Makita AN923 vs AN924: My Hands-On Tool Review

I run a site to test work tools. I took both of these air nail guns out. I brought them to a real job site. I used them for weeks. I built big wood frames. Here is what I saw.

Makita AN923 Review

I tested the old nail gun on a shed build. It feels very heavy in the bare hand. The tool weighs over nine pounds. This is with no nails in the track. My arm felt sore fast on the site.

I used it to drive long steel nails. I shot them into thick pine wood studs. The gun has good kick back control. It does not jump out of your tight grip. You hold it tight when you fire it hard.

The gun is very tough for basic wall frames. It works well on flat bare ground. You do not have to worry much at all. The gun will not break on the job site. But the heavy mass is a big bad flaw.

The rear load track takes way too much time. You lose good time on a fast work job. You have to pull the stiff slide back. Then you put the nail strips in the slot. This slows down your work pace a lot.

The depth dial sits under the front grey nose. It is hard to turn with thick gloves on. Thick work gloves make it tough to set right. I had to take my gloves off a lot. This is real bad in the cold wind.

The gun proved to be a tough raw beast. I used it hard for three full work weeks. I dropped it twice from a short step stool. No tool parts broke from the hard flat falls. But the gun had a hard time with dense wood.

Makita AN924 Review

I took the new nail gun out the next week. I used it to build a large wood back deck. I felt the light tool weight right away. It weighs a bit over eight pounds in hand. My wrist felt much better at the day end.

This new tool uses a top load feed slot. You just drop the long nail strips right in. It is much faster than the slow rear track. This holds many nails ready to shoot real deep. They drive into the thick wood studs fast.

The new tool has a heat hard steel push blade. This steel blade hits hard wood wood knots well. It does this without snapping or bending at all. I drove many nails into thick dense deck beams. I did not have a single broke tool part.

The raw force boost is very clear to see. The new gun has a big air tank built in. It drives long nails flat into hard floor beams. It does this with no trouble or strain at all.

You can flip back and forth real fast now. You do this with just your thumb tip point. You do not have to fight a stiff dial. The nose teeth on this gun are very sharp. They bite in fast on the wet bare wood.

I did not have any slips at all on site. The dry fire stop lock works very well too. It stops the gun dead in its tracks fast. This keeps the inside parts safe from raw harm. It stops a loud and bad blank dry shot.

Detailed Comparison for Makita AN923 vs AN924

Here is a close look at these two tools. I will show how they match up on a site.

Size and Weight Feel

Tool mass is a huge deal on a job site. The old gun is just far too heavy. It weighs over nine pounds with a hose. Your arms will burn tight and get sore fast.

The thick grip on the old gun is wide. My hand got tired from the big handle base. You have to rest more times in the long day.

The new gun drops the tool mass down well. You can work long and fast all day long. You do not get deep ache in your wrist joints.

Magazine and Reload Speed

Putting new nails in should be real fast. The old gun uses a bad rear track style. You have to pull the stiff slide far back. You lose good time when you fill the gun.

If you wear thick gloves, it is much worse. The old rear track is quite hard to use. The tight slide can slip out of your hand.

The new gun uses a top load drop track. You just drop the new nails right in. You can fill it in three quick ticks flat.

Power and Firing Strength

You need a big nail gun for strong work. The old gun does well in soft pine wood. But it runs real short on thick hard wood. It leaves some thick nail heads high up.

When a nail sits high, you have to fix it. You have to grab a heavy hand tool hammer. A pro air tool should sink the nail flush.

The new gun has a big air tank part. It hits much harder when you pull the switch. It sinks long nails flat on the first shot.

Interface and Controls

The old tool has a hard three mode dial knob. You have to push it hard with raw force. Then you twist it to change how the gun shoots. It slows you down a ton on the job.

The old depth dial is tucked way up high. Dirt and wet mud get stuck in there fast. They make the small dial freeze up on the job.

The new gun has a two way flip type switch. It sits right near your thumb tip end. It gives you super fast gun mode change speeds.

Safety and Tool Protection

Safe tool parts keep you out of the sick ward. The old gun has a good dry fire stop lock. But the heavy mass makes it real easy to drop.

If you drop a heavy gun, bad things soon occur. The cast tool parts can crack on a hard floor. The thin belt hook on the old gun is poor.

The new gun has a dry fire safe lock too. But the light weight makes it much safer here. You have far better hand grip on the tight frame.

Final Practical Table

This chart gives the real end score sum. The new gun clearly wins the whole long day. It wins for basic ease and fast daily use speed.

The old gun is quite tough to break. But it takes way too much sheer arm work. See the plain truth facts in the clear chart down here.

After weeks of hard true site tests, the top pick is clear. The new nail gun is a much better tool choice. It is light, hits real hard, and takes in new nails fast. I highly urge you to pick the new gun.