My father worked on his uncle's cattle ranch in Kansas in 1930's. He taught me to orient the long dimension of diamond shape of nails so the wedge would cut across the grain rarher wedge it apart. This to prevent splitting the wood. This knowledge of orientation of points made me a bit more successful a framing carpenter as a teen. He also taught me to twist the point of finish nails into a ball of beeswax to lubricate when using dense oak, hickory or other "nut" woods. I still have his ball of beeswax 20-years after his demise.
You seem to have ‘nailed’ the psyche of the modern woodworker! Almost after every video I think, “how does he come up with these awesome topics to make a video?!”. Brilliantly chosen topics and masterful presentation! Some day, a collection of your videos will become the novice woodworker’s reference book! Thanks a ton!
Jim this was the best tutorial regarding cut nails I have ever seen. I have a coffee can full that were salvaged from a 120 year old barn in Texas. I love using them on all types of projects but now I know why they work so well! Thank you.
First step. Find the jar that has misc nails. Next, empty onto bench, rummage through various nails and screws to find one that works. Check. yep it works. OK, now rummage through to find ALMOST enough for the entire project, but make sure you have at least 1 too few.
On the thankfully rare -40 degree mornings here in northern Wisconsin, it can be alarming to hear the nails popping out of the siding, and I lay in bed wondering if the boards are going to fall off or if any passerby will be shot by the nails flying off the wall.
ok im going to talk about nails, i better put on my leather apron to protect my clothing from the nails now im indoors, so i better put on my hat to keep the sun off me... now i look like i know a lot about nails!
I really dislike your kind... Especially when I'm demoing an old house before remodeling I can't stand any kind of threaded metal without an extractable head
I remember going to the hardware store for nails where they were all in revolving containers. They were labeled 2D, 3D, etc. We'd fill a bag with the ones we wanted and they'd weigh them to determine the final cost. There were sinkers, finishing, ring shank, duplexes, etc. Guys would bring in samples of the wood to check out the nails. We could even discuss the relative merits of each nail.
Very impressive and informative. I'd like to add something about the difference in holding power between cut and wire nails. As a wire nail is driven in the shaft near the tip is relieving internal wood pressure due to its"spreading apart and cutting through the fiber. The portion of the shaft that follows then has less pressure against it. A cut nail however, due to increasing width will maintain pressure against the wood that has just been parted.
As a side note, clinching or deadening should be done across the grain to avoid splitting. Its harder to get flush, but is stronger and more durable. Also should note that in colonial times, nail making was a cottage industry in many homes. Nail stock was made into nails with just a hammer and a small anvil of some sort. This could be done by the hearth in the home in the evenings.
Indeed so. Recently I researched my ancestry and discovered in an 18th century census that my great great great grandfather was described as a nailmaker at his home, he and ALL the family - even the youngest child, a girl aged 7 years, was described as a nailmaker in the trade or profession section. This was in the English Midlands.
Started off collecting all the births/marriage/death certificated I could find, these yielded crucial information such as addresses and dates, then went onto the Internet and accessed the national census records (censuses are held every 10 years and go back to at least early 1800,s). There are various websites which will guide you to the census records, and these will reveal all sorts of useful information. After that, just follow the threads. For early records you can access church parish records, but it takes a lot more effort and I didn't bother. HTH.
I really appreciate the historical aspect of your videos, every time I have watched your videos I have learned something from our past that I plan on implementing in my future. a cut nail I use all the time is horse shoeing nails. I'm a farrier. thank you for your videos.
Thanks for the explanation why this is the case. I was pissed that the walls of a free standing planter kept being pressed out. I noticed that our older outbuildings were still holding up very well and decide it was the nails because it was the only difference and pulled a few and used them. Havent had a problem in 2 years
Good tip on the cut masonry nails. I kind of like the look of those over the wood ones. One could take a torch to bunches of them and easily take the temper out of them.
Zane Greene If the nails are hardened, you'd want to temper them to remove more of the hardness so that they can be bent over without snapping off. Tempering is done after the hardening process to reduce the hardness below the point where the metal is brittle and shatter prone. There are many differing levels of temper. I doubt you'd want to fully anneal them though, as they may become too easy to bend and unable to be driven into the wood.
agree totally, you find your wire nail joints failing some years later, loosing and pulling open, a few seasons of expansion/contraction and load, and your joints are gappy, been fixing a lot of shelves in my garage this year for that reason, 30 years means lots of looseness, though of course nailing into end grain for shelves was a bad way to make them, but it was quick!
