sandylns

Fine Homebuilding list the following nailers they would recommend. Senco, Paslode, Hitachi, Bostich and Porter Cable. All are in the same price bracket and are of equal quality. If you go to their web site they have a ton of information available.
I use a Porter Cable framing nailer alongside their 18ga finish and 23ga pin nailer. Used them for years without a problem.

caretaker

Those are nearly all long time manufacturers of air tools, I never heard of Makita or DeWalt air tools until this thread. Like the recommendation to buy digital cameras from a traditional maker of cameras, not an audio or computer maker that branched out into cameras. They see the market and buy the technology, though airtools are like rocks compared to any kind of technology.

sandylns

You perhaps know Dewalt as Black and Decker. B & D have been on a buying spree and acquired Porter Cable and Delta amongst other brands. They have sold Delta to a Chinese company who will manufacture the brand in the US. Stanley is part of the company as is DeVilbiss.
Black and Decker also manufacture appliances. But, I'm not sure if it is the same company or B&D doing a licence deal.
One good thing is that most of their tools are American made. Makes it much easier to get repairs or parts as opposed to Chinese products.

caretaker

Both B&D and DeWalt are ancient in NA, just for electric tools, not pneumatics. In a lumberyard where there is always a big radial arm saw in the shed for custom cuts it is usually a DeWalt or a Delta, ditto the monster table saw.

sandylns

Dewalt arrived on the scene a few years ago with air tools They purchased ELU in Germany and combined it with Dewalt. And, yes, Dewalt have been in the power tool business for ever. I think it was Dewalt who invented the radial arm saw way back in 1936.
I have a B&D router I purchased new in 1968 and it is still going strong. It has been rebranded as a Dewalt and I can't tell them apart. The design is still the same.

Mad Jockette

My hubby (Trophy) used to repair these for a living.

he says- Don't bother with Campbell Hausfeld or anything like that try Prime Fasteners if you have one in the area.
Cheap and cheerful but, usually quite reliable. Bostich, DeWalt etc are a lot more expensive and not necessarily more reliable.

Good luck

caretaker

Prime Fasteners has the rebuild kits for all the major brands, though my Bostich stapler was too old so they didn't have that one in stock. They were very helpful by encouraging me to take it apart and fix it myself rather than charging me for shop time, and I was able to repair it in less than 2 hours! Industrial grade tools like that one are worth fixing when the replacement cost is $500. That stapler can do so many things it's probably my most versatile tool - subfloor, sheathing, stucco wire, cedar and pine roofing, lattice panels, the list goes on.