Nail Gun

Do not try this at home – though George Chandler did. A nail gun “accidentally” fired a 2-1/2” nail into the top of his head. Uh-huh.

According to KCCT-TV (Kansas City, MO), this particular mishap occurred last week while Chandler, in Shawnee, KS, and a friend were doing a backyard project: The nail gun hose became tangled, causing the tool to fire one nail. Chandler said Monday he told his friend he didn't know where the nail went, but he felt a sting on the top of his head.

Thinking really, really hard, they soon realized that the nail was driven into Chandler’s head. So they called an ambulance and he was rushed to a hospital. An ER doctor used a common claw hammer to remove the nail.

He’s quoted as saying he feels “very lucky, very, very lucky” to have escaped serious injury. This unusual incident caught my eye because it doesn’t speak very well for the nail gun itself.

Interruptive safety note, via the Compliance Center: Nail guns have the capacity to fire several nails per second at a velocity over 1,000 feet per second. Although these physics will allow a nail gun to fire a projectile almost 4 inches into fully stressed concrete, when accidentally applied to the human body, the resulting damage can be severe…injuries to more critical areas of the body, such as the head, neck, and chest may occur.

That being said, this is a blog about marketing and advertising. Look at Ezinearticles.com for this helpful article: If you're in the market for a nail gun then you've either been watching too many B horror flicks or you've decided that an upcoming project is going to have too many nails for you to hammer in by hand. Choosing the right nail gun…and going to the hardware store or shopping online will be a much better experience for you if you go prepared with a little bit of knowledge.

I love the article – it’s helpful; very clear about choosing a nail gun based on building bird houses or barns – a hundred of ‘em a year. Which leads back what brand we’re dealing with here. It is unknown.

The news article didn’t identify the brand. Was it the Bostich 2-1/2” coil siding nailer (say, the well-known Model N66C-1) or the Max CN565S Coil Siding Nailer, selling new for a pricey $378 from ToolsPlus.com?

(I hope it wasn’t the new Makita AN922 because I had a torrid but very brief relationship – about 55 seconds – with Señorita Makita 2004…the 2008 models are lovely but whew!…this is advertising the old-fashioned way. I swear, though, the poster was for my son Doug, not me.)

Chandler wasn’t killed, thank the Lord. Still, the nail gun doesn’t seem to have done a very good job – or have I been watching too many B movies? The world doesn’t need another ineffective nail gun, you know.

On the other hand, imagine the ads you could do for this particular nail gun. I see a Chandler testimonial as merely the starting point.

PS: Note the last line in the Ezine article: Be safe, have fun - in that order! The x-ray above is not that of handyman Chandler. RLB.