Unpopular opinion: I chose pneumatic rivet guns over battery powered every time

After 8 years in the trade, I still grab my old pneumatic gun for big structural jobs because battery ones just can't match the consistent pull force on 3/4 inch rivets - anyone else find cordless gear loses steam halfway through a shift?

2 comments

2 Comments

tyler_hall94d ago

Man these new battery guns got me feeling like I'm wrestling a stubborn toddler on my good days. My old pneumatic unit just chugs along like a champ while the cordless ones whimper when I hit anything thicker than 1/4 inch. Last week I watched a buddy's Milwaukee die halfway through a roof job and I had to bite my tongue real hard about my trusty air hose. Still, my back sure don't miss dragging that compressor up three flights of stairs though.

karenhenderson4d ago

Heard my buddy Mark describe his battery gun exactly like that 'wrestling a stubborn toddler' lol. He was up on a ladder trying to set some stainless steel rivets on a dock repair and his cordless gun just started clicking instead of pulling. He had to climb down, swap batteries twice, and still ended up finishing the last dozen by hand with a manual squeezer. Meanwhile my old pneumatic rig sitting in the truck would've just chugged right through em without a complaint. The weight tradeoff is real though, dragging that hose around makes you wonder sometimes lol.