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Toolbox Senco Fusion Finish Nailer by Jesse Wright
W
hen I heard that Senco was introducing a new cordless finish nailer, I was both excited and
skeptical — excited because I dislike using hoses, and skeptical because as a long-time user of cordless finish guns I am aware of their shortcomings. This new gun is the first in a family of tools called Fusion, and Senco claims that it will do away with most of the problems associated with cordless guns. The Fusion is larger and heavier than a 15-gauge pneumatic nailer, but it has the same feel, especially the instant pop you get when you squeeze the trigger. It can be placed in an upright position (left) so it’s easy to grab with either hand.
For the last few months I have been using the 15-gauge model, the FN65DA. An 18-gauge Fusion, the FN55AZ, is scheduled to be released around the time this story is published, and Senco says that other models are in the works.
Cordless Technology Before the Fusion was introduced, there were two kinds of cordless nailers, gas and electro-
and they simply don’t measure up to gas models. They
mechanical.
work, but there’s a delay while the flywheel comes up to
A gas nailer is powered by an internal combustion engine
speed — plus they’re heavy, bulky, and poorly balanced.
that burns liquefied petroleum gas; the force of the explod-
A third way. The Fusion gun uses a battery-powered
ing fuel propels the driver into
motor to compress nitrogen gas in a sealed cylinder by
the head of the fastener. I have
lifting a piston against it. Squeezing the trigger releases
been using Paslode gas nail-
the piston, allowing the compressed gas to propel the
ers for 10 years. They work
driver into the nail — same as in a pneumatic tool. As soon
well but have some issues:
as the nail is driven, the motor retracts the driver, which
They consume fuel cells, emit
recompresses the nitrogen. The entire cycle takes a frac-
smelly combustion gases, and
tion of a second.
FN65DA Nail type: 15-gauge DA Nail length: 11⁄4 to 21⁄ 2 inches Capacity: 110 nails Weight*: 6.5 pounds Size (H x L x W): 13.5" x 13" x 3" Includes: gun, battery, charger, and case Street price: $450 Replacement battery: $95 * By JLC; includes battery Senco 800/543-4596 senco.com
require regular cleaning to
Using the Gun
function properly. An electro-mechanical gun
According to Senco, the Fusion combines the power
uses a battery-powered motor
and feel of a pneumatic nailer with the convenience of
to spin a flywheel. When the
a cordless tool. I agree: When you shoot this gun it has
carpenter presses the trig-
the instantaneous pop of a pneumatic nailer — but with-
ger, the flywheel transfers
out the blast of air at the end of the cycle. The nitrogen is
power to the driver, causing it
sealed inside the drive cylinder and gets used over and
to strike the nail. I’ve used the
over, like the gas in an air-shock or door lifter. The tool is
electro-mechanical
quieter than a gas nailer, but I still wear ear protection.
finish
guns from DeWalt and Senco,
We used the Fusion to drive fasteners up to 21⁄ 2 inches OCTOBER 2010 l JLC l 1
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Toolbox
l Senco Fusion Finish Nailer
long in plywood, poplar, cherry, MDF,
nails, which was enough to finish the job.
pine, and Douglas fir framing material.
According to the manufacturer, the bat-
There was no issue with power — it drove
tery can drive up to 600 nails per charge.
as well as our pneumatics. The 15-gauge Fusion is very well-bal-
Features
anced, so even though it’s heavier than a
The gun comes with a stiff wire belt hook
gas finish nailer, using it is not a hardship.
that can be flipped to either side of the
A rubberized grip and body make the
handle. Depth-of-drive is controlled by a
gun comfortable to hold and protect the
thumb-wheel on the front of the housing.
surfaces it’s placed on. Most nailers will
The setting shows up on an incremental
only lie on their sides, but this one can be
scale further down the nose.
placed upright on the magazine, making it easy to grab and go.
The aluminum magazine is held in place by a spring-loaded lever and can
Firing modes. The gun has a dry-fire
be quickly removed to ease the clearing
lockout that prevents it from firing when
of jammed fasteners. This is an improve-
empty and putting unnecessary holes in
ment over existing cordless models,
the material. A three-position switch on
which can be difficult to unjam.
the side of the housing allows the user to
An LED light built into the front of
turn the tool on or off and set it to single-
the tool comes on whenever the trig-
shot or bump-fire mode. I use the single-
ger is squeezed or the contact element
shot mode for finish work; it forces me to
compressed.
be deliberate about fastener placement,
Durability. There’s no way of knowing
so I don’t overnail the trim. The only time
how long this tool will last, though it feels
I use bump-fire is for fastening block-
well-made. The manufacturer claims that
ing. The gun is capable of driving about
the drive cylinder can cycle more than
one nail per second, which is more than
100,000 times without losing so much
enough speed for finish carpentry.
nitrogen it can no longer set nails. If the cyl-
Battery. The 18-volt lithium-ion battery has excellent runtime — we can
A three-position switch can be set to bump-fire, off, or single-shot mode. Leaving the tool on for long periods of time can deplete the battery, even if the gun isn’t fired.
A gauge on the 18-volt battery indicates the remaining charge.
inder fails, it can be replaced but not repaired.
often work all day on a single charge. A gauge on the back of the battery shows the
The Bottom Line
remaining charge; if it’s running low we
I am completely impressed with
charge the battery during a break. It takes
the 15-gauge Fusion. Comfort-
45 minutes to fully charge and empty
able and convenient to use, it’s
the battery, but only 15 minutes to get an
the first cordless finish nailer
80 percent charge.
that can match the power and
The Fusion drives nails until the bat-
performance of a pneumatic
tery is no longer able to lift the driver, at
gun. It’s more expensive than
which point the tool won’t fire. There is no
a gas finish nailer, but I would
stair-stepping as the battery runs down —
happily buy it anyway to avoid
it drives at full power or not at all. The first
the smell of exhaust gas, the cost
time this happened, we thought the gun
of fuel cells, and the hassle of
was broken. We took off the magazine,
regular cleanings.
saw that the driver had not retracted, and realized the battery was depleted. Since
Jesse Wright is a finish carpen-
the battery can be charged hot, we threw
ter for Architectural Molding in
it in the charger and within five minutes it
Pleasant Hill, Calif.
was sufficiently charged to drive 30 more
A scale below the thumb-wheel provides a quick visual reference for the depth-of-drive setting.
When the trigger is squeezed or the contact element depressed, a light comes on in the nose. It provides just enough illumination to help in low-light conditions.
OCTOBER 2010 l JLC l 2
