By | October 6, 2017
Reading Time: 3 minutes

Using an Exploded View Drawing

Not just an air nailer

This article is about how I fixed an Air Nailer using an exploded view drawing. This technique can be used for any piece of equipment. If you can find an exploded view drawing you have all the information you need to assemble it correctly.

How it started

I was working on completing my door casing and baseboard installation. Trouble reared up and ground my progress to a halt. My large air nailer developed a problem. It would not feed nails. I thought it was a problem with dirt. So I cleaned out the track and the hammer areas in hopes that it would take care of the problem.

Unfortunately, the problem persisted. Work stopped while I checked out the air nailer. The problem turned out to be the piston stop. It had disintegrated and would not let the hammer retract. Because the hammer could not retract the nails could not advance into the hammer area. I had to order a new piston stop to replace the shattered part.

Complications

On top of the problem with the part, there was now a problem with the assembly of the parts. The piston stop was in so many small pieces that I could not see how it and the surrounding parts assembled. So now I needed to get a handle on how to assemble the remaining parts. Also how the new part and the old needed to be assembled. Without this information, the air nailer may not work correctly or not at all.

Exploded-view drawing

An exploded view drawing is a type of drawing, that shows the intended assembly of mechanical or other parts. It shows all parts of the assembly and how they fit together. In mechanical systems usually the component closest to the center are assembled first, or is the main part in which the other parts get assembled. This drawing can also help to represent the disassembly of parts, where the parts on the outside normally get removed first.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploded-view_drawing

The search for the exploded view drawing

I have used an exploded view drawing in other such situations. As a young man, I was first exposed to exploded view drawings by auto parts stores. Before computers exploded view drawings were the best choice for finding your part. By reading the drawing you can see which part you needed. Also how parts stacked up for assembly. It is important to note that the exploded view drawing is by the manufacturer. This ensures that the information presented is accurate.  This is pretty easy to determine as the manufacturer’s name is usually part of the drawing. If no manufacturer name is present the drawing should be suspect for accuracy. Also, a video product showing the parts(if available) is a good way to confirm the assumptions you are making from a suspect exploded view drawing are correct.

Using an Exploded View Drawing Exploded View Drawing of my air nailer model

Exploded View Drawing of my air nailer model

By using the identification plate on the air nailer I got the model number. It’s important to use the entire number even the version of the tool(in this case designated by letter) as parts could be different between versions. The model number from the identification plate got me to a exploded view drawing of my air tool.

With the exploded view drawing I now had the part number and name to search for a replacement part. I quickly found the part and had it on order.

Using an Exploded View Drawing Close up of affected parts for assembly

Close up of affected parts for assembly

The next thing that the drawing was good for was how the parts stacked up in the air tool. The old shattered part had disintegrated and without it confused me as to how the parts would fit together(see drawing for all parts involved). The drawing gave me a good idea of how the parts stacked up. I now had all the information I needed from this one drawing to get a good outcome from my upcoming fix.

Conclusion

If you are facing a problem with how things stack up on any piece of equipment look for the identification plate get the model number. Take the model number and find an exploded view drawing. It is a wealth of information. So you now know how to read it. You’ll be able to fix anything.

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RayC.
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