Bostitch has recently announced a new line of brushless cordless nailers.
The new Bostitch nailer lineup will include an 18 ga brad nailer, 16 ga straight finish nailer, 15 ga FN-style angled finish nailer, 28° wire weld framing nailer, and 30° paper tape framing nailer.
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Each nailer is powered bu a brushless motor and features tool-free depth adjustment and tool-free selector for switching between sequential and contact (bump fire) actuation modes. The finish nailers have a narrow nose design.
The big claims are that gas-powered nailer users can switch to save money by not having to purchase consumable fuel cells, and that they’ll save time, effort, and money in not having to clean and lubricate the tools.
It’s said that pneumatic nailer users can save up to 20 minutes a day in setup and cleanup times if they switch to using completely battery-powered nailers.
BCN680 18 Ga Brad Nailer
The 18 gauge brad nailer, BCN680, can drive brad nails 5/8″ to 2-1/8″ long, and features the mentioned narrow nose design for more accurate nail placement. The 16 and 15 gauge finish nailers also have a similar narrow nose design.
BCN680D1 Kit MSRP: $299
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The brad nailer kit comes with a 2.0Ah battery and charger.
BCN662 16 Gauge Straight Finish Nailer
The new 16 ga straight finish nailer can handle nails 1-1/4″ to 2-1/2″ long.
BCN662D1 Kit MSRP: $399
The kit comes with a 2.0Ah battery and charger.
BCN650 15 Gauge FN Angled Finish Nailer
The new 15 ga angled finish nailer can also handle nails from 1-1/4″ to 2-1/2″ long.
BCN650D1 Kit MSRP: $399
The kit comes with a 2.0Ah battery pack and charger.
BCF28WW 28° Wire Weld Framing Nailer
Bostitch says that this, and the paper tape framing nailer, are:
the first of the new BOSTITCH framing system with battery-operated convenience for large or small jobs including stick framing, sheathing, setting trusses, or fences. They include a 2-speed switch optimized for different fastener lengths and LED indicators for stalls or low battery.
Both can handle nails 2″ to 3-1/2″ in length and 0.113″ to 0.131″ in diameter.
BCF28WWM1 Kit MSRP: $399
BCF28WWB Bare Tool MSRP: $319
The kit comes with a 4.0Ah battery pack and charger.
BCF30PT 30° Paper Tape Framing Nailer
BCF30PTM1 Kit MSRP: $399
BCF30PTB Bare Tool MSRP: $319
The kit comes with a 4.0Ah battery pack and charger.
First Thoughts
Hmm, is it me or do these nailers look a little familiar?
Here’s the new Dewalt 18 gauge brushless brad nailer that recently came out.
Here are the two side by side.
Oh, their model numbers? DCN680 for the Dewalt, BCN680 for the Bostitch.
I asked Bostitch 2 questions:
1. How do these Bostitch nailers differ from Dewalt’s?
They replied with:
These new Bostitch Cordless Nailers utilize a flywheel motor design which drives various nail collations that are found on Bostitch pneumatic nailers today. For example, Bostitch Cordless Nailers offer tools with 28° Wire Weld Framing & 15GA FN Angled Finish collations.
Okay, so Dewalt has recently come out with a 15 ga DA-style nailer DCN650. Bostitch is coming out with an FN-style nailer.
Learn More: Angled Finish Nailers: DA vs. FN Styles
So I guess this makes sense. The Bostitch lineup are parallel to Dewalt’s and seem to offer direct Bostitch-to-Bostitch upgrade paths fro current Bostitch pneumatic nailer users.
I also asked:
2. Is this a new platform, or is it based off of the 18V battery system that was tied to Bostitch’s Walmart-exclusive lineup from a few years ago?
Reply:
This line up of new Bostitch cordless nailers is exclusively powered by the new Bostitch 20V MAX* battery platform.
Alright, so this is a new Bostitch 20V Max battery platform. Or maybe just the batteries are upgrade to higher capacity? But “new” and “battery platform” suggests an entirely new form factor.
