Another option is to push the nail through a thin piece of cardboard to hold it in position. Start driving in the nail then pull the cardboard away before the nail is fully hammered in.
@@Iowa599 Hit thumbs and knuckles are part of the training process, like my football coach made us run laps if we made a bad play. With a well balanced 19-22oz hamner, some practice, and concentration; they will happen extremely rarely. Needle nose pliers are necessary for very small nails.
Main points 👉 use a 4ah battery makes it way more powerful also straight mode really ups the power as well. The way it was used is its absolute weakest. I use mine for cut nails in historic houses and the smaller ones fit in there 2.5in or less. I also ground down a air hammer attachment to fit in and it's now a light duty air hammer or planishing hammer. The big thing I use this for (it's better than the m12 palm nailer) joist hanger nails (ticos). Some inspectors refuse to let us use Simpson screws even though there rated for structural things like that. When they do it I'm forced to pound thousands of short nails and I'm almost all battery power so I don't want a positive placement gun that's gas or air. After you throw on a 4ah battery and try it straight do a update video? You'll see it in a new light. It an also punch out rivets as well 👍 I would love to see that update video thanks agian.
The sad thing is a 4ah battery is in the top drawer of the red tool box directly behind me....🤡. Your going to get your video wish, I ordered the M12 palm nailer and well revisit this one for sure. Thanks for watching!
The m12 palm nailer us much bigger than air equivalent and I feel is more aquard. Feel free to get it but I returned the 3 for the crew and bought more of these. The sad part is we are 80% m12 users then flexvolt so when I brand has something more usable it's hard to have a different battery platform around for one tool.
@@MattHmm-rq6dn I wish I could use those but our account has it down to 33 cents per box and measures install time per down to the min and allots 3 min per box done.
That's your employers loss I tend to favor ease of install and my employees comfort. I'll trade materials for time if it makes sense and pass the cost onto the customer. Happy employees are more productive but I get your situation.
This and palm nailers are very convenient for tight spaces where you can't swing a hammer or fit a nail gun. If you ever have to build a deck or install a lot of brackets (such as Simpson Strong Ties) then a tool like this is gonna be used a lot. For the average home owner, I'd say it's not worth it at $100 since they might not use it as often. But if it goes on sale for $45 it is an absolute buy at that price for anybody.
Being a toolmaker and engineer I’m used to solving problems. I would make inserts to hold the different size nails. Similar to how those screw driving units that capture the screw. In theory you should be able to drive the nails with only one hand. Send me yours and I’ll make some and you can review it 😂. Seriously I would.
@@Lwimmermastermetalart i would definitely figure something like that out if I owned one! The manufacturer should already have thought that one through! A decent manufacturer anyway not skil!
@@incorrigiblerogue1193 if I really thought I’d ever use one of these I’d buy one and do it in a heartbeat. I love challenges and think I could really improve it. Hey anyone wanting to send me one I’ll do it for free. Maybe Skill will then knock off my idea😂. Not really funny as I have several things I’ve invented that got knocked off. EVEN having patents. Even the big boys at Harley knocked me off. Pockets aren’t deep enough to fight any of the big boys 🤔 gee isn’t that why we spend the money to get patents ? Sorry, I’m a bit bitter on the subject. Seriously anyone wanting it, you got nothing to loose. Absolutely fee. I’ll even ship it back on my dime. 😃
How well will it work with a pin punch to remove or set pins? How about a metal chisel? How about beating wheel lugs out of a wheel hub on a car? I'm guessing the last choice will be too much for this little hammer.
It sounds nuts but i use mine as a pneumatic air hammer to take off clutch fans on vehicles. Perfect due to its tiny size and has yet to fail to loosen one.
I've been in the skil 12v line for like 4 years and I have been blown away by the performance of every tool I own. The impact will break loose the lugs on my truck no sweat. I also have the oscillating tool and the drill driver and they are both tough as nails. I dropped the drill 12 feet onto concrete twice within about 2 min and it never blinked. I also left it out in a fairly solid rain overnight and I blew it out with my air compressor and it still runs like new.
I would still suggest buying an air compressor and a nail gun. The compressor is so versatile and is something you'll be glad you have in the years to come. Cool idea though. Thanks for the review 😊
I agree Rob! They still sell the Porter Cable 3 gun kit with pancake compressor I bought at least 15 years ago. $329 now and worth every penny. Thanks for watching!
My last air tool is a pallet denailer once that becomes battery I won't have a use for mine. I've even downsized to a little senco hotdogs at this point.
