Are you into casual DIY projects such as crown molding? The Porter-Cable PCC790LA 20V MAX Cordless Brad Nailer is a great choice for you. This powerful tool has a balanced weight and a variety of convenient features to help you in the event of jamming and stalling.
If you want to know whether the Porter-Cable PCC790LA 20V MAX Cordless Brad Nailer is just right for you, read my review below – I’ve listed its features, specs, pros, and cons.
Porter-Cable PCC790LA 20V MAX Cordless Brad Nailer
As a cordless brad nailer, this tool works best for most crown molding projects where you’ll need a lightweight tool that still packs a lot of power.
Specifications
This brad nailer accepts 18-gauge nails with a fastener length capacity of 5/8 to 2 inches. With a magazine capacity of 100 nails, it has a sequential firing mode for successive nail input. The tool weighs 5.9 pounds and spans 12.5 x 11 x 3.9 inches.
Quality
The cordless brad nailer is backed by a 3-year limited warranty from Porter-Cable, plus a 1-year free service and 90-day money-back guarantee. The tool comes with the corresponding battery (PCC680L) and charger for you to use right away.
To further increase the quality of the tool, it has a couple of durability features. As for the design of the unit, it has a motor that helps maintain a consistent firing power as well as an optimal center of gravity to reduce user fatigue.
Usability
The jam clearing mechanism of this cordless brad nailer is tool-less, making it simple to use. To keep your surfaces clean and safe from abrasions, it is equipped with two no-mar pads. The magazine loading is on the side of the tool. Since most of its settings require no tools to tweak, it is quite user-friendly.
Aside from that, it has dual LED lights to illuminate your workspace. I like that it has a trigger lock-off to prevent you from accidentally firing the brad nailer (especially when it doesn’t have nails in the magazine). What’s more, it has a tool-less stall release lever to further simplify your operation.
Should You Buy the Porter-Cable PCC790LA Cordless Brad Nailer?
The Porter-Cable PCC790LA is a great cordless brad nailer for you if you’re mostly working on crown molding and simple DIY jobs that require a delicate nailing tool. It has most of the anti-jamming protection mechanisms, which will simplify the job ahead.
If you are still unsure about the decision, go through the below list of the pros and cons of the tool.
Pros of the Porter-Cable PCC790LA
Let’s start with the pros.
It has a tool-less stall release lever.
Stalling is a common scenario with nail guns, which is why having a stall release lever that doesn’t require tools will help you to reduce frustration and downtime.
While most other nail guns require you to use an Allen wrench or external tools to work on the release lever in case of stalling, this unit doesn’t, which will put your mind at ease.
It has a convenient jam release mechanism.
This jam release mechanism also doesn’t require tools. Jamming often happens when you’ve fired too quickly or if you accidentally use the incorrect nail size. To help you get a jammed nail out of the tool right away (and without much frustration), having this kind of jam release will help a lot.
The tool has LED lights.
LED lights are helpful for low-light situations, such as when you’re making home repairs or remodeling. If you are working on crown molding and the room lighting is limited due to making repairs on the light circuitry, you’ll have a hard time looking at your work area. That’s when LED lights come in handy.
Most brad nailers have two lights on both sides to help you accurately fire the nails in succession to your work area. LED lights not only help promote safety but also accuracy in your work. Added accuracy will help so that you don’t have to redo the whole project over again, which saves time.
The depth adjustment is easy to work with.
Since this cordless brad nailer has a tool-less adjustment wheel, you’ll feel less frustrated with the depth setting. This will save you trouble with working on different levels of depth depending on the project that you are working on – and without damaging your material.
Cons of the Porter-Cable PCC790LA
Even though the Porter-Cable PCC790LA is a great tool, there are a few cons worth noting as well.
It only has one firing mode.
This nailer only has a sequential firing mode but not a contact actuation mode, so it will only appeal to people who want to fire only one nail at a time.
It has slight recoil.
When you make shots with this tool, there’s a slight recoil which could leave a small dent on your material, which is why utilizing its rubber tip is very important.
What Are the Alternatives to the Porter-Cable PCC790LA?
If the Porter-Cable PCC790LA simply didn’t appeal to you, here are some other worth-mentioning cordless brad nailers to consider:
The Ryobi P320 Airstrike Cordless Brad Nailer (read my review) is a great similar choice due to the similarity of having a built-in LED light for dim working areas. Aside from that, it has a tool-less jam release feature, similar to that of my Porter-Cable pick. Moreover, you’d prefer this if you want more nails driven per charge (up to 1,700), plus it’s lightweight at only 5 pounds.
Similar to my first pick, this unit also has two non-marring pads to protect your surface. However, it has slightly more magazine capacity (105) than the Porter-Cable unit. The only small concern is that this is a bare tool, so you must buy the battery separately.
Another similar option featuring LED lights is the DeWalt DCN680D1 20V MAX Cordless Brad Nailer (read my review) . You will like this if you are looking for both single and rapid firing (as the Porter-Cable unit only has rapid or sequential firing), which will be useful for a variety of projects.
This unit from DeWalt also has a low nail lockout that prevents dry firing. Another difference is that this unit has a brushless motor, which has an advantage over normal tools that run on carbon brushes, since it doesn’t require a lot of maintenance and will run cooler on a hot summer day. Similar to my Porter-Cable pick, however, it has a stall release lever that’s also tool-less, as well as a tool-less nail jam release feature.
If you want a lighter unit, the Craftsman CMCN618C1 V20 Cordless Brad Nailer Kit (read my review) is for you, which only weighs 5.3 pounds, minus the battery. It has a similar magazine capacity (100 nails) and it also has an optimal center of gravity design, just like my Porter-Cable pick.
For those who want a unit that comes with extras, this is the tool to have since it already comes with 2-inch and 1-1/4-inch brad nails with 100 pieces each to get started. It also has a belt hook and an overmold grip to decrease user fatigue. Like my main pick, it has a stall release and nail jam feature that doesn’t require tools as well.
Summary
Overall, the Porter-Cable PCC790LA is a great nailer to get if you’re eyeing simple crown molding jobs around the house. Due to its tool-less stall and jam release mechanisms, you’ll find it easier to work with firing problems without significantly increasing downtime, so you’ll get back to work in no time.
It also has various convenient features, such as easy depth adjustments and LED lights for you to work in the dark. While it only has sequential firing mode and a slight recoil, it still works well as a basic DIY brad nailer for most home projects.