Problem - U400 not firing 10mm Vnails (2025)

On further inspection, it appears that the 10mm tray might be bad. I removed the vnail head and tried to fire a Vnail. The driver worked fine but didn't engage the Vnail. Inspecting it further it appears that the VNail tray is not seated fully causing the driver to not engage the VNail. The images below are for the the 10mm tray and the 12mm tray. I almost can't tell the difference and looking at the images now, its hard to tell which is which but I think the top one is the 12mm and the bottom one the 10mm. Further inspection of both trays show some minor differences but it seems that minor differences are enough to doom the tray. Replacing the tray is expensive; $122.04 for the tray and an outrageous $28.57 for shipping. I would be out of business if I charged that for shipping. Tomorrow when I am back in the shop, I will see if a tuneup with a metal file can adjust the 10mm tray so it sits properly. Better to try that first before spending $150 for a new tray.

Larry Peterson said:

On further inspection, it appears that the 10mm tray might be bad. I removed the vnail head and tried to fire a Vnail. The driver worked fine but didn't engage the Vnail. Inspecting it further it appears that the VNail tray is not seated fully causing the driver to not engage the VNail. The images below are for the the 10mm tray and the 12mm tray. I almost can't tell the difference and looking at the images now, its hard to tell which is which but I think the top one is the 12mm and the bottom one the 10mm. Further inspection of both trays show some minor differences but it seems that minor differences are enough to doom the tray. Replacing the tray is expensive; $122.04 for the tray and an outrageous $28.57 for shipping. I would be out of business if I charged that for shipping. Tomorrow when I am back in the shop, I will see if a tuneup with a metal file can adjust the 10mm tray so it sits properly. Better to try that first before spending $150 for a new tray.

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I'm not sure what a V-nail "Tray" is, as my AMP nailers are pre Fletcher.
The lower picture seems to have metal side pieces that have bent in blocking the V-Nail from reaching the firing position.
I am unsure how that would happen.
Filing, or straightening the metal sides with pliers seems likely to work.

wpfay said:

Have you spoken to Tech Support at Fletcher? This might be a known issue, or at least one they are familiar enough with to help with a work-around. I would be hesitant to modify anything if there is still any Warranty left, as it might cancel that.

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Not yet. I'll see how it plays out here first. I have had trouble getting a hold of their tech support in the past.

alacrity8 said:

I'm not sure what a V-nail "Tray" is, as my AMP nailers are pre Fletcher.

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The design of the U400 is a departure from previous models. I'm have a VN42 (dead as a door-nail and rotting way in my storage room), a U200; my backup and the U400.

The VN42 and the U200 share the same vnail delivery design with the U400 being a redesign.

In the VN42, the vnails sit in a spring loaded slot that doesn't change with different vnail sizes. What does change is the Nail Head.

There is a different nail head for each vnail size. If you use 5, 7, 10, 12 and 15mm nails then you need 5 different nail head, one for each size. Changing nails requires you to remove the nails from the slot, change the nail head to the new size and insert the new nails.

The U400 uses a different design. The nail head is the same for a sizes of vnails. It never gets changed. What has been added is a vnail tray as shown below.

There is a nail tray for each different vnail size. 5 vnail sizes, 5 different trays. The image above show two trays, one loaded and one empty.

While a little fuzzy (my phone camera wasn't totally awake this morning), this shows two different trays. Notice how the base is different heights so that the vnails. sit flush with the top of the tray. To change the Vnails you remove the entire tray and insert the new one. The tray on the right is the supposedly defective 10mm tray. And finally below is two filled trays; 15mm on the left and 10mm on the right. see how the are flush with the top of the tray.

Here is what $28.57 for shipping gets you. The first image is the unopened package from FT; an 8x10 13 oz, padded mailer. The second is the opened mailer with all , that's all, the packing material; a single plastic envelope. No more. that's it for the low low shipping price of $28.57. I would like for someone from FT to see this. I priced out a return using the same materials from my Pirate Ship account. UPS was $7.03, USPS Ground Advantage was $6.25. Add in about a $.50 for the mailer and my total shipping cost is around $7.50. So where is the extra $21 I spent going. Didn't know that shipping is a profit center. Must be.