The Boil-Down
We put Senco‘s fast-finishing F-16 Fusion nailer through the paces on site nailing interior and exterior trim profiles, hardwood, 1-by, and crown. This is a dependable tool that’ll speed up punch, handyman/repair and other work for sure. For some contractors there will be a break-even point on the purchase price (not cheap, about 400 clams) where it’ll start making you money in time you DON’T spend monkeying around with other stuff. How you measure that—gas canisters you don’t buy, hoses you don’t roll out, compressors you don’t carry—isn’t for me to say. The boil-down: spot on the truck—earned.
The Details
Out Of The Box. The balance is good—key for a finish nailer. The tool is a bit heavier than a pneumatic tool, but comparable to other cordless nailers. The belt hook is handy and can be changed to either side of the tool for righties or lefties. Construction assembly looked sound and we had no problems on site with cheap fittings or sloppy seams getting loose over time.
How It Works. The first thing I noticed was what I didn’t smell: Gas. I don’t like that smell and I’m glad when I don’t smell it.
The second thing I noticed was that this tool’s Fusion mechanism—a closed tank of compressed nitrogen—really works, and helps me work quickly. There are no flywheels to that need ramp up time and there are no gas canisters to buy or to install (or in my case, install wrong half the time) which means you can shoot instantly in single or bump fire. I don’t always need bump fire but I prefer it in a finish nailer. The fuel source is an 18 volt lithium ion battery that recharges up to 80% (no way to really test this; we’ll take their word for it) in 15 minutes. There was no problem with down time or dying batteries in the work we did.
GO/No-GO. This tool is a GO.
It’s not a production tool in my mind but it has a place on my truck. If I’m trimming a big addition or an entire house, I prefer the combined efficiencies (light weight, zero down time, slimmer profile) of a pneumatic tool—even if there is a hose and compressor to set up. But for punch and one-off jobs, it was great. For the interior trim we installed in a foyer from a scaffold, not having the hose was great. For a small room with a simple crown, not having the compressor in the center or stuck out in the hallway running every few minutes was also awesome—nevermind NOT carrying it upstairs.
The tool did leave some nails proud, mostly when it wasn’t lined up directly to the work, which happened both in hard and softwood so having a nail set close by was needed. It is worth pointing out that I didn’t use Senco nails with this tool which may have played a role. The jam clearing mechanism is nice and the tool-less depth of drive dial by the nose works well.
Nail it.
Click here to check out an interview about the Fusion technology.
NOTE: Andy Doyle, CR/CKBR, and owner at Doyle Remodeling contributed to this review.
