Hardwood Floor Nailer Shoe

Here's a new tool addition that makes installing solid hardwood flooring easier. Shown on the right is a standard Bostitch MIIIFS flooring stapler before someone came up with something called a nailer shoe.

What's a nailer shoe and why is it advantageous to have? The gizmo attaches to the bottom plate of many nailers including the following manufacturers:

If you look closely at the photo on the right we have the stapler in action. It is necessary to have the bottom plate slide along the top of the board while nailing and positioning yourself for the continuation. Often what happens is the nailer will not seat correctly when the plunger is tapped which forces the nail or staple above the tongue and into the subfloor at a 45 degree angle. The result? A fastener that has been "nailed" improperly. It may have found a home well above the tongue area or on the face of the board. The latter will have to be removed; not an easy job considering how a pnuematic hardwood floor nailer drives nails.

The addition keeps the flooring nailer better aligned during the course of nailing a hardwood floor. The tool will no longer wobble as it now has a seat into which it lays. It becomes more balanced. An added benefit is the shoe provides better surface protection of the new hardwood. This is particularly important when installing factory finished flooring. In other words, the likelihood of premature scratching from the actual nailer is reduced.