CAMO Marksman Hidden Deck Fastening System/Tool

Best device for installing composite decking. This is the least expensive one. It works fine. Only buy the expensive one if you have a big job to do.

You can only screw one side the rotate 180 and screw the otherside

This was our 2nd one purchased in the last 60 days. 1st time the wrong one was sent.Had good stretch, only worked for 30 screws, very flemsiy durability is poor overall disappointment in this product

This tool 'worked' but it was flimsy and sometimes made the screws go in wonky.The whole thing is cheap plastic and is only one sided. If you got the extra $20 get the double sided model.The system is top notch though, I'm still overall pleased.

I haven't tried the alternatives, but "on paper" this seemed like the best option for installing hidden fasteners. I would not say it is a particularly fast tool, but it should still be much faster than the systems where you separately pre-drill holes using a jig, then install a screw. Similarly, systems where you install clips are also going to eat up time as you fiddle with the clips at each attachment point.The problems I ran into with this tool include:-Sometimes the screw wouldn't drill a hole. It would just spin for 10 seconds or more before finally biting into the wood when some more pressure was applied. My guess is that some screws are not cut properly.-The manufacturer recommends that you fasten a board starting on one end and working sequentially to each adjacent joist while not skipping any. Doing this I ran into several cases where the gap got progressively smaller to the point that the tool's spacer could no longer fit into the gap. To correct this, I had to go back and loosen some screws, finish fastening down the board, then go back and retighten the screws (without the benefit of the jig).-The most troubling problem I experience was that maybe 20% or more of the time the board position would shift by as much as 1/8" when the screw bit into the joist. This suggests something is flawed in the design. Either the screw needs a different drill tip design, or the jig needs a different design that grabs into the joist and holds the board in place more securely. To compensate for this flaw I resorted to using clamps to hold the board in place while fastening, which further slowed down the process.-The manufacturer offers no good solution when you need to fasten a board that is too close to a structure so that you can't fit the jig and driver into the space, or when you need to fasten a board that extends over a rim joist. Generally you can free-hand drive a fastener vertically through the face of a board. The fastener heads are small enough that they aren't very visible, but this still defeats the objective of not having any fasteners visible on the deck surface.-The jig has a built-in spacer, but no mechanism to adjust that spacing. Often when you are decking a small area you need to adjust the spacing between boards so you don't have to rip a board down to fill in a partial board width. While you could insert your own spacer block, the tool doesn't make it easy to do this. Perhaps this is something the pro version addresses.(On a side note, I do see that Home Depot is now stocking compatible screws made by a third party (GRK Fasteners) which might be cheaper than the CAMO screws.)The bottom line is that despite the flaws I'd still use it for another project, unless something better comes along.

I did not use this for inserting the nails as I used the more durable CAMO Marksman. This one is all plastic and light. It was perfect to use as a way to ensure the spacing. I placed the durable Marksman where I wanted to insert the screw and this on 3/4 of the way down on the 8' run so the board would be evenly spaced. Worked perfectly!

Was cheaply made, plastic housing and guide hole. Other unit is steel and has 2 guide holes lined with steel to stand up to the riggers of installing many screws.

Tool worked as advertised. However if you are building a larger deck and you are going to be putting in a lot of screws (and the add up fast) I would go for the more expensive tool. I bought this tool for $20 and the better tool was $40. The biggest thing that the better tool does for you is not having to turn it around to put the 2nd screw in. For instance with this tool you put one screw in and then have to turn the tool around to get the screw into the other side of the board. With the better tool you don't have to do that. It doesnt sound like much but when you are down on your hands and knees, bent over at the waist and balancing yourself on this tool with one hand and trying to put the screw in with the other hand you will appreciate not having to turn that tool around. I do love the hidden fastener system. The original boards were put down with nails and very sloppily at that. The new deck floor looks great with no visible nail or screw heads. Boards seem as secure as if using any other fastener method. If you are replacing the deck boards I would defiantly recommend this system. My deck is fairly small, I put down about 400 to 500 screws and the tool looks no worse for where.