Old measurement systems and everything tied to them is confusing as all hell. How to figure out which nails to use. Easy! Rule is, you take fart duration of average cat, multiply by 3.61, then from that number subtract length of three barley corns in 1800s and then give up.
You might also look at a farm store for horse shoe nails for a reasonable substitute. May have to grind heads down a bit, but they work for some projects.
Alright! Another good idea that made a great presentation and shows the high value of a major degree earned at the University of Observation with a minor in keep your mouth shut and your ears and mind open. Thanks for information.
In Sweden you can buy cut nails as baseboard/mouldingnails ("listspik" in swedish) at any building supply store. They are usaly 60mm long and often coated in white paint.
A good compromise between ancient and modern nails is the use of galvanized wire nail. The galvanization of the nail makes zillions of protrusions on the nail and these allow for a very strong holding power of the pieces of wood joined together especially when the wood "swollens" from dampness. They are still widely used in traditional boatbuilding construction when copper riveting is not needed. Actually I do have a couple of handful of galvanized nails on my boat and, yes, they are useful and I use them mostly for temporary repairs. I may add that stainless steel or iron nails on a boat should absolutely be prohibited. The stainless steel is too slippery and the nail does not hold even when the wood "swollens" around the nail, an iron nail is calling for fast rust. At any rate, thanks for posting.
If you need short wedge nails, just look in the upholstry department. Not sure what they're called in English, but they're called Mechanieke Nagels here or clou mecanique in french. Though those are expensive and the longest ones I've seen were only 50mm
I've actually seen cut nails used as decoration in chairs and in couches. Some craftsmen would create a pattern using the heads of the cut nails as well as use cut nails of different materials. A herringbone pattern with black iron and burnished copper nails can make a simple chair look amazing.
Thank you for explaining the size system for penny nails I live in Canada and only hear "penny nail" from US citizens. We use inches and milimeters. I think when I was a kid 70 years ago we used penny nails.
@@gnolls Cause they're mostly likely the exact same boxes of nails also sold in the US. And I've only ever heard other people in America refer to nails by their length in inches. Maybe it's a regional thing.
I have heard that nails were so expensive and valuable that when moving, some settlers would burn down a house to recover the nails without having to pry them out.
I never understood how hard wood floors were installed back in the day with cut nails without cracking the wood. Just hammered it in there right on the toe and that was it.
I want to make a TV stand using 2x6s and I would like to use nails to hold it together as I think it would look cool seeing flush nail heads in the piece. These cut nails seem too expensive so I was curious if using spiral shank nails would be a good alternative. Appreciate any advice you can give me.
I'm looking to install wide plank live sawn pine using the cut nails as an accent. Are you using cut nails only to install? Am considering shiplap. Why are you using shiplap over tongue and groove?
Used shiplap because of the very attractive price point. When we installed the shiplap I used a nail gun to nail the "lip" to the floor and then ran a bead of glue along it before placing another over and next to it. The glue was just to temporarily hold down the over lip. We then pre-drilled 1/8" holes thru the shiplap and into the sub floor. If you want the head of the cut nail to show you can proceed to nail in your cut nails. If you do not want the head of the nail to show then you should redrill the top 3/8" of your previously drilled holes with a 3/8" drill bit (depending what size cut nail you use) to accommodate setting the head of the nail. Once this redrill is done, hammer in your cut nail and then use a punch to set the nail below the face of the shiplap. Fill all the holes with wood filler. We are going back to the property next month to finish the living and dining room. However, this time - due to a time issue - I am just going to use my finish nail gun to face nail the rest of the shiplap down at a 45 degree angle. Will figure out what I am going to do with the rest of the 50lb box of cut nails at a later date. LOL! Hope this addresses your question. If not shoot me an email at handystanley@gmail.com.
I'm about to install wide plank wood flooring by face nailing with cut nails. QUESTION: Does it matter if the nails show rust? Should I be looking for nails without rust?
Thanks for the info, Stumpy. Just to be sure I understand, the wide part of the nail runs with the grain, not across it, right? I just brought home about a pound of cut nails from the antique mall last week, also saw a crank-style butter churn that was big enough to have been made into a table...Have you been following me? Am I following you? Thanks for sharing!
