Most finish carpenters work with two types of nailers, finish nailers and brad nailers. If you look at the door casing in your home, you’ll see there’s a row of nails close to the edge of the trim, by the door opening; these are done by a brad nailer. Then there’s another row of nails farther back and these have been done by a finish nailer. If you look closely, you’ll see the finish nailers made larger holes than the brad nailers did.
The longer finish nail is intended to go through the trim, drywall and well into the framing of the home. In contrast, the brads used on the edge of the door casing only have to go through the lip of the casing and directly into the door frame. Thus, the nails don’t need to be anywhere near as long nor do they have to structurally hold the trim since the finish nails going into the framing accomplish that.
For more info rmation about selecting a finish nailer, check out our list for the best finish nailers in 2022 and the buyer's guide listed below.