Hmm, the battery packs in kits have model numbers BCB203 for the 2.0Ah compact battery, and BCB204 for the 4.0Ah battery. The charger is model BCB115. These are direct translations of Dewalt 20V Max battery platform products – DCB203, DCB204, and DCB115.
I really hope that the battery pack model number similarities indicate cross-platform compatibility, BUT if that were the case, I would expect there to be some mention of this in the press release or marketing materials.
The tools aren’t entirely identical, at least externally, and so we cannot make assumptions about cross-brand battery and tool compatibility. You can be sure that I will ask, but I won’t hold my breath. There are reasons why Stanley Black & Decker might want to maintain distinct and separate battery platforms for their different brands.
Both Dewalt’s DCN680D1 and Bostitch’s BCN680D1 brushless cordless 18 gauge brad nailer kits are priced at $299.
The two nailers have slight external differences. For instance, the Bostitch brad nailer has an extra loop located between the nail magazine and battery, with what looks to be on-board spare non-marring tip storage.
The internals could be very different, but it’s hard to say.
The big question left in my mind is about how the Bostitch and Dewalt tools differ. Is there any difference in performance? Speed? Durability?
With very similar tools at the same price, how to choose between them? If you’re looking for a DA style angled finish nailer vs. an FN style one, the decision is a little easier. But what if you need a brad nailer or 16 gauge straight finish nailer?
Update: Nevermind – like Raoul mentioned in the comments, I too forgot that the Dewalt 16 gauge is an angled finish nailer, not straight, meaning that only the 18 ga brad nailer seems common in both lineups.
At the same price, I would lean heavily towards Dewalt. The Bostitch tools are likely designed and engineered by the same team that designed the Dewalt tools. But unless you need one of the Bostitch-specific nailer styles, why work in a more limited cordless power tool platform? Unless Dewalt and Bostitch tools and batteries are now compatible, but as mentioned I have my doubts.
Are you as confused as I am, or do you see selling points for the Bostitch nailers that I might have missed?
Chris
I find it really odd that they look nearly identical to dewalts. And I’m curious as to why bostich went with their own battery instead of using dewalts battery.
Many other tools use other brand batteries. Mac and senco use dewalt batteries,
Southwire uses Milwaukee.
So why would bostich not do the same?
jtr165
Senco uses Dewalt batteries? I don’t think that’s the case, but could be wrong.
Chris
Oops. I meant Graco!
jtr165
Ha, no problem. I only asked because I closely considered the Senco Fusion line a few months ago, but read too many complaints about the quality and availability of their actual batteries.
Nathan
didn’t the old bostich battery only have 4 connections like the weaker BD and Porter Cable packs.
I could see the new tools need the current – like a dewalt does – such that they use the connections and control logic Dewalt uses. (load balancing – temp monitoring – etc)
and I would say they are indeed the Dewalt product with a few minor changes – just like their pneumatic counterparts. And I hope the batteries are interchangeable – or very close to it.
Surprised they don’t say something something smart point in the literature. I thought that was their new thing.
fred
I don’t know what to think. Bostitch always had better brand recognition for nail guns and staplers than Dewalt . But the Dewalt brand was a Cinderella story for B&D – having been turned into their flagship for professional small power tools. So I guess it was natural to use the Deawlt brand on the first few rounds of cordless nail guns. Next – SBD started introducing pneumatic and cordless nail guns under the Porter Cable brand. The PC tools were presumably targeted at the DIY or budget-minded markets. Then, a few years ago, SBD decided to slap the Bostitch name on hand tools and other items which IMO were weak sisters – some rather junky – sold at Lowes. Some of those items seem to thankfully have disappeared – not continuing to dilute the Bostitch brand. Now they are back on track – sticking to their knitting. But does the world really need another SBD nail gun variant? I see what they told you about differences – telling you what the Bostitch does – but not really comparing it to the Dewalt competitor. I assume that SBD does not want the new Bostitch guns to cannibalize sales of the Dewalts. Maybe they’re right – and their total sales will expand with Bostitch competing with Ridgid, Hitachi and others leaving sales of Dewalt nailers intact. If the new guns are really more closely compatible with their pneumatic cousins – then I think they need to really step up their advertising verbiage to promote them as such.
