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My old foreman told me to always use a 3-inch finish nail for crown molding, and I argued for years.

Finally tried a 2-inch brad nailer on a tricky vaulted ceiling job in Asheville last month, and the hold is just as good with way less splitting. Anyone else find a specific 'rule' they were taught that turned out to be flexible?
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3 Comments
matthew_wilson22
Rules are just someone's old habit... they're not gospel. If it works and the job's done right, who cares what size nail you used.
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claire_ramirez22
claire_ramirez222mo agoTop Commenter
I get what you're saying about not being too rigid, but with nail sizes there's actually a reason most pros stick to the recs. Use too small a nail and it splits the wood, too big and it weakens the joint over time. I've seen people learn that one the hard way lol.
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caleb_bell
caleb_bell3mo ago
Yeah, you hate to see a good rule of thumb turn into a hard rule.
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