DEWALT D51238K 5/8-Inch to 2-Inch 18-Gauge Brad Nailer

I bought this gun a few months ago at Lowes. Most of my experience with this gun is with using 2" nails. I can report to all that this gun frequently mis-fires (dry fire). Also, the gun doesn't always 'reset' back into the proper firing position. DeWalt has missed the mark with this gun and I would not recommend it to anyone. In my opinion this gun should be recalled. Don't be lured by the good looks and light weight - the substance is not behing the style. Thank goodness Lowes took this product back - I told the customer service person that it's a RTV (return to vendor)...

I bought this P.O.S. in June '04, so this review is a testament to my cheapness and masochism (I have suffered this gun for years). Before buying I saw some reviews that talked about problems with jams and misfires. But I already had the DeWalt angled 15 ga. 2 1/2" and loved it (still do -- never one problem and my tools get heavy use), so I bought the little 18 ga. gun thinking those other guys' problems were flukes. I got several months of good use before I starting having problems too: 1st shot after connecting to air - dry fire; jams - nail gets bent over inside the magazine; nail clip will overlap itself and jam; plunger won't recycle; random dry fires - several in sequence.... believe me, the frustration of having dry fires after clearing a jam and then once again going through complex alignment of the trim only to have another misfire. AAAARRRGGHHH!!!! Really, it is stupidity on my part that I have put up with this. I have easily spent enough time clearing jams and dealing with the problems of this gun to pay for another gun many times over. Problem was that there would be periods when there were no problems (rat psychology says that intermittent reinforcement is the most powerful). So I endured it. But when I finish this review I am ordering the Milwaukee 18 ga. gun. Hopefully my self-imposed suffering will come to an end.

I notice that most of the reviews for this gun are (still) good, so if you go ahead and buy it I hope you fare better than I did. But if you do buy and get a piece of crap, remember that you too were warned. And if you do get junk, cut your loss quick!

I have used this item for several weeks. Built cabinets, installed molding and trim. Never jammed or misfired. Fired right through double thickness of 3/4" plywood with 80 psi
Worked great with 5/8", 1", 1 1/4" and 2" brads. Wished I had bought this years ago.

I have only done a couple of projects so far, but already know I am going to really enjoy having the DeWalt Brad Nailer. The adjustments are easy to change depending on the project. It makes the job almost fun when it used to be dreaded. The gun is light weight and easy to handle. The directional exhaust is a plus. Brad loading is quick and easy. I can complete jobs quicker and with higher quality than ever before. The price has been reduced since I made my purchase which is just my luck. Looking forward to seeing how the product performs over time with additional home projects.

The nailer works well, and I have no complaints about the performace. It is however much larger than a brad nailer needs to be.