Side by Side Comparison of: PORTER-CABLE vs Makita

I gave my old BN200 to my son and ordered this new one and then read the reviews. I was concerned then that maybe I had made a mistake buying this product. I now have tested it and it is everything I had hoped for. I never had a problem with the old one in the 15 years I owned it. I also tried dragging this new one along a board to see if it would fire without lifting the gun after every shot. It did! I have had great success with Porter Cable products and would highly recommend them.

I do like Porter Cable tools. This is my third nailer, of different type. I have 2 brad nailers and a pin nailer. All I am satisfied with.

This is a solid performing nail gun. I like how the air exhaust is scattered so it doesn't spray pressurized air in your eye like my old porter cable guns. My eye was hurting off and on for about a week!

I originally bought this expecting an electrical cord attached (don't ask), but I decided to upgrade with a Stanley 2-gal. air compressor,Stanley 2-Gallon 115-PSI 120-Volt Horizontal Portable Electric Air Compressor since I have other needs for it, so I kept the nailer. I've been totally pleased with it. Works as intended, and is really light. The brads that are included are for indoor use only and they only give you 100, so you'll likely want to invest in a quality pack of brads to go along with it. The case is very handy and sturdy enough for light home use.The plastic tip of the barrel came off somewhere while I was nailing a garden fence post, but it doesn't affect the performance. Would buy again.

I wanted a brad nailer that could sink a 2 inch, 18 gauge brad/nail into cured oak or hickory. This unit, using 100psi can sink a 2" brad into a solid piece of oak effortlessly. There is only a very small mark where the brad went into the wood. It is an excellent unit to install crown molding into kitchen cabinets, which is what my primary use is. I am impressed with how easy it is to use and how well it works. Although my use has been limited so far, I have nothing negative to say at this point.

I wanted to be able to drive very short nails for a remodeling project I am doing. This nailer punches what I think are the shortest nails out there. 5/8 and 1/2. Great for thin molding. I currently own 4 porter Cable nailers of different sizes. I have been using them for years and they all have worked flawlessly except when I have screwed up. They are easy to clear if you put the wrong nails in one.

Well built and the nail depth is consistent every time which is important to me

Works good adjustments are good easy to use.

So far no issues. Works flawlessly.

excellent tool. working perfectly. i am making all kind of art item

Best 18g gun i've ever had. I use mine every day all day. I run a cabinet shop and trim crew and these are the best little guns yet. I have had several of every brand imaginable. There alot like a senco but better rings and cosmetic design.

Garage shelves built in about an hour! So much better than the old drill and screw technique I have used all of my life. You will need a source of compressed air, but the tool works great. Makita continues to produce quality products. Highly recommend for anyone searching for a brad nailer.

I was late to the market to buy a nailer thinking I could get by, and I did "get by" without one for years. That was a poor call on my part. The ability to drive in such a small brad as long as 2 inches with one hand without bending it or denting the wood is awesome. The ability to set the depth of the head is icing on the cake. I have run hundreds of different length brads with no mechanical problems. It does have one drawback due to its width and that is the inability to shoot a brad straight in when against a wall or partition. The width forces me to shoot at an slight angle which is not always an option. If only they could make it with a rectangular piston...oh well.

Works well for the price. I've had some trouble with nails not feeding but it's not very often. Other than that I've been very happy with the results.

Worked great for me. Saved me from hiring someone to replace baseboard and now I have for other projects.

good deal

This little inexpensive nailer works fine for small work. I just nailed up a plywood stand of 3/8" plywood. A little glue and 4 nails on each end and I was ready to stain and varnish. Really handy if you have a small compressor set up to run it. Well made. Easy to clear jams. Overall very satisified.

I have used this nailer only a few times since It was delivered. It worked fine using Porter-Cable and SENCO brads that were on hand, with no jams or misfires. I am new to no-oil nailers , but like the concept and hope they last as long as a nailer that needs to be oiled! I do wish the carry case had more storage space for brads! Over all I am happy with this purchase.

Good

I reviewed this previously with 5 stars and now that I've had a lot of time using it, I'm revamping my review to a 4 star reviewIt's still a really high quality nail gun, with one minor issue. If you're doing production work, and you want to nail really fast, this isn't the gun for you. Yes, it's well made, but it doesn't have a "rapid fire" function.Normally, if you're building lots of cabinets, you can mark a line, and drag the nailer along that line, firing the nails every inch or 2, depending on how many nails you're needing in the end board. With this gun, you cannot DRAG the nailer, as according to the Makita service center I brought it down to (to have it checked as I thought it was malfunctioning). According to the fellas at the Makita Service center, it has a safety feature which requires you to lift the gun, release the trigger, apply the gun tip to the material again, then pull the trigger. I've used lots of guns in the past, and I've always been able to rapid fire them for productivity. This will cut you productivity time down significantly, if you're used to rapid fire tools.Other than this, it's a good gun and will serve anyone well.