Joe
I’d say Dewalt gen 2…..also it hurts Dewalt by having very similar guns. Just looks like rebranding. ……stuff like that kills your rep. …
Raoul
Seems like they’re badge engineering like GM does, which sucks imo.
On another note, since the correlation of part numbers between the brands seem to be dead on, I wonder if we can expect an update to Dewalt’s 16g finish nailer. The current one is DCN660 and the Bostich is BCN662. At least one difference would be the narrow nose design.
Raoul
It didn’t click in my thick skull at first but just realized the Bostitch 16g nailer is straight and the Dewalt is angled.
Stuart
Argh, I keep forgetting that too.
Austin
Another battery powered gun from the same brand that’s on the same level as the dewalt doesn’t make sense. They have the cheaper porter cable and dewalt. They either need an in between or a super premium one. The good better best system seems to work good for tti. Ex ryobi ridgid Milwaukee
Adam
I swear some of the Bostich tools from a couple years back used the B&D 20v batteries. Made more sense than using a Dewalt one if they didn’t want to dilute the Dewalt brand. The B&D batteries are usually much cheaper than a Dewalt one.
Ed
I would think they are geared for sale in stores that sell Bostitch brand tools , but not DeWalt brand, such as Menards
Stuart
I hadn’t considered that, thanks!
fred
Ah Ha – that makes sense.
Andrew
Yes! Makes sense. They also sell the porter cable 20v stapler and brad nailer.
NateCCIE
The air nailers, with the precision point are very very similar between Bostitch and DeWalt. The only real difference I have found is the dewalts have a swivel air connection screwed and the Bostich have the standard fixed male connector.
Cr8on
Really would have made more sense (in my mind anyways) if they would have gone the “Power by DeWalt” route and not added yet another battery form factor.
JoeM
Both SBD brands… Would not surprise me in the slightest if we took apart both, and found they lied to us all along. That they actually just took Bostitch gun innards, and dropped them in DeWALT shells, changed the motor so it was 20 Volt Max ready, then told us they were 100% DeWALT, when they’re actually 80% DeWALT outside, 100% Bostitch inside, and 20% marketing BS to advance the 20 Volt XR line out of desperation.
After all, Bostitch is already trusted for their nailers in this avenue. Why fix what isn’t broken, right? So… Move an asset here, bonus ergonomics from a wider install base brand like DeWALT there, poof. Suddenly DeWALT has a 20 Volt Max family set of nailers that they can test an audience for desire. When that is drooled over, just port the 20 Volt Max brushless tech back to Bostitch, poof again, Bostitch fans can upgrade to Cordless nailers without having to lose everything they love about Bostitch.
Win-Win for SBD’s sibling companies DeWALT and Bostitch. Annoying headache for Stuart and the ToolGuyd readers.
Stuart
I don’t get the “they lied to us all along” part. About what?
It wouldn’t be scandalous if a Bostitch and similar Dewalt tool shared the same brushless motor, or control module, or gear components.
JoeM
Not in the “I’m Betrayed! You Cheated Me!” kind of lie. A lie in the sense of “Marketing said it was 100% DeWALT. Opening it up reveals it’s actually Bostitch inside, not 100% anything.”
Marketing BS. I’m sure these Bostitch nailers are 100% AS GOOD AS the DeWALT ones. Because they ARE the DeWALT ones, in Bostitch shells instead of DeWALT shells. Same with the battery. Same batteries inside the Bostitch shell for the 20 Volt Max line as are in the DeWALT 20 Volt Max line. In fact, I think these Bostitch ones are AS GOOD AS their Bostitch predecessors as well, and the DeWALT ones are going to ride THAT quality line just the same.