I was a general contractor for about 10 years , and although its not something i would have used a lot , there were often times when i needed to nail something where there was no room to swing a hammer or fit a screw gun so the only options were to use a right angle screw gun which were relatively uncommon before the advent of cordless tools or use a palm nailer which involved a compressor and hose which was a definite inconvenience when you only had to drive 4 or 5 nails , would have been well worth $45 to me but cordless tools hadnt really come into their own in those days ( mid 90's )
This is a must have when putting cedar shingles and trim boards on when the eve boards is already on and under a foot away, hammers require a great deal swinging room to get anything done, and nail guns are to big, this auto hammer is great for tight spaces. I bought this two years ago just so I could finish putting shingles on, I also used in in tight places inside with 10 penny nails. My only complaint is why the hades dont Ryobi or Dewalt make this, now I'm in another battery and charger setup...........
@@job38four10 you do know they make all sorts of adapters now that allow you to use most batterries with most any tool? Thats MOST not all! Your mileage may vary. Just do your homework!
@@StonemanRocks Yeah I tried one of adapters once, it didn't adapt, I wanted to put my Dewalt battery into my 2013 Milwaukee circular saw, didn't work so I went all Dewalt and Ryobi, the Milwaukee is still collecting dust....
Nice video and presentation. I have the first generation now looking at this most recent model can’t help but asking this question. We all know how large a nail head is so why do the receptacle of these hammers so large? Not a fraction larger but 2x larger. Is that necessary? This is why I never bought a second one.
Big Mike, my secret construction/woodworking tool addiction is a hammer. Love me the old school wooden handled 20oz. USA model, I've been using for years. I had a pneumatic palm nailer for a while because it was the hottest thing on the market. What a pain in the neck that thing was. Didn't last long in my tool kit. Skil is doing a nice job trying to grab market share. My wife might like something like that to hang pictures, or disciplining the grandkids. Used a ton of those staples on chicken wire in the coop. Great job!
There's a few retirement age carpenters on RU-vid that effortlessly use a hammer for framing and Ive always been impressed with that skill. Unfortunately the contractor I worked for was not a fan and I never really became a real professional with a hammer. Light framing and decks we used screws. Whole room framing we got out the guns and I'm pretty fast with my Paslode. The little auto hammer is pretty entertaining to use and I'm sure I'll find some uses for it. If only to annoy friends and family. Thanks for watching Meat!
@@ProjectsForAllReviews I get you. Here we use nails for both framing and decks because we worry about the sheer vs. grip strength. The decks would be lagged into the rim and then the rest of the framing was nailed. Of course, the decking could be screwed onto the joists (or nailed if we were in a hurry). Anyway, love your stuff.
Might be good for putting in electrical boxes or in tight spots where you don't have room to swing a hammer. I don't see it replacing a hammer or nail gun, though.
Instead of trying to drive the nail straight in when it's wobbling all over the place, use a pair of pliers or even a thin piece of card with a hole in it to support the nail in a vertical position. Then the autohammer will be much more effective and easier to use.
Thanks for doing the review Mike. I got mine on the same deal as you and free shipping from the USA to New Zealand. I love Amazon... I've used it for installing a few electrical boxes in tight areas between studs and some cable clamps I had to nail up under deck joists. I also had a play just nailing in normal places but prefer a regular hammer due to the nails being wiggly in the auto hammer collet. My only gripe is that only the collet is magnetised. I would have liked to see the actual hammer magnatised as well if it's possible. Other than that I really like it and it does what I wanted it to do.
Im still amazed Amazon with ship from the US to New Zealand for free! I definitely don't see myself using this when a normal hammer or screw gun could be used. That said I can see it getting me out a jam occasionally or for electrical which well be doing a lot of here on the new shop. Thanks for watching!
Mike, I've watched most of your videos on Skil stuff and I just got back from my local Lowes where I picked up a clearance 12v 2.0ah battery, BUT right next to that battery was a NEW 12v impact driver kit for $70 that said it was 1 inch shorter than the previous gen and was kitted with a new 12v usb c battery just like the 20v one you showed off on your channel a while ago. Do you have any contacts at Skil that you could get ahold of and review these new 12v batteries and/or find out if they will have larger usb c batteries too??
I haven’t seen the 12v version of the usbc batteries yet. I’ll throw any email to Chervon and see if I get anything back. Seems Skil has been laying low lately. I haven’t heard much and doesn’t seem as if anyone’s been reviewing Skil tools recently. I’ll let you know if I hear anything back. Thanks for watching Jeff!
@@ProjectsForAllReviews Thanks for the follow up!! I was shocked when I saw it. They've been clearancing Skil 12v/20v tools and batteries at my Lowes stores, so it seems they are silently rolling out new stuff with no press on them, they're just appearing in stores. Seems like a major step forward from a DIY brand to have two way usb c charging batteries and ditching their stand alone chargers, yet no press about it???!! Anything you can find out and pass along would be greatly appreciated!! Keep up the great content!!!
