpro1818–gauge2inbradnailer tragic case, finishpro1818–gauge2inbradnailer a framing nail punctured the heart of carpenter Camillo Juandelos on a home construction site in Ocean View, Md., in July, finishpro1818–gauge2inbradnailer ending the man''s life at the age of 25. Police said Camillo''s brother Jesus was holding the gun that fired the deadly nail.According to reports in the Delaware News-Journal, the accident took place as the two men were framing new homes in a development in Ocean View. Jesus had been bending over a stud wall using the air nailer, and then straightened up and turned to call his brother. But Camillo was not on the other side of the room as Jesus thought; he was already standing right behind his brother. Camillo made contact with the nose of the nail gun, triggering the bump-nail mechanism and taking the nail in his chest. The smallest, brad nailers which shoot brads up to 1-1/4 in. long, often sell for well under $100. You might be better off buying one.Roofing nailerCOST: $50 per day with compressorBENEFITS: Easy as pulling a trigger and faster than a platoon of hammer-swingers.Driving thousands of roofing nails with a hammer is like scrubbing the floor at Grand Central Station with a toothbrush. Don''t put asphalt shingles on anything bigger than a doghouse without a roofing nailer. For wood shingles, speed up the job with a roofing stapler.
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