Generally great brad nail gun. However, i noticed that there are some missed shots due to no response when pulling the trigger.I have to try twice by pressing harder against the object you want to nail.

Easy to use right out of the box.

Very good

Wery good

This unit replaced an older unit (20 years) and quite frankly it's not nearly as well made or durable. I would suggest going to an upgraded brand and leave this one for the occasional user.

Case is so small there is no room for brads. Is nice to have a gun that does not need oil.

It's OK. I'd used it about 3 times when I learned that it doesn't really accept 2' nails. Every other size works fine.

sometimes wont fire- you have to push hard to engage it or it wont fire- moving you work around

As a contractor and cabinet maker I've been using Porter Cable 18GA Brad Nailers for years. My most heavily used nailer.Earlier models lasted years with no problems. After using this one twice, the No-mar pad cracked - very cheap plastic. If they cut corners on this tiny piece, it makes me wonder where else they cut corners and what will fail next.

It could just be me since i'm not very experienced with brad nailers yet but this nailer does not work all the time. Most of the time when I think it has put a nail in the wood, it does not. There is a mark where there should be a nail but there is no nail. Yes, I do make sure the compressor has enough pressure to throw a nail through. I find myself putting the nails in and out in order for it to put in one nail. I love the safety on the nailer. I have small kids that love to play with my tools.. I have no problems with the nail driving in all the way when I do actually get a nail. I would recommend this nailer if I could figure out why I get a hit or miss nail.

This gun was highly recommended to me. The 1st one I returned. The 2nd one I gave away. I liked the aluminum magazine. I thought that would be an indication of quality. I do work my brad guns without mercy. I expect all my tools to work as hard as I do. Consistently, I burn through brad guns. I generally shoot 500-800 2" brads in 30-45 minutes a couple times a day. I haven't had one last more than 4 months. Most, like this one, a couple days.

Just received the gun after much deliberation between this gun and the SENCO FinishPro® 18MG, 2-1/8" 18-Gauge Brad Nailer.After using the gun for about 1 hour, I feel I made the wrong decision. I had read this review (link below) of the Makita nailer and the reviewer was spot on. I will not re-write all that reviewer wrote. But in short...* Lack of Power; Gun lacks power to set the longer nails. I have a great compressor, and have tried running the compressor right up to 110 psi (max for gun is 115) and max depth setting just to set the 1 3/4" brads. I have not bought the 2" brads so have not tried them. But based on the 1 3/4 brads, no need to try. I do not want to have to run the gun at near max pressure all the time (greatly shortens gun life).* Toe nailing; At all the max settings, I can just get 1 1/4" brads to toe nail consistently. Using 1 1/2 brads, they have to be set with a nail punch as some of the nailhead protrudes. This is testing it out nailing through some soft pine baseboard and into a soft pine 2x4. If it cannot handle this softwood, forgret oak balusters and handrail. I really do not want to have to nail set all my toe nails. I plan to nail a lot of stair balusters on 3 staircases I will be doing the finish build on.* Sparks; I never noticed this with my other brad nailer (a 8 year old SENCO) but this Makita throws sparks about 25% of the time when striking the brad.* Mars the wood; As the other review noted, the safety does not mar the wood, but the hammer housing sure does. And to get a full nail set on the longer nails you need to have that hammer housing tip right against the wood (dimples wood almost every time... slightly... but dimpled)The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence I guess. I have not tried the SENCO gun yet, but at this point it seems I should have bought it over the Mikita.This other Amazon reviewer was spot on, and I concur.Hope this helps in your purchase decsion.http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/RI8BI5V7BM14Z/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00K1AXGQY

A GREAT NAILER. I put together thousands of feet of T&G plus a ceiling with this nailer. But it is not extraordinary. Here is why:1. I never found that the little red nail indicator window prevented me from dry firing. The window starts to turn red with about three nails left in the mag.2. It requires oil. Seems like a lot of other brands don't require oil. Why do we need oil?3. Case has only room for 1-1/2" box of nails if you put that box where the safety glasses should be stored.4. The nailing interlock is indeed "no-mar" thanks to the little rubber pad but the actual nailer head is definitely capable of leaving a mar.5. Not great at toe nailing. Wishing I could over compensate with the nail depth adjuster to fully sink nails at an angle, but alas, maxing out the depth gage is not always enough to sink a nail at 45 degrees.6. Not made in USAI plan on keeping this nailer because it feels like a solid tool and it does the job well.