The TOOLS are probably great. The MARKETING PEOPLE… Frankly I’d like to castrate so they don’t breed more of their lying kin. These were probably going to be released first, and then they got held off for the sake of DeWALT getting nailers first, then they just pulled these out of storage.
Dan
Both the Dewalt and Bostitch are reskins from the Porter Cable which launched first. They are all the same. You’ll get the same performance out of the PC for a lot less money than paying for Dewalt/Bostitch unless you’re already in that platform. All the SBD brands use flywheel technology which isn’t as good as the Milwaukee/Hitachi systems.
Tim Taylor
This is absolutely not true. Same style driving mechanism but that is it.
Please do some research before posting. I don’t have time to state all the differences for you.
JoeM
I have MAJOR doubts there. The only scenario that fits is that these Bostitch ones were, at the very least, DESIGNED first. Then, when the overwhelming fan screaming for Porter Cable and DeWALT 20 Volt Cordless Nailers became impossible to deny, SBD tossed the designs for the insides over to Porter Cable and DeWALT to be re-skinned, battery and all. And now, at long last, the marketing departments among the SBD family companies have come down off their drug fueled high, and said “Oh, wait… We’ve had Bostitch nailers all along… Shouldn’t we release them?”
Now here they are, in their original form, as designed. And all across the board, the Marketing departments are claiming THEY designed the nailers, when really it was the Bostitch division.
I trust the tools, no matter what… I THOROUGHLY dislike their Marketing people. Too many lies and double-speak for it to make any sense. They cover up the stupidest things, for the sake of the tool SOUNDING right. A company owns Porter Cable, DeWALT, AND Bostitch? Not to mention several OTHER top-notch hand-tool companies? Why the hell WOULDN’T you just attach the world-class names they came from on the sibling brand, bringing a set level of established reliability to the game?
Bostitch… They’re FAMOUS for nailers of all kinds. It’s in their freakin’ NAME. They STARTED with tools that stitch things together… Then they were bought, and sold, assets and resources included, until they landed under the SBD family… So… DeWALT tough plastic being applied to BOSTITCH quality nailers, staplers, and compressor equipment? DeWALT rail systems added onto them, DeWALT batteries, DeWALT Warranty… So you can now pick up a DeWALT Drill, Saw, or other tool, and add a BOSTITCH Nailer to the same set of tools?
Yeah… I’m sorry, but, the Marketing departments are on drugs if they think admitting the greatest brands on the market are sharing tech for better tools. TTI should do the same with THEIR brands. All this Corporate BS is just idiotic. They bought these companies because they were known for their Tools, not because they were making huge amounts of money on their own… if they WERE, they couldn’t afford to buy the companies in the first place!
So Porter Cable suffered the Marketing Department’s stupidity first… Good to know… I still think they were originally Bostitch, and SBD commanded the “Cheap Brand” and the “Industrial Brand” to get the designs first, before the “Specialist Brand” released their own product.
As to what method is better… I say nothing. That’s totally up to the user buying the thing. The tools will be good either way, but the Marketing departments need a swift kick in the nuts with a rocket-propelled steel boot.
fred
Why should it surprise anyone that marketing departments do what they do to try to put the products that they want to sell in the best light. That may be particularly true when they are trying to launch a new product. Sure, sometimes a company’s name may be worth more than anything else about it – and that may have been partially true of Dewalt when it was purchased by B&D from AMF in 1960. At that time, demand for radial arm saws (Dewalt’s primary tool at that time) was starting to decline – and AMF itself may have been in the starting stages of its decline. For a bit more history: Bostitch (originally The Boston Wire Stitching Co.) was bought by Stanley from Textron (owners of Greenlee and lots more) in 1986; Porter-Cable, along with its sister brands (Delta and DeVilbiss) was bought by B&D from Pentair in 2004.