So does the size system you refer to apply only to cut nails? I ask becuase that system would make a 16penny nail 4.5" long and they are 3.5" to my knowledge. Modern nails skip around a bit as they get longer. Or maybe Im not understanding. Good video and informative as always. Thanks for sharing
Great video. Does anyone know of a You Tube video on cut nails where they talk about the pilot holes, how deep to make the pilot holes, and what sized bits to use for pilot holes with different wood and thicknesses?
Just a note .... In the UK pre-decimalisation (of money) the symbol for pennies was D! LSD (not the drug) was short for Pounds, Shillings and Pence .... the L being a simplified £!
How very informative. I never knew the value of cut nails. All I knew was I have hated nails my entire life because they don't hold crap (Wire nails obviously) and that hatred has always made me a screw guy. Now at least I can put into context why I cannot stand modern nails.
Hey Nubs! You forgot the one modern nail that is cheap (relativity) and out does all other nails ,old or modern. The " ANNULAR NAIL ". Predrilled ,will never split. Holds way better then any squared. This is the premium nail.
+Jason Huckstep No, just the size of the nail's thickness. That will keep it from wedging the grain apart, while the wedged shape of the nail, which you position with the grain, will compress the fibers as described in the video. In soft wood you don't need pilot holes at all.
Blunting a round wire nail helps to mitigate splitting. Face nailing a built up beam without toeing nails counter to each other in your pattern is nothing short of negligent. Cut nails that I have come across have been brittle and I would not favour them in a structural situation. Cool look though in decorative stuff. I think thicker soft steel wire nails are well suited to structural applications particularly in earthquake zones. It never ceases to amaze me how many people banging nails do not seem to appreciate the intent of placing a nail for a purpose. Each and every nail. I think one gets the hang of it after a couple hundred thousand of them. Some mornings I wake up thinking I really just want to go out and bang some nails. Oh happy day!! Finally, I could be wrong on this but I think of a toenail as a cantilever. 1/3 in the piece to be attached and 2/3 of the nail into the attachee. size the nail length according to what you are doing. Nails hold things together that children and other innocents use. It is no game. Use lots intelligently!
It seems to me that the nails used in a pneumatic nailer are not round, but rectangular like cut nails. I can definitely see it in my brad nailer. I was looking at finish nailers at the home store, and they looked like rectangles too. Is that true or am I not seeing it right?
I’m trying to find these in Canada for a good price. No local blacksmiths anywhere. I’d try to modify some masonry nails so they would have a proper edge, but those are hardened and wouldn’t bend with the wood.
My neighbor's old barn burned down years ago and they never cleaned it up. I remember finding some cut nails in the ashes, but only picked up a few. Hmmmm, might have to go back there with a strong magnet. There must be thousands of them in there. Could be a gold mine.
Construction nails, round, are coated with glue for increased holding strength. My old foreman used to bitch about certain brands with “p-p coating” ... 😉
Another advantage of cut nails is you can get fancy heads. When we built our house, and used 2000 board feet of pine from the trees we cleared to make paneling. I shiplapped it, and used Tremont Nail Company (www.tremontnail.com) rosehead nails to nail it all up. The nice roseheads look nice, so the exposed nails are a design feature, not a nail hole that would need to be filled, but always still show, as when you use a regular finish nail.
A rusty protruding nail you wish to remove, give it a tap in it breaks the rust making it easier to extract. A rusty screw tighten it same effect. Skew nailing put a kink in the nail it will pull the timbers tighter together.
Хобби
My father worked on his uncle's cattle ranch in Kansas in 1930's. He taught me to orient the long dimension of diamond shape of nails so the wedge would cut across the grain rarher wedge it apart. This to prevent splitting the wood. This knowledge of orientation of points made me a bit more successful a framing carpenter as a teen. He also taught me to twist the point of finish nails into a ball of beeswax to lubricate when using dense oak, hickory or other "nut" woods. I still have his ball of beeswax 20-years after his demise.
This information about orientation of the nail was sorely missing.
Very cool. We're still catching up with old time ranchers and farmers!
This is the kind of gold you don't see often enough on You Tube. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
You seem to have ‘nailed’ the psyche of the modern woodworker! Almost after every video I think, “how does he come up with these awesome topics to make a video?!”. Brilliantly chosen topics and masterful presentation! Some day, a collection of your videos will become the novice woodworker’s reference book! Thanks a ton!
It is nice to see someone talking about cut nails. I made too many to count when I did my apprenticeship as a blacksmith back in the early 60's.
