I have a brad nailer (like New Yankee Norm's), but don't have a good staple gun. No mention is ever made of power nailers, good or bad, in anything I've seen or read on stripping. Has anyone tried using a brad nailer instead of staples?

Brads seem almost a better choice than staples for strip building: they leave a single, smaller hole. The problems I see are getting a good grip when removing the brads, and keeping the nailer from driving the head into the strip. I'm thinking of driving the brads through thin rigid insulation, and then just pulling the insulation off the top. Alternatively, I can make a little spacer out of 1/8" hard board with a small hole drilled through it; this has the benefit of indexing the brad to the strip edge and the form. I would like to leave a bit more sticking out, so I can get a better grip when it comes time to remove it. The more I leave sticking out, though, the more likely I am to snag on it.

This waffling around makes staple-less look a little more viable. Never mind; I'll just go buy a pneumatic stapler and a good staple puller. How much cerebralizing can a simple project stand?

Mike.