But part of this tale – includes great marketing at B&D. Years after they acquired Dewalt, their own line of power tools was having an identity crisis. The Black & Decker name was on high-end professional tools like their Super Sawcat and real junk like “burner” saws sold at discount stores. After B&D sold off the Dewalt radial arm saw business in 1989, their marketing gurus set about to use the Dewalt name – and rebadge it as B&D’s flagship for high-end power tools. The acquisition of ELU in 1994 – known for their German-made routers – helped in this process. How they then built the Dewalt brand into a market leader – is considered by many as “marketing genius”
Chris Logan
SBD “plays,” the same marketing, “games,” as every other successful company. It doesn’t matter if you are shopping for tools, laundry detergent, or a car; the potential buyer has more options when marketers find different avenues to sell similar and/or same products to consumers. The consumer wins just as much as the company. Marketing is more than just a product. This discussion seems to miss the other 3 P’s of a successful marketing mix (which IMO SBD nailed!)
Is it confusing? Yes! Will consumers benefit? Yes! Does marketing do consumers a dis-service? No.
These nailers have their place. Potential users could include: non dewalt/ pc platform users, consumers that only have access to bostich dealers due to region/ geography/ dealer territories, consumers trusting in bostich, consumers not trusting in other SBD brands due to negative past experience, consumers who have heavy switching/ overhead costs associated with different collation options, etc.
Food for thought: Bostich has a long following of pneumatic nailers and broke into cordless market with their Paslode style gas nailers years ago. Bostich is a trusted name. Gas nailers are seemingly more obsolete. Perhaps it was time for a change. Also the cordless nailers utilizing a flywheel style engineering was never a proprietary component of Bostich or Porter Cable. It was developed (at least within the SBD brands) in the form factor of Dewalt 18V NiCad finish nailers years before the 20VMAX line up was introduced.
Stuart, like you I would be interested in finding out how they compared in performance, internal components!
Thanks for keeping me up to date with the latest and greatest! Keep up the great work!
Satch
Wow, more brand manouevring at SBD. I note that lately I no longer see the cordless Bostitch drills at Wallyworld. I am not saying they discontinued, but they are not in our super Walmart anymore.
I would love to see SBD do three things; Make DeWalt the pro drill, hammer/rotarydrill, recipro saw, and general contractor tools both corded and corded and cordless.
Next, restore P-C to true pro tools for dedicated woodworking. Routers, biscuit joiners, jigsaw, etc. And ditch that whole upscale diy nonsense they tried to shoehorn them into.
Third, make Bostitch your pro level fastener brand. Both air and battery powered. Their name is well respected in these areas.
Well, I guess there will be a fourth thing. Make all the pro level stuff 20v Max across those three brands for the cordless stuff. Fully interchangeable. I think they would take back the pro market pretty quickly.
Leave all the DIY level stuff in the Craftsman marque for upper tier and the clunky B&D stuff at the super centers. Come on SBD, it is sitting there like a hanging curve ball waiting to be swatted.
Matt
The problem there is the same problem GM has. And it’s why GM badge engineered their way through the 80’s and 90’s. It’s called brand loyalty and can be a blessing but also a curse… If Bostitch is your pro level fastener brand, what about the DeWalt loyalist who doesn’t want a Bostitch fastener tool but wants a pro level DeWalt? What about the DeWalt woodworker guy who wants pro tools for woodworking, not from P-C but from DeWalt? After all, he’s a DeWalt guy. Not a Bostitch guy, or a P-C guy, or even a SBD loyalist guy.
Just like GM. The contractors around here who were Chevrolet loyalists were up in arms for years that they couldn’t get a Denali trim or options such as auto 4wd. Yet Ford offered everything. Finally GM caved and gave Chevy it’s own Denali (High Country). The Chevrolet guys didn’t want a GMC, they weren’t loyal to GM, they were loyal to Chevrolet. It’s now happening with the AWD option in Chevrolet passenger cars. GM tries to force Chevy buyers to switch to Buick instead if they want AWD like Ford offers. Yet Chevrolet owners want Chevy’s, not Buicks. If you’re going to have multiple brands, get ready for a headache. Single brands/companies don’t have that issue. They are what they are.
