OK, 6" pickets it is. You will need either a 1-3/4 or 1-7/8 nail so that when you attach the picket to the face of a 2x4, the point of the nail will not protrude on the back side of the 2x4 when the nail is countersunk. Otherwise, you got a heap of grinding to remove all the protruding points. The coil nailer that you want to rent is called either a siding nailer or a fencing nailer. My recommendation is the Hitachi NV65AH Siding Coil Nailer, bounce-fire trigger. For the fence framing, get any name-brand framing nailer and load it with 3" galvanized ringshank framing nails. Those posts will vibrate too much if you nail onto them with a hammer. Get 100' of air hose and the compressor of your choice.

I'll just quote some replies on another forum: "What you need to do is decide which air tools you might possibly get in the future and then find out how many cfm or air they use. Most tool catalogs will have the information. If all you are going to use is nailers and small "impact" type tools, you will not need as big a compresser compared to what you will need to run an air sander or drill. I will tell you from experience that an air powered sander or grinder will eat up a lot of air and will need a fairly large compressor if it is going to run for any length of time. I have a 3 hp Sears at home and a 10 hp Curtis at the shop. The Sears one works ok with impact wrenches etc, but fire up the sander and it cannot keep up. The 10hp is a two stage and runs at a higher pressure. It will keep up with almost anything we have in the shop except for the bead blast cabinet. So it really depends on what tools you plan on using." "You can get by with a little 2 gal compressor from Lowes or Harbor Freight. Very light weight. Goes to about 120 psi. But it will cycle often. Will not push a paint sprayer or air wrench, but it will work fine for one nailer. Cost less than $100, sometimes around $75." "You have some basic choices. You can spend $100-160 and get a good quality oilless unit that will do all that you want it to do, be small and portable but still be somewhat loud. Bostich, PCable, etc. Or, you can spend $200-300 and step up to an oil-lube unit in a dual tank or single 4 gal tank design and get better durability and quite a bit quieter operation. Or, check out the Bostich compressor thread that mentions their TrimPro compressor which is super lightweight, quiet and will run trim nail guns and such for $150 or so. What ever you do - I highly suggest not getting the big mombo $200 Coleman type 4-6HP compressors that you see at SamsClub or HD or Lowes - you know, the 3-4' tall jobs... I did that at first, and they are not that great because they are super LOUD and take forever to fill up! My suggestion is to get a good brand small oil-lube compressor and stay away from large units or cheapo units like HF. There are a couple great deals going right now - one in particular is the Amazon clearance sale (check thread) where they are selling a Dewalt twin-stack oil lube with a 2" brad nailer for about $200 - wow - what a price! The brad nailer is worth $100. Also - Sam's Club is clearing out Bostich twin stack oil-lubes for $197 or so. Also a good deal is the Porter Cable twin nailer compressor combo for $175 at Amazon - although it's an oiless - so it'll be louder - it comes with two nailers that are worth a good $150 or so; makes the compressor seem pretty cheap. Either of these choices or their equivalant will handle roofing, framing, trimming, tires, rafts, some airtools and blow guns. Best possible choice for an all-around compressor. I have a friend who bought a HF compressor and that thing has never been right - don't low-rent this purchase and don't buy a husky, ridgid or craftsman - they are designed to be cheap - don't be fooled by the colors or the fancy features." "As others have said, the pancake will work fine for the amount of air you will need for nailers. If you want to get a brad and finish nailer, the porter cable set will be a pretty good deal for you. The pc brad nailer is a really nice gun, the finish nailer is solid not as good as the hitachi, and the set usually comes with a stapler or sander as a throw in. I think Amazon has the kit for $289 or so and they have been offering all kinds of discounts in the last month, $75 off $300 purchase, etc."

Really appreciate all the help! Meldy - I haven't seen Quikwood yet (not sure I had seen it in our local stores, either). But good news...I bought the Elmer's wood filler yesterday - came in white (couple of others came in what they called "natural" which was a putty white greyish color - natural what??) and works wonderful!! It isn't solvent based, came in a tube that I snipped and can actually just squeeze into a bunch of nail holes and then go back and flatten down, plus is water washable around the holes for a little while - probably 5-10 minutes, where the Dap was drying almost instantly. So I'm making progress now! thull - my thoughts had been to buy 2 colors of filler for the cherry, because as you probably have also on the natural cherry, there are light/dark variations - sounds like I should go a shade darker on each also, eh? I think I will use the MinWax for the cherry - that was really easy to work with especially if it could be dug out and refilled in the future.

I'm with HandyMac, nailer, pinner and a stapler, except I use a 15 gauge nailer instead of a 16. Reason is that most trim companies here will buy nails if you are Senco compatible, but if not, you have to keep receipts and chase them around to get reimbursed, and Senco has more of a market presence in 15 gauge nailers. If you have a Lowe's nearby, ask the tool department salesmen about the Senco Christmas special. $199 for a 15 gauge nailer, but if you get a box left over from the Christmas sale, there's also an 18 gauge stapler inside for the same price. I can't recommend Senco's micropinner combo kit, because the compressor (PC1010) that comes with it is billed as a disposable and only has a 90 day warranty. It's one handed light, and the one my boss essentially gave me still works, but I don't have confidence in it. Generally Porter Cable and Senco's are preferred by the crews I've worked on, partly because they're reasonably well made, partly because Senco's are essentially maintained for free if your business has a nail supply contract with them. If you're moving around a lot, a nail here and a nail there, and you can afford the extra expense of the cordless nailers, they might be worth a look. The people I work with that have them leave them home unless they know they are going to be doing punchout and don't have a compressor. For the most part, the general consensus is that a pancake style Porter Cable compressor and regular hose connected nailers are a better way to go. Make sure that the guns you get fire the size nails you need to use, (wider range of lengths usually equals a higher purchase price), that the nails that fit them are easily available in your area, decide whether you want to pay more for an oil-less nailer or put up with the hassle and potential mess of guns that require daily oiling, and then, price and personal taste pretty much conclude the decision making process, as long as your looking at the major brands.