Used a lot of great guns...this just isn't one of them. Too bad because I like so much of what Makita does. The compressor I have by them is ridiculously well built,so I hought I would trust the rest of their pneumatic line. I don't work with just soft pine but instead do a lot of rustic and custom work...this little bradder just can't cut the mustard when it comes to penetrating denser woods or a surface that isn't perfectly flat. If you are just someone who works with pine and mdf...this may be a great little nailer for you. If you do cabinet work, rustic work, try something a little more high end.

I have used this twice, first time was fine but the second time it was misfiring.I reloaded and put a couple of drops of oil on the driver part. I tried it again and it was fine.I am still have reservations on this purchase. See how it goes again this weekend.

I sent this back. Bought another one locally.

Not a good 18GA nailer. Price is too high for the poor performance.

I wish I had read the reviews but because I was ordering a Porter-Cable product I didn't think I had to. I just opened the box and can tell already that the quality has gone down dramaticly. The trigger is plasic and large enough to be well at home on a cartoon as well as seeming loose. The depth adjuster is the same. The quick release for the head is a good idea however the first time it gets dropped or stepped on, it will uncountably get bent. I have been in construction and have used porter-cabe for years. It was always a great product and has always lasted a long time, hence me being out of the market for a new one however if this gun is an example of the direction they are taking their company I'm afraid I will have to find a new brand. It is a shame to take such a hardy product and butcher it like this but that seems to be the norm these days

Did not like it at all

Didn't even get a hundred nails through it before it quit working. Returning it and never buying another porter cable nail gun again.

Both nail guns drivers were stuck and would not shoot nails , I had threw away my paper work because I didn't think their would be a problem , so I took guns apart and changed o ring around driver and it works fine nowBut having to take the time to do that on brand new guns is ridiculous and unacceptable

Dead after less than an hour of use. Had it connected to a regulator set at 70psi and it worked fine for awhile before it decided it no longer wanted to retract the hammer mechanism far enough to fire another brad. Very disappointing. We've got two other Porter-Cable 18GA brad nailers (one identical to this one and one the previous model) and they both have been working fine for a year+ on the same regulator and air system. Guess I got a lemon this time.

Porter Cable used to be a name that you could trust. I had an older brad nailer that lasted many, many years. And then, it finally broke when it took a tumble off of my workbench onto a concrete floor. I figured that I would replace it with another. The very first clue was that the new nailer was nearly half of the weight. Then I looked closer. Yep - Made In China. That explains it. Well, I thought I'd give it a shot anyway. It did work fine the first couple of projects, but then I noticed that it would misfire every dozen or so nails. Then, it got to the point to where the misfires got more frequent until only compressed air would shoot out. Mind you, this thing is only 8 months old, tops, and now it is not eligible for return to Amazon. I looked online for a fix, and was told I had to get a punch rod to clear out the exhaust port, which is what I guess I'll have to do. So, save yourself a lot of grief, and get any other brand. Heck, I could have gone to Harbor Freight, and gotten one at half of this price, and it would have lasted at least twice as long.

Mine stopped working after the second use. I had not even used it heavily the first couple of times. Very disappointed since I trusted Porter Cable

Have bought several Porter Cable tools over the years. Borrowed a friend's 18 gauge Porter Cable brad nailer, liked it, so decided to buy my own. What I received was not the same nailer. Definitely redesigned, lighter, and overall seemed to be cheaper construction. Worked good every other time. Did not fire a brad every other time, but left a hole. If you don't mind filling holes and want an inexpensive gun, this would work. I guess you could fire it into a piece of scrape every other time to avoid the holes in your work piece, but not a tool for me. I will not be buying Porter Cable in the future if this is the direction the company has taken with their product line.

this product did not work fresh out of the box

THIS MAKITA PRODUCT HAS BROKEN AFTER MINIMAL USE IN JUST OVER A MONTH AND THE TIME ALLOWED FOR RETURN TO AMAZON ! MAKITA IS SLIPPING ! BUYER BEWARE OR BETTER YET, DON'T BUY !!! M. HENLEY

The gun didn't work had to take it to get it fix the company switched it out with a better one

Sorry to say that the unit I received can't countersink 1 inch brads even with maximum depth settings and air pressure , but it does leave "nose" marks.