Paslode Cordless Roofing Nailer

I'll never forget the first time, many years ago, I drove my first nail with a Paslode gun. It's like your first kiss. I was spellbound by the freedom of no hoses and compressors - and I had been a pneumatic nail-gun user for many years!

I got that same first-time rush yesterday when I drove the first roofing nail with Paslode's Cordless Roofing Nailer. Out of the sleek soft-sided case, the gun drove the first nail perfectly. Not too deep, not proud of the shingle, but just right.

Then it proceeded to drive hundreds more nails through the day as I installed several squares of GAF Timberline HD shingles on a shed roof. Each nail was perfect.

Paslode Cordless Roofing Nailer

I didn't have to worry about tripping over clumsy air hoses up on the roof, nor shouting over the racket caused by a gasoline-powered air compressor. I simply took the tool out of the case, and was working in seconds. Granted, I did have to charge the battery, but that took less than an hour. One battery charge will drive thousands of nails.

This new Paslode Roof Nailer is part of a system. It's 7.5 pounds of precision and gusto. Packed with the gun was a battery, charger and a nice box that contained 720 premium nails and a gas cartridge that has enough fuel to drive all the nails in the box. If you don't waste any nails, you have enough in each box to install two squares of ordinary shingles.

Loading the gas cartridge was easy, as were the nails. You simply open the side door to the drum and drop in the nails. You have to feed the nails to the nose of the tool, but that's as easy as dropping your razor knife to the ground once you're up on a roof.

Paslode Cordless Roofing Nailer

The nails have been designed to have extra holding power. They achieve this with grooves on the nail shaft that increases the surface area of the wood-to-metal contact. The nails also have the trademarked PowerBoost black coating that aids in driving the nail into the wood. I suspect it also helps hold the nail in position as the coating cools down.

There's no doubt that this tool will pay for itself in weeks if you use it on a job. The productivity gain from hand nailing is off the charts. Not everyone is a super fast hand nailer when it comes to shingles. For the average roofer, you'll save vast amounts of time. That time equals more profit per job for you.

My prediction on upcoming improvements to the tool are the following:

• Hard-shell case to ensure the tool doesn't get damaged in the back of a truck
• Matching Allen wrenches for every bolt on the tool
• Lithium-ion battery pack

This Paslode tool deserves five hammers - it's that good.