great article; great timing. So it's a loud, household device; not a framer.
On Sun, 31 May 2009, Ray Boyce wrote: > <http://www.toolsnob.com/pictures/autohammer.jpg> autohammer.jpgThis little > fella hit the stores just before the holidays as part of Craftsman new > NexTec line ("next technology?"). We got our hands on one a few weeks ago > and have been testing it in a variety of situations and here's what we > thought... > > If we had to classify the Auto Hammer, we'd say that it's a battery-powered > palm nailer. The functionality is the same; the piston within the sleeve > that pounds the nail with a series of hits, in this case, up to 3600 impacts > per minute, which is actually more than most, if not all, palm nailers. The > Auto Hammer also has a magnetic head that can hold any nail up to 7/16" > wide. There's also a little LED that lights up the work piece. The tools in > the NexTec line are all powered by a little 12-volt li-ion battery. Now, on > to how the tool actually performed... > > In the hands, the Auto Hammer is great. We actually weren't expecting > something with such a sturdy feel, but it really has a nice weight to it and > a good balance. The product literature says that it can sink nails from 2d > to 16d. This, we discovered pretty quickly, ain't true. Because it reminded > us so much of a palm nailer, we first tried it out with some joist hanger > nails. While the Auto Hammer had no problem getting the nails started, it > couldn't sink them flush. And these were only 1-1/2", not the 3" that the > website boasts. > > <http://www.toolsnob.com/pictures/autohammer_close.jpg> > autohammer_close.jpgWe also tried it out with some smaller nails and found > that it had no problem once we got away from 'framing-sized' fasteners. The > Auto Hammer performed great when matched up against finish work or around > the house tasks. It also did well in cramped areas where swinging a hammer > is out of the question, in fact we see this as the focal point and the main > reason for purchasing the tool. Cabinet work, under the sink tasks, and the > dreaded crawl space project are all going to be made easier with the Auto > Hammer. The head is also magnetic, so you can stick a nail on and maneuver > the tool into place (and around the water pipes) before setting the nail. > > It's also worth mentioning that the Auto Hammer is insanely loud. Pounding a > normal hammer is loud too, but the mechanical rat-tat-tat of this tool is > pretty abrupt. Not something you want to use first thing in the morning or > around someone who is prone to migraines. > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > >
