Ulma Doctor

Infinitely Curious
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Feb 2, 2013
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My brother asked me if i could design a slide nailer for a job that he is working on.
he is in the construction trades and needs to bang in a bunch of nails into areas he can't reach by hand
he asked that it be somewhere around 30" long and needed it to be able to take punishment.
here is my answer to the problem...

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i started with some reclaimed 20mm chrome shaft
drilled and tapped for M6x1.0X25 socket head capscrew and 1/4" SS Fender Washer

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I had a hunk of reclaimed 6061 aluminum roller about 9" long
i bored and bushed the slide, for beautiful operation
i turned a slide collar and affixed it to the shaft by locktite and a 3/16" split steel roll pin.

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i bored the 20mm shaft to .373" to accept the business end rod that measured in at .375"
and press fit the nailer rod to the slide body
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i took another piece of 20mm 304 Stainless and parted it down to 3"
i bored the rod end to .380" for a nice sliding fit.
i took the rod end and milled a slot in the rod end to act as a guide for a roll pin retainer
i crossdrilled the rod in 2 places to accept 1/8" roll pins
i added a flatwasher and a spring to the end cap and installed the roll pins.
the end cap is for easy nail retention and slides back as the protruding nail is driven into the base material
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you don't have to worry about missing with this slide nailer, the nail is held captive by the sliding end cap!

as always thanks for reading! :)
 
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Nice job Mike, I think you should pattern that.
thank you thomas,
we'll see how it works in the real world tomorrow, i turned it over to him earlier.
thanks for the words of encouragement :)
 
Hi Mike - What were your bother's reports on how it worked?
Hi John,
The nailer worked out as intended!
it has driven 250+ nails on the first job.
i already have a couple ideas for a second design with a heavier slide for larger nails, but there is no necessity for the second design at the moment.
thank you for your interest :)
 
Lookin gooooood UD! I have heard people call that sort of tool a nail peashooter. And I have seen it with a magnetic business end. Very handy to have when a hammer or palm nailer won’t cut it. Makes me think of one other tool for nailing! A “L” kinda bracket that it used to drive in nails under the toe kick when doing hard wood flooring. Without this floor nailing tool, you are pretty much out of luck.
 
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Thanks Dave!
i considered using a rare earth magnet, but i figured it would get knocked off somehow.
the flooring nailers are quite a neat design, i can't imagine trying to do those by hand :eek:
 
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