Halp /diy/. I was trying to install new door casings and while driving a nail in to the first plinth, it split in half about a 1/4" from where the nail was. Did I do something wrong? Are the nails too thick? Is it just because they're cheap and made of pine?
>>967688
I had sanded down the area where caulk and paint had built up over the old casings, and repaired the area with spackle and sanded it flat.
>>967690
Pretty normal. The old trick is to predrill a pilot hole or tap the point of a nail with a hammer to blunt it slightly.
When you hammer a sharp pointed nail into wood it forces the fibres apart causing it to split. blunting the nail causes it to break the fibres as it goes in.
I prefer predrilling myself as it gurantees no splitting.
>>967692
ty anon. Is this still nesseccary if you borrow a nail gun? I have one I could borrow for a little while this weekend.
>>967692
And do I need to drill only through the plinth or the door frame as well?
>>967696
I usually go the full depth of the drill which took me into the frame.
>>967801
Oh and I use a bit roughly half the diameter of the nail. It doesn't seem to be critical.
>>967802
ty anon
>>967659
Depends on the nail gun. If it's a Brad nailer I wouldn't expect it to splinter like that, and lining up a nail gun over a small pilot hole hole might be like the first time I got laid and I happened to be drunk.
If it's a large framing nailer though that might be your issue, might be overkill. If it's pneumatic you may be able to roll back a pressure regulator and it MAY help. Drawback to firing at a lower pressure is the nail might not seat itself fully. The hardest part of nailing is setting the nail and lining up the piece, driving it home is cake if you didn't get greedy with the chromosomes when you were still in womb.
Honestly, hate to say it but you might have to do it the old fashioned way, which socks if you have a tool capable of doing the job, but if the work looks better you won't regret the extra work after its over.
>>968019
ty anon.
>>968019
with a brad nailer it usually wont deform the casing at all . Shit op wouldnt even have to predrill. Its pine not maple.