Framing contractor with a hammer could drive a 3" nail with a single swing. For tight spaces I use my palm nailer. The only Skil tool I have is the 77 magnesium circular saw.
I like how the anvil covers the whole inside diameter. I just tried it on a cable staple with two nails and it gets jammed on the side. I bought a battery powered palm nailer from Milwaukee to repipe my house. When I am on my stomach trying not to fall thought the drywall this works great to secure the pex to the 2x4's.
For me, I've never been someone to use a hammer all the time, so I'm terrible at it. Any nail I drive will most likely get bent over and be surrounded by hammer dents in the wood. This tool is EXACTLY for me, since getting mine some time ago, I've only used manual hammers for nail removal from old wood.
I didnt know they made this. I do repairs and restoration on clocks and other furniture and wood objects, cases,etc i run into replacing hardwood panels and tiny pieces and use very small fine nails at times, i usually have to predrill a small hole into hardwood to be able to drive the flimsy little wire nails into it without them bending up, maybe with this i could drive them very quickly with the fast repeating strikes and i wouldn't need to pilot hole then use a nail guide and even with a narrow tack hammer it's difficult to get in close as the placement is just restricted by other cabinet wood parts. Interesting. For me it might be worth getting as i tend to use a lot of smaller nails more often.
I have two of the Ridgid pneumatic palm nailers, use them for ALL big nails, I think I am getting one of these, maybe my into to Skil battery lineup - currently have both the Skil table saw and mitter saw, which I love, but use the Ridgid and Bosch battery lineup.
its good for working on cars, geting rusted bolts unstuck, spray a little wd-40 or kroil, and hit it with that bad boy, boom breaks loose. great tool man, i need one. never got it cause i really dont need it, just want it.
I had the Ryobi version. Maybe good for tight spaces but pointless for everything else. I tried using it, to make sure if given it a fair chance but gave up in the end & sold it on eBay
I use it to punch out pins in places where my punch fits but it’s too tight to whack the punch with a hammer. Works pretty good for that. Better than it does for driving nails imo.
Thank you for this review. Can hold the nail at the start with needle nose plyers or forceps. As for the driving a flat point through the wood to get it onto the cinderblock, I think if you drilled a starter hole through the wood... just saying.
Starter home would have made a ton of sense for sure. I tried driving that nail in the cinder block without the wood off camera and it was also a no go. Some things are just better with a hammer. Thanks for watching!
Yes, some things are better when you can feel that impact and tell what is going on at the point. I meant a starter hole in the wood that was a little smaller than the top of the shaft, then a stone working bit to the size of the small end for the cinderblock.
I use a pneumatic palm hammer to remove nails from boards when I have demolished something. I recently demolished a pergola and had to back out several dozen nails. The nailer impacts much faster than I can swing a hammer and is more accurate.
A couple years ago I upgraded my powers tools to DeWalt 20V. Prior to that for years I used the Black & Decker Matrix (the one where you switch out the attachments) and that worked great for years, putting in a balcony deck, redialing a porch deck, kitchen remodel, etc. I chose DeWalt because you can find them anywhere unlike the exclusive brands at HD and Lowe’s. I am thinking for the tools you don’t need as much power (multi-tool, hand-held small recip saw, etc.) for getting DeWalt 12v tools - But I have to say the SKIL 12v line looks amazing and for less $$. The fact that you got this for $45 and a battery and a charger is great. There is no way you could get a DeWalt 12v tool kit for that price.
I completely agree! For years a bought Ryobi for lesser use tools when I didn't want to spend Milwaukee money. Skil has been pumping out good stuff lately and Ive started to rethink the Ryobi line. See my Ryobi track saw vid (what a joke). Only problem I see is it'll take Skil years to come close to the massive variety of tools in Ryobi's lineup. Thanks for watching!
@@FunAtDisney ya well dont just believe it just because it says skill because skill tools are crap ! They are low end! Id buy harbor freight before skill if I had to! Neither one though if I have a choice!
Everyone thinks of “skilsaw” from the 70s and 80s which were bomb proof saws ! I still have a worm drive and wouldnt trade it but, a few yrs back i traded for a kit by skill with a drill and rotary saw 18v! They were gutless and the battery’s lasted about a month! The whole kit was total junk!
@@StonemanRocks SKIL has really upped their game over the last 2-3 years a whole lot. There is way too many great tools brands out there and they had to, and I think did!
