Ten years ago who would have thought we would be sitting here talking about a cordless nailer? I know there are a lot of manufacturers who have cordless nailers, but I have to admit my favorite nailer is the Paslode lineup. Sure it takes fuel and a battery but the performance is very consistent, something I haven’t seen in a battery only model, well at least until I tried the Dewalt DCN660 finish nailer. So when I heard Dewalt has an 18 GA nailer available, I knew I had to try it, so let’s jump into the Dewalt Cordless Nailer Review.
Dewalt Cordless Nailer Review – Overview
Pneumatic nailers have always been the power of choice when it comes to nailers. They are consistent, fire fast and reliable, but you do have to work with a cord and listen to a loud compressor. So with that said companies have been trying to break the cord but I think with little success.
Paslode has been the first successful company to offer a reliable, consistent nailer without the cord, but you do have to rely on fuel cells which have their own problems.
When it comes to a battery only nailer, I think the only logical choice is Dewalt. The Dewalt 16 GA nailer is a beast. Very reliable and very consistent with a pretty good rate of speed. So if you have used the 16 GA nailer, you will love the 18 Ga nailer as it’s the brother to the 16 GA nailer.
Dewalt Cordless Nailer Review – Features
The Dewalt brad nailer is loaded with a ton of features that users will not only appreciate but enjoy using.
Dewalt designed the nailer with a brushless motor which means longer runtime and a longer running motor.
On the base of the nailer, a user can switch between sequential or bump.
Right behind the fire action is two LED lights that do a decent job of lighting up where you are about to fire your fastener.
Adjusting the depth is done with a dial on the side of the nailer. There is also a visual in order to see a rough estimate at where you set the depth.
On the side of the nailer, there is protection for the tool and for your work. Just in case you accidentally set the tool down on a finished surface, the rubber strips will protect it from leaving damage.
We didn’t get the tool to jam but as you know it does happen. The good news is you can remove the jam without having to search for a tool. Just pull down the front and you have complete access to clear any obstruction.
On the side of the tool is a decent belt clip to hang it from your side or from something else when not in use.
The nailer is an 18 GA nailer that will run nails from 5/8″ to 2-1/8″.
In case the tool stalls you can easily reset the nailer in the front. No tools, no messing around.
As with most nailers, the nailer features a removable no-mar tip. As an added bonus you can store up to two more on the side of the nailer.
The trigger will remind you of the typical Dewalt drill trigger which is extremely comfortable, not to mention the rubberized grip.
Dewalt Cordless Nailer Review – Performance
You really can’t ask for much more from a cordless nailer. Sure having a smaller footprint nailer would be great for those tight spots, but I just don’t think technology has caught up for that to work out. If you’re not getting into tight spaces on a regular basis, this is a great nailer.
The nailer is very consistent with the rate of fire and the depth of fire. We have tried other battery nailers where the first couple shots are consistent but it drops off after that when using at a high rate of speed.
Adjusting the depth of drive is easy and notice that even after driving a ton of nails, it still sinks them to the same depth without having to adjust the depth.
The overall body is wide but not compared to other battery operated nailers. If you are hitting baseboard under cabinets, this probably wouldn’t be the nailer for you. If you have more room to work with, the overall size will not affect you or your work.
Dewalt Cordless Nailer Review – Value
I think the Dewalt Cordless nailer is a steal for $300 which includes a 2Ah battery, a charger and a bag. The tool is solid and not having to deal with a fuel cell or air hose is a real treat.
Dewalt Cordless Nailer Review – Final Thoughts
Overall the Dewalt DCN680 is a welcome addition to the Dewalt nailer family. The nailer is a quality nailer, very easy to work with and use. Most importantly the nailer is consistent and speedy. If you are looking for a cordless nailer to fill your 18 GA void, this is the nailer to own.
Great review. Looking to get this for woodworking projects.
That big foot print is an issue and would make me stay away from it for now. Guess having an air line handy is in my future. Nice job again Eric.
Thanks for the feedback. Your right, much harder in tight spots.
Hello to the TIA crew, would you consider doing a soft carry bag and a hard case head to head from the different manufacturers, that’s something that is unfortunately still sorely missing, dewalt seems to have the best with their tough system, a review of kit cases would be best instead of stand alone ones in my opinion.
Good point and Milwaukee just came out with their Packout. We will put something together.