Factory-Reconditioned PORTER-CABLE FR350AR Round Head 2-Inch to 3-1/2-Inch Framing Nailer

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Factory-Reconditioned PORTER-CABLE FR350AR Round Head 2-Inch to 3-1/2-Inch Framing Nailer Review

My wife and I had the ambitious plan of finishing our basement. Since neither of us had any experience with home construction or woodworking, we decided that in order to do this right, we needed the right tools.

Considering the amount of framing we needed to do, a framing nailer was going to be a valuable tool. Being an important part of the process, I was concerned that a reconditioned tool might not be a good buy. I reviewed the details and as far as Porter Cable is concerned, a PC reconditioned tool has the same factory warranty as one fresh from the factory. Previous good experiences with PC tools helped me make the decision to get the FR350AR.

The nailer arrived in a large black plastic case. It came with a manual and a small bottle of machine oil. An inspection of the tool showed a little surface wear, probably from being put down on concrete or other abrasive surfaces, but PC molded sacrificial ridges on the tool body that take most of the abuse. The magazine mechanism was in good shape. It looked like the touched up some of the paint where it might have been chipped. All in all it was in excellent condition.

Saturday finally came and I was able to give the FR350AR a workout. I hooked it up to my PC pancake compressor that comes with the extremely popular brad/finish nailer kit, dialed in an initial pressure of 100 psi and hooked it up to the tool. There was a small hiss as the tool pressurized and was ready to go. I put on my safety gear and grabbed a stick of 3" ring plastic collated nails that I picked up from the neighborhood Lowe's. Nails are inserted from the rear of the magazine and pushed towards the front. You then grab the follower and pull it towards the back of the magazine and while still holding it, let it pull itself forward, pushing the nails into the firing mechanism.

While using the plastic tip, I pushed the tip against the 2x4 up on the ceiling joints and pulled the trigger. I heard a 'pop' with a little recoil and a nail was sunk 1/8" into the 2x4. The next test came when I started installing the studs. I removed the plastic tip to expose the spiked safety foot and put the plastic tip into the holder in the magazine. With the stud all centered, I placed the tip at a 45 degree angle and inch from the base of the stud and pulled the trigger. I nail shot into the stud and down into the base plate. It was left sticking out of the wood about 3/8 of an inch, enough to get at in case I needed to remove it. Excellent! The PC FR350AR will stop firing when you are down to four nails left in the magazine so you realize you need a refill. Insert more nails, readjust the follower and you were off and running again.

The pancake compressor seemed to do a good job holding up against the work I was doing with the nailer. I had it outside with a long hose run into the basement, so I couldn't hear it running. I didn't get any complaints from my neighbors so it must not have been running very often.

I only have two complaints with this nailer:

1) Although the tool is pretty balanced in my hand, the grip isn't spongy enough for my palm. The area between my thumb and forefinger was sore after all the nailing was done.

2) The plastic collation bits come shooting out of the nailer (from where exactly, I am not sure) and landed all around. I did find many bits in my hair afterwards so watch out for them.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with how well this reconditioned framing nailer has worked so far. I have plenty more work for it, so I will post an update another time for some long-term observations.

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