And like me from when Sears ruled the world, I wanted everything Craftsman. From tools to storage to mowers and the list went on. It Had to be Craftsman or I didn’t want it. Is it logical? No. But it’s just one of those things that is… Even with SBD owning Craftsman now, I’d prefer a pro grade Craftsman tool over any of the other SBD brands. It’s the name I grew up on and I prefer the black-red color.
Satch
I don’t know, Matt. Power too,so are a bit different than cars. I have met the rare tradesman who exclusively used one brand. Even the nomenclature is brand attached. Milwaukee pioneered the reciprocating saw. Of course leading to the Sawzall moniker.
Even though P-C made some really great reciprocal saws before being wrecked by SBD, 95% of trades would by the top level Milwaukee version with the anti-vibraion feature. It was the best as far as they were concerned. Same thing with Bosch and jigsaws. Other than the ridiculously overpriced Festool, if you want the best jigsaw you buy a Bosch. No one ever speaks in any fashion about the Milwaukee, Dewalt , or Makita sabre saws as being the best or demanding their brand out do Bosch for this title. They mostly all just buy Bosch.
I definitely agree about brand loyalty being good and bad in certain situations. But what should we have SBD do? Make all marquees in their stable pro level with complete tool lineups in each brand? Or conversely, do we have them do what they are doing now and watering down good brands in favour of DeWalt? I think the latter is not working as well seeing as how they have lost a lot of the cordless drill market the last five years. Milwaukee has become the sort of de facto leader there.
Now when we keep this strictly concerning cordless then things change a bit. No one ever associates cordless tools with being the best in class. I have never seen a Bosch cordless jigsaw on the job though I am sure they are out there somewhere. I think what I am really getting at is how does SBD manage three or four battery ecosystems and still keep people on board? Either they all get pro level 20 volt max or some of them are going to have to relegated to second tier status or killed off like Pontiac and Oldsmobile. It will be interesting to see how it goes.
Ron
Here is the whole breakdown from start to finish. From the Stanley B+D Corp. comes the lowest of their brands Black and Decker; which uses the older Porter Cable 18v tools repackaged in 20v, The Porter Cable 20v line uses older Dewalt 18v repackaged in 20v for their line. Starting to see a theme here?
The flagship brand Dewalt uses whatever it wants from all the sister brands and in this case Bostitch expertise in nailers. Technically it was co-designed between both brands to satisfy global sales distribution contracts. The Dewalt and Bostitch tools are fundamentally the same mechanically and electronically but the batteries do not fit each other due to molding differences between the two designs battery clamps and external interface. The Bostitch tools do not use the middle charge-sense lead on the batteries like the Dewalt tools do, so if you compare the two, the Dewalt has 5 pins in the actual tool and the Bostitch only has 4 pins, despite having basically a reskinned Dewalt battery with 5 leads. Hope this helps!
David
I just bought the bostich 16 ga. Strait nailer, because I use 16 ga strait nails in all my corded nailers (hitachi) but dewalt makes an angled 16 ga. I didn’t want to have many different nails and wanted to keep it simple and streamlined with the same nails. I was surprised to compare batteries and such between the two brands. It is obvious that these are from the same manufacturer. Not sure who came first, but they are the same…
So after using it for a few days, I decided that it was a keeper. I compared batteries and made rounded cuts to the back of the nailer. Very small mods. But now my dewalt batteries fit the bostich nailer. I modified my dewalt radio charger by trimming off a little tiny tab that keeps the bostich battery from sliding into the radio charger… long story short, they are compatible. They are the same batteries. They have slight outside differences, that are easily modded to allow dewalt batteries to work in the bostich nailers. Now I don’t have to get different batteries and everything is still simple and streamlined. All I did was round the back of the nailer like the dewalt batteries. Obviously there is a problem with warranty and things like that. But I’ve been using it this way for a few months and everything is fine. So if you are willing to void your warranty then they are compatible.
Luckey Dodge
All this is good and lovely, but I need a cordless Carton Closure (box stapler). Bostitch has stopped making and the other one is from Europe. Europe is way too expensive for my budget.
Anyone?