Senco

SENCO nail guns and the nails that feed them handle framing, sheathing, roofing, siding, trim and drywall for contractors and serious do-it-yourselfers. The line runs from air-driven FramePro framers and coil roofing and siding guns to finish, brad and pin nailers, staplers, cordless FUSION nailers, DuraSpin auto-feed screw guns and the compressors that run the air tools. What sells a SENCO gun is the fastener behind it: the same company makes the nails, staples and screws, most of them in Ohio, so the gun and the box are built for each other.

SENCO began as the Springtramp Eliminator Company, named for a device founder Albert Juilfs built in his basement to cure a vibration problem in cars, and later shortened its name to SENCO. It built the world’s first pneumatic staplers, for packaging and upholstery, and its headquarters and fastener plant are in Cincinnati, Ohio. Kyocera Corporation bought the company in August 2017, and it now runs as KYOCERA SENCO Industrial Tools. SENCO has made nails and staples in the U.S. from American steel for over 50 years and makes more than 80 percent of its fasteners at the Ohio plant.

Framing nailers and the nails that fit them

Every SENCO framer takes one collation angle and one collation type, and the nails have to match both. The FramePro 34° guns shoot clipped-head nails on paper tape, the same 30° and 34° paper-tape strips that come in bright and galvanized, smooth and ring shank, including SENCO’s ProHead line. The 20° guns, like the FramePro 325FRHXP and the cordless F-35FRHXP, shoot full round head nails on plastic strips. Where the plans or the inspector call for full round heads, that decides the gun before the nails do, so settle it before you buy either.

Paper tape leaves no plastic confetti on the deck, and the steeper 34° magazine gets into tight stud bays and between joists. Plastic strips stand up to wet weather better but throw chips when they fire, so wear glasses and sweep before the next course. Use ring shank in sheathing and subfloor, where the nail has to fight pullout every time the wind leans on a wall, and smooth shank for general framing. For exterior work and treated lumber, run hot-dip galvanized or stainless.

SENCO FUSION cordless framing nailers

SENCO’s FUSION nailers drive with air like a pneumatic, but the air sits in a permanently sealed cylinder inside the tool. There are no fuel cells to buy, no exhaust in a closed-up room and no gas residue to clean. The F-35FRHXP has no ramp-up time between shots, so it keeps pace when you bump fire, it sinks nails flush in LVL and OSB, and each 3.0 Ah battery drives up to 600 nails on a charge. It comes with two batteries, so one rides the charger while the other works.

A pneumatic framer on a compressor is still the tool for a crew nailing walls all day. The cordless one wins on additions, punch lists, a shed out back and any January job where the hose would freeze stiff before you got it uncoiled. SENCO warrants its cordless tools against defects for five years from the purchase date and their batteries and chargers for one year.

Roofing and siding coil nailers

For shingles and lap siding, SENCO’s coil guns run nails on 15° wire coil. A coil holds far more nails than a stick, so you reload less often working across a roof or down a long wall of siding. Set the coil in the canister so it unwinds without twisting, and match the gun’s range to the nail: roofing guns take short, wide-headed roofing nails, and siding guns take the longer ring shank siding nails.

Finish, brad and pin nailers by gauge

Gauge is the nail’s diameter: the lower the number, the thicker the nail. SENCO finish nails and brads come in 15, 16, 18 and 23 gauge, with a finish nailer, brad nailer or pin nailer for each. Thicker nails hold heavier and denser trim but leave bigger holes to fill; thinner ones hold less and leave holes you can barely see.

Use the 15-gauge 34° angled finish nailer on heavy trim and anywhere the trim moves, like door and window casings and jambs. SENCO’s 15-gauge nails come bright with Sencote coating for interior trim, galvanized for exterior trim, and 304 stainless for cedar, redwood and anywhere a rust streak would show. The 16-gauge straight finish nailer does baseboard and general trim with a slimmer nail. Eighteen-gauge brads suit small moldings and thin stock, where a bigger nail would split the wood. Twenty-three-gauge pins leave almost no mark and hold little on their own, so use them with glue and let the pin clamp the joint while it sets.

Staples and cap staples

SENCO’s construction staplers drive 16-gauge staples for sheathing and subfloor, and its finish and fine-wire staplers handle trim, cabinet backs and upholstery. Staples are sized by crown width and leg length, and each stapler takes one crown width, so match both to the tool the same way nails match the magazine. The SENCO cap stapler drives each staple through a plastic cap, which spreads the hold on housewrap, roofing felt and foam board so a wind gust can’t tear them off over the staple. Anyone who has chased a flapping sheet of housewrap across a jobsite in spring knows why that’s worth having.

DuraSpin auto-feed screw guns

DuraSpin guns run collated screws on a strip and feed the next one automatically after each drive, so there’s no fishing in a pouch between screws. On a drywall hang or a subfloor that means hundreds of screws driven to the same depth without stopping. SENCO makes collated drywall screws and subfloor screws for DuraSpin, and a clip-on auto-feed attachment that fits select DeWalt, Makita and SENCO screwdrivers you may already own. The attachment has depth-of-drive adjustment with a lock, tool-free screw length adjustment, and a nosepiece that tilts for toe-screwing. Replace the bit at the first sign of cam-out; a worn bit is what leaves screws standing proud.

Compressors and air tool care

SENCO makes the compressors to run its air tools, from small one-gallon units that carry easily to a trim job up to bigger ones for framing. How long any air nailer lasts depends mostly on the air you feed it. Run clean, dry, regulated air at no more than the maximum pressure marked on the tool, oil the tool if its manual calls for it, and drain the compressor tank at the end of every day. That last one matters more here than most places: water left in a tank or hose in a Montana cold snap freezes, and a frozen line stops the whole crew. SENCO warrants its pneumatic tools for five years.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are SENCO nail guns any good?

SENCO has built fastening tools since it made the first pneumatic staplers, it makes most of its own nails and staples in Ohio from American steel, and it won two Pro Tool Innovation Awards in 2025. Its pneumatic tools carry a five-year warranty. Feed a SENCO gun clean, dry air and the right nails and it will run for years.

What degree are SENCO framing nails?

SENCO makes framing nails at 20°, 21°, 30° and 34° on strips and 15° on wire coil. The gun sets the degree, not the brand of nail, so read the angle off the magazine before you buy a box. Paper-tape strips at 30° and 34° go soft if they get wet, so keep those boxes out of the rain.

Will SENCO nails work in a nail gun from another brand?

Usually they will, as long as the collation angle, collation type, head style, gauge and length all match what’s stamped on the gun. Buy one box and fire a few strips before you stock up. A nail that sits slightly off in the magazine shows up as jams and bent nails.

Does SENCO make air compressors?

Yes. SENCO makes air compressors alongside its nailers and staplers, sized from portable trim-job units up. Its compressors carry a one-year warranty.

Does SENCO make a drywall screw gun?

Yes. DuraSpin auto-feed screw guns run collated drywall screws on a strip and feed the next one after every drive, and SENCO also makes an auto-feed attachment for select DeWalt, Makita and SENCO screwdrivers.