Stand Up Screw Guns

casey344

What are you using?

We have a PAM Fastening screw gun, have had it for a few years and it breaks almost as often as we use it and we have to drive 1/2 hour to get the proprietary screws.

Needless to say, we are looking for an alternative.

We are currently paying $85.19 for a box of 1000 screws.

Our 3-man crew uses the gun most of the time and our 6-man crew refuses since only only person can be screwing with the one gun we have.

What have you found to be the most productive tool for screwing the decking down?

MartyCD

Casey,
I have tried many of these guns, and think you probably have one of the best ones. We used to sell QuikDrive, and it is a good unit too (I personally have one). At FenceTech QuikDrive had a new unit that I had hoped they would do for years, based around a squaredrive screw instead of a stardrive, but it still jammed and cammed out. And even if they work perfectly, like they do most of the time, there's still a screw alignment issue. Customers want those screws in straight lines, which is just really hard to do. If you're going to work with the PVC decking, if you screw up a hole while you're getting the hang of it, that's a $50 board.
I suggest looking more at the HFS systems - if you don't line those up perfectly, it doesn't matter. For picture framing the outside with the boards you need to screw down, we offer idiot-proof SmartDrive bits with matching color screws. And you can use your screwgun for screwing down subfloor!

Ahren

I've been using this: (FDVL41)

http://www.muro.com/tools.htm

for about 4 years now on my decks. Absolutely fantastic tool, IMO. No problems with it so far, and I've driven 10's of thousands of screws with it.

house bldr

I've been using a grabber, no problems at all, and it will use senco screws available at home depot for about $15 per bucket{1000}.We use it mostly to screw ceilings and an occasional subfloor.

deckman22

I use to have a PAM gun. It was ok, but I hated the flimsy strips the screws came on. I now use a quikdrive gun that works great. Box of 1000 screws just about the same as the PAM gun screws. The trapeze screws work great on composite decks, no more pre-drilling pilot holes for the headcoat screws that I was using. I'll have to disagree with Marty over screw alignment, once you pop lines on the decking it's easy to gauge where to place the gun for a nice screw pattern when using the quikdrive. I use it on all decks I do now other than ipe decks.

__________________
Deckman
www.alscustomdecks.com

BreyerConstruct

This is the fastest & strongest gun we've found...

If you're local, you'll hate it- so don't even try it!


If you're not... then you'll love it! LOL
~Matt

__________________
Custom Deck Builder Deck Designer Lancaster Deck Builder Berks Deck Cleaning
Breyer Construction & Landscape, LLC Facebook Page
www.BreyerConstruction.com

casey344

You sir, have been misinformed. We are on our second gun in 3 years and just about every other time we use it the screws jam up.

Another frustration is driving past 2-3 home depots and lowes on our way to pickup their proprietary screw.

- Casey

MartyCD

No, just inexperienced... and also maybe a little, politically correct... Marty

Eckhoff Const

I have two of the Hitachi guns. Been very happy with them. I also have a Quik Drive. We never use it unless we have to. The Quik drive gun itself is not bad, its the square head screws is whats bad. Once you use Hitachi's 'LOX" heads you will never want to see another square head again.

casey344

This gun came highly recommended in an article of Deck Builder Professional Magazine.

Read the article here: http://www.deckmagazine.com/pdf/2007/0703/0703tool.pdf

Everything sounded great until he states, "Once the entire deck is laid, I
use a 3⁄8-inch counter-sink bit to predrill a hole for the head of the screw."

Do run a counter-sink bit into composites or PVC decking before using this gun?

Where do you buy your screws?

- Casey

zukkoor

I have a Senco. It works great. It has never broke in two years not very difficult to line up once you get the hang of it. The screws jam every once in a while but only takes a minute to pull the string out and feed it in again.

It was not expensive either I think I paid about 220 for it.

SteelCity

Casey - Which model PAM gun are you using?? I own a P13K and have had zero issues with it. I really like the their PAMdrive recess too.. less stripping and longer bit life