No Mar Pads

[cactusman]

No mar pads are on almost all pneumatic, 18V nailers and staplers.
Every Ridgid nailer has them.

After a while they either wear out or dry rot....It's dry and hot in Arizona
and plastic tends to disintegrate. We don't rust here we oxidize.

When you go to Ridgid parts...you have a 60% chance of finding the no mar pad part!
No photos are shown to make it even more complicated.
For example...the Ridgid R09890B 18V 18 gauge nailer does not even list parts!

Many no mar pads are out of stock or obsolete!

You then hunt for them via E-bay, E-replacement parts, Tool shed...etc.etc.

Often a Ryobi no mar pad or a Bostitch no mar pad may fit but a baby puke green
Ryobi no mar pad on a Ridgid orange tool is simply just not right!

My questions:

How many of you use the no mar pad?
When the no mar pad fails or is lost or discarded are you concerned?
Do you just ignore the no mar pad and if it's there or not, you simply use the tool?


Cactus Man

[CWSmith]

I have three Ridgid nailers (Straight-finish, brad, and framing) all used on rare occasion. I bought them when I was doing a few projects and since then, rarely. The framing nailer came with one pad, which I don't use, because I see no need on framing stock. The brad and straight finish nailer each came with two pads and I've only used the mounted pad which has held up quite well during those projects and are still in good shape. I've yet to use the spares.

BUT, I'm not in any of the trades, I'm a retired home owner. If I were using these tools daily, I would have some concerns and probably searching for a work-a-round. The smaller nailers have a pad that looks like it might be easily replicated or even substituted. The framing nailer pad is much more robust, and intricate to mold around the toothed striker nose. It also has a ring of spring steel around it's perimeter. But in using the nailer (again, I'm not a professional framer or carpenter) I found the nose pad to be an annoyance as it's too easy for the nailer to slip from position, especially when I'm 'toe-nailing' a stud.

CWS