Safety tips for nail gun users

Nail guns are called guns for a reason; if they can fire a nail through wood, they can fire a nail into any part of your body just as easily.

Following safety tips for nail gun users will help you minimize the risk. And manufacturers of nail guns continue to improve safety with the latest introductions.

Make sure you get the safety improvements when upgrading your nail guns. And always look through the manual of a new nail model for recommended power tool safety tips for nail gun users.

6 safety tips for nail gun users

Nail guns are at the top of the list of tools that send nail guns users like construction workers to the emergency room. They’re called guns for a reason; if they can fire a nail through wood, they can fire a nail into any part of your body just as easily. Don’t point them at anyone when the hose is connected.

Using nail guns with the trigger set to bounce-fire mode is faster, but according to OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration), using this setting makes a nailer twice as likely to result in an injury as using the tool in single-fire mode. Do your framing work more deliberately and accurately one nail at a time and save the bounce firing for subfloors, decking and roofing.

Never tie or wedge up the safety contact of a nail gun.

Nails can bend or ricochet off knots or other fasteners in the wood so keep your other hand well away from where the nail is going. Also, be aware of the direction of a nail entering the material and don’t shoot with someone directly behind it.

Never carry a nailer with your finger pulling the trigger.

Don’t tuck a nailer under your arm to hold it while climbing a ladder or moving a board into place. Accidental nailing into your torso can result. If you have to use your hands for something else while holding a nailer, use a rafter hook on the tool to hang it on a ladder or framing member, or hang it from a hook on your tool belt.

−By Michael Springer