How To Unjam A Nail Gun

Nail gun is clearly one of the most useful tools as you don’t have to spend hours hitting walls to screw the nail. Instead, you can just fire a nail into the wall within seconds.

Although most nail guns are designed in such a way that it won’t have any effect even if it is not used for a long time, still you may face issues with the working.

If a nail gun isn’t properly used or has been worn out due to excessive usage, it tends to get jammed. To make it work again you just have to know how to unjam a nail gun. As it can either have a nail stuck somewhere in the middle or the nail diverts backwards instead of shooting outwards.

In this blog, we’ll be mentioning some easy ways of unjamming clogged nail guns.

Unjamming a Nail Gun

Unjamming any nail gun is quite a simple task as there won’t be many possibilities for that and the defects can be easily detected.

Before getting started with the process, you have to take simple precautions to avoid any mishap.

Switch off the Power Supply

Now, it’s time to implement the first step of the process which involves disconnecting the nail gun from its power supply. For that purpose, you only need to remove the gun from the air hose.

Setting Aside Unused Nails

After disconnecting the gun, you’ll have to drag the pusher out to set aside all the unused strips and nails from the magazine. If your gun is clogged, it would be needing space to launch the stuck nail thus You’ll have to follow this step to avoid any accidental fire.

Open the Barrel

With Release Lever

Now, it’s time to discard the nail that has been stuck in your gun. The best approach to this as stated in the manual as well is to open the barrel.

For this step, you should check if your gun has a release lever. You can use this level for opening the barrel. It is a completely safe method and almost all nail guns have this feature.

Without Release Lever

If you can’t find a release lever in your nail gun then you can just use any hammer’s claw side or just plier to slide open the magazine. This will automatically remove the stuck nail and your magazine would be free.

However, this step isn’t recommended if your gun doesn’t have a latch because it will cause resistance and you’ll have to apply force on it. Other than that you can just use a latch at the top by unscrewing some part of the nail gun.

These pliers and claws can easily help in pulling out the nail with just its tip from the barrel. You’ll have to be focused and ready to give in some of your time as it can be difficult to pull.

If you’re careful and patient then you’ll extract the nail in no time. Once you’re done, you should check the barrel for any damage or defect. If you find any defect then you’ll have to either change the gun or replace some of its parts.

Reload the Magazine

After thoroughly unjamming the nailer, you can put fresh nails back in the magazine. You have to do this step even if you’re working on a project right away.

Insert the nails in the direction mentioned above the magazine as well as in the manual. After then just slide the pusher to keep all the nails in the correct position.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why isn’t my nail gun not shooting?

There can be many reasons why your nail gun isn’t firing nails. Among them a few reasons are:

• Uncharged battery
• Nail stuck somewhere in the middle
• Usage of wrong nails
• Wrong air pressure adjustments
• In need of repair

Is it important to disconnect the nail gun before unjamming?

It is extremely important to switch off the power source before getting started with the process as with the power running within the machine, the nail that has been jammed can be shot without any hint.

Conclusion

Nail gun is a very easy tool to handle, it doesn’t matter if you are a handyman or just an ordinary guy trying to hang your favorite painting. However, when the nail gun is jammed, it can be quite a serious threat to you and people around you.

With a nail stuck into it, you’ll never know when it’ll be released. So, it is recommended to try your best to unjam it as soon as you can by carefully following the steps mentioned above.