@@ProjectsForAllReviews That is true about the variety but it looks like there are committed to expanding their line. I think Chervon the parent company sees how they compare the TTI and B&D-DeWalt by having a 3-tiered of brands (Flex, Koblat, Skill) at Lowes and that compares to the Milwaukke, Rigid and Ryobi over at Home Depot. As I said I had the inexpensive Black & Decker Matrix kit with a couple of added-on tool heads that are now 15 years old and still work, even the 2ah batteries still charge (don’t last long, but they work!). And I pushed them hard many times. It’s all about how you take care of them.
I will wait for one with more oomph from DeWalt or Milwaukee. Until then, it is my old palm nailer. The compressor is sort of an issue, but a palm nailer works with the smallest, lightest compressor I have. No need for a giant construction compressor when the smallest HF one in existence will do.
They are $300 in NZ and it ships from overseas, but i can see the benefits only thing would be how long can you withstand the vibration for as i have done jobs with air hammers etc and your arm goes dead but guess at end of the day be good for when you have no strength left....added to the dream list
It would be nice if they made regular air hammer style attachments for it. I could see that being really handy for smaller jobs where a full size air hammer is a bit too much
most guys can drive a 16D nail in with just two smacks with a hammer, So that gizmo has a steep hill to climb. Maybe it's good for folks with carpal tunnel?
Hi Mike, for me it's either the nail gun ( compressed air at the workshop, battery powered on site ), for repetitive nailing or the good old hammer with traditionnal nails that I prefer. This thing looks like a gadget...
It's definitely a gadget but there's some specialty uses out there and the comment section has some good pro comments about creative uses for this. Figured it would be an interesting vid and hasn't disappointed! Thanks for watching Laurent!
Ahh the end tells all. Because of the principles it works on trying to nail several pieces of wood together without them clamped tight the top board is going to absorb all the vibration and not drive the nail. This would be good for kids. Safest. Not swinging a hammer and slipping with this is better than a screw drive. I’ve stabbed myself many times lol.
We're definitely going to do another vid with this one and do a little more testing. Ordered Milwaukees M12 palm nailer to compare. Thanks for watching Andrew!
Just about any air tool could be made 'electric'. Before I had a nail gun I built my deck with an air powered 'Palm Nailer'. I was basically an air hammer without the long barrel. I still have that palm nailer and it's great as you don't need special nails for it.
I am a union carpenter and still do a fair amount of swinging, we tend to use nails when greater sheer strength is required, same for home use. I use nails and screws doing most stringer backing boards for steps, these auto hammers come in handy for things like that. I have a 12v craftsman from their abandoned nextec tool line, and also an air palm hammer. Though not something most people would use regularly, doesn't hurt to have one handy.
@@SHADOW.GGG- Going to assume this is a serious question. A union carpenter is a carpenter in a carpenters union, which usually requires at least 3 years of apprenticeship. In addition to gaining experience in the field, there are continuous upgrade and refresher courses, some fields like scaffolding, lift operation and piledriving [to name a few]require current certification, which has to be renewed from 1 to 3 years. Many jobs in many locations, including almost all large construction jobs, require union carpenters, you can not get on the job site if you are non union [scab]
I have a air palm nailer that works well. I could see this for someone whose hands can't take using a hammer or someone who doesn't know how to drive nails with a hammer. I don't know how many years the battery would last sitting in a drawer for the person that uses it maybe once a year.
Grabbed one at Lowes on half price. Took it out to back porch which I plan on replacing in a couple years. Had tons of nail heads popped up and used for that. Worked great.
How the heck did you get it for 45 it’s double that? 🤔 definitely agree that it’s good for tight spots if one ever had a need to nail in a tight spot lol. I’d just use my dewalt right angle drive for my impact and put a screw in. But for 45 I was going to buy it. 90 ehh I’ll pass lol.
UPDATE: I read 😂😂 amazing what you find in the description and I do often check it. Just sometimes not before opening my mouth. Lol. I thought you had said prime so I went to Amazon.
I got one of these a while ago. I use it pretty much exclusively for electrical boxes and sometimes Simpson hardware. I wish they modified the head somehow to hold the big electrical staples for Romex. It would be worth its weight in gold if it could do those. I find it to be handy sometimes, but probably more of a novelty in most situations.
Glad you finally made a video. I snagged 2 at $56 on prime, would have preferred at your price. One for the home and one for the automotive that will live in my tool box.
@@ProjectsForAllReviews I have found so many so far. Just awhile ago, I had to clean up some wires running under my roof, I used this hammer to install nail in clips. It was a breeze with this.
Actually not too bad, I could see it useful on occasion like in a tight spot or around something you don’t wanna break. Now if it could hit like an air hammer I would pay about $1000 and probably never swing a hammer again at my shop lol.
I use the HIKOKI(Metabo HPT) version, I love it especially in places where you can't get the nail gun in or swing a hammer. Others laugh when I get it out but they soon want to borrow it 😂
