: 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.

You certainly can use a brad nailer. I have one (an electric) and occasionally use it when I have a particularly uncooperative strip. The advantage is that you can use 1"- 1-1/2" brads which have much greater holding power.

One brad will leave a LARGER hole which can be filled easily. If you match the wood color with the filler I can look better than staple holes.

To use the brad gun on a stripper, cut 1" pieces of strip and nail through these scrapes. To remove the brads you brake off the scrap strip which leaves the brad head high and easy to remove.

Rob