On the upside, the compressor comes with a brad nailer, its light and easy to move around, and once the tanks are filled does a decent job keeping up with a moderate pace of work.

However, there is a downside.  Some of which one should expect with a tool serving this segment of the market, all of which is purely true.  For starters, this little boy is S L O W to fill and fairly loud.  The pump used to fill it up is undersized (even for the little 2 gallon tanks) and just can’t keep up all the time.  If you are building a bird house, I’m sure it will be fine … but don’t try to use it for much more unless you are patient.

The next negative is the sound … just a little too loud for such a small machine.  What makes it worse is how often it has to run, and how long it runs, just to keep the tanks semi-full.

A complaint about the design is the placement of the power switch.  Though not shown well in my photos, the power button is on the back-top, behind the tanks.  A minor complaint, certainly, but it would have been nice to have the power button in a more accessible place.  Since I place this under my workbench, I’m constantly digging around with a blind hand looking for the little switch.

The last noteworthy complaint … and the biggest issue in my book … is the 100PSI rating.  No way.  I’ve been lucky to get this thing to 83, but usually it hovers around 80psi.  The knobs are adjusted as far as they will go and that’s about all it can push.  This shortcoming makes the use of this tool EXTREMELY limited.

The brad nailer that comes with the setup isn’t too bad.  A little more than Harbor Freight quality, a lot less than Porter Cable.  It works though and hasn’t given me any trouble (other than a few blank shots)

Would I recommend this tool?  Hmmmm.  To my mom who rarely needs such equipment, probably yes.  The price is about right and it would work for the occassional small job.  However, a user any more sophisticated I would suspect is going to want a machine with more air pressure and quicker fill times.

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Now, some people won’t appreciate the new feature additions but tool junkies like myself might just dig a few of the enhancements.  Not only does this new nailer come with a handy bag — the gun itself is packed with features like a laser pointer for nail placement, a built-in stud finder, a swiveling air coupling, and a soft rubber grip.

Out the gate this combo is simply attractive.  Clean design, quality bag, complete picture-guided instructions, and a few nails to get you started.

Let’s start by taking a quick peek at such a simple, but often useful, feature … the laser pointer.  Cliche?  Overdone?  Useless?  Well, maybe the first two are true but the last would be wrong.  I’ve found the laser pointer to be useful on the finish nailer when it was important to locate the nail in a specific location.  If anything, it adds confidence to each and every shot.

Activating the laser couldn’t be easier.  Simply apply some light pressure to the nose of the gun and the laser beam automatically appears.

The next noteworthy feature on the new CH finish nailer is the built-in stud finder.  The stud finder is located in the flap pad directly below the nose of the gun.  It’s flexible neck makes it rather agile when working up close to corners or other tight spaces.  It does require the use of two AAA batteries (not included).  In my tests with drywall and wood studs, it worked better than my dedicated stud finder (how can that be!?!).  It’s a bit over-the-top feature wise, but I think the DIYer or homeowner will really appreciate the convience it adds when putting up crown, or base molding.

This pneumatic finish nailer is comfortable too.  It provides good balance, a good quality soft rubber grip, contoured trigger, and well thought-out button placement.

If there is a shortcoming in this gun, it’s a minor one.  For all of the well thought-out design features, there is one rather silly oversight.  On the side of the gun is an awkwardedly labeled orange tag that reads “Pull Tire”.  Now, for the life of me I couldn’t figure out the “Tire” part of the label.  I figured it was an oversight and should read “Pull Tab” or “Pull Here”.  In any event, this is where the legal department at CH got their hands into the product.  Probably well after design, and probably even after production runs were taking place.  (I later figured out with a help of a few friends that “Tire” must be another language equivalent to “Pull” — d’uh!)

In summary, the new CH Finish Nailer is pretty slick.  While I don’t think it would be a full-time contractor’s gun of choice, it would be at the top of the list for a homeowner, woodworker, or any other occassional user.  Why not everyone?  Let’s be honest, most full-time contractor’s don’t want the “extra” gizmos (just another thing to break) plus they are typically rather rough on the tools.  My guess is that most also won’t appreciate the AAA battery requirement, or the plastic casing for the batteries.

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