Jim this was the best tutorial regarding cut nails I have ever seen. I have a coffee can full that were salvaged from a 120 year old barn in Texas. I love using them on all types of projects but now I know why they work so well! Thank you.
To determine which nail to use, I first buy one large box of every kind, then I hold each up to what I'm nailing to make my final selection.
Or you could measure the thickness of the workpiece.
Bob Barna Nah you just kinda look at the ones you have and always end up using the longer of the 3 sizes you have
First step. Find the jar that has misc nails. Next, empty onto bench, rummage through various nails and screws to find one that works. Check. yep it works. OK, now rummage through to find ALMOST enough for the entire project, but make sure you have at least 1 too few.
And the decision is to use screws.
@@mmm-mmm or, conversely, you finally break down and go to the hardware store and spend wayyyy too much time and money there.
On the thankfully rare -40 degree mornings here in northern Wisconsin, it can be alarming to hear the nails popping out of the siding, and I lay in bed wondering if the boards are going to fall off or if any passerby will be shot by the nails flying off the wall.
Who's going to be passing by in -40 degree weather?
@@michaelgrubb8896 You'd be quite surprised to be honest
Tremont nail company has all the square nail sizes and they are built on the 1800 equipment
That's cool
I'm always intrigued by old knowledge, that you share.
Fantastic video that explained the basics, was informative and avoided being condescending. Thank you.
One of the best carpentry videos I've ever seen, and I like your style of presentation. I'll be back to watch more.
Aw crap, now you gave me yet another reason to build a forge! Great explanation of what few would know. Thanks for posting!
I prefer threaded nails
ok im going to talk about nails, i better put on my leather apron to protect my clothing from the nails
now im indoors, so i better put on my hat to keep the sun off me... now i look like i know a lot about nails!
Not to be "that guy" but there are threaded nails... So ya.
not one speck of dirt on that outfit btw, he just likes to dress up .. .wait is that a picture of himself on his hat?
I really dislike your kind... Especially when I'm demoing an old house before remodeling I can't stand any kind of threaded metal without an extractable head
I bet you also wipe before you crap
You’ve done it again, another great piece of information, thank you.
I remember going to the hardware store for nails where they were all in revolving containers. They were labeled 2D, 3D, etc. We'd fill a bag with the ones we wanted and they'd weigh them to determine the final cost. There were sinkers, finishing, ring shank, duplexes, etc. Guys would bring in samples of the wood to check out the nails. We could even discuss the relative merits of each nail.
I grew up working in our family country hardware, so I know exactly what you mean :)
Stumpy Nubs! Excellent. Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the great information James! I learned a lot!
Very impressive and informative.
I'd like to add something about the difference in holding power between cut and wire nails.
As a wire nail is driven in the shaft near the tip is relieving internal wood pressure due to its"spreading apart and cutting through the fiber. The portion of the shaft that follows then has less pressure against it.
A cut nail however, due to increasing width will maintain pressure against the wood that has just been parted.
As a side note, clinching or deadening should be done across the grain to avoid splitting. Its harder to get flush, but is stronger and more durable. Also should note that in colonial times, nail making was a cottage industry in many homes. Nail stock was made into nails with just a hammer and a small anvil of some sort. This could be done by the hearth in the home in the evenings.
Indeed so. Recently I researched my ancestry and discovered in an 18th century census that my great great great grandfather was described as a nailmaker at his home, he and ALL the family - even the youngest child, a girl aged 7 years, was described as a nailmaker in the trade or profession section. This was in the English Midlands.
Gospelman hope you dont mind but where did you research your ancestry, im interested in mine but dont know where to start
Started off collecting all the births/marriage/death certificated I could find, these yielded crucial information such as addresses and dates, then went onto the Internet and accessed the national census records (censuses are held every 10 years and go back to at least early 1800,s). There are various websites which will guide you to the census records, and these will reveal all sorts of useful information. After that, just follow the threads. For early records you can access church parish records, but it takes a lot more effort and I didn't bother. HTH.
Love your videos and your in-depth knowledge. Thanks for sharing and keep them coming.
The best explanation of nails I've ever seen.
great piece of info! I have dowel pinned many joints on a few projects up to this point, I may see how cut nail reinforcing works.
Thanks for sharing the history nails. It was really enjoyable especially how d came to abbreviate penny.
I really appreciate the historical aspect of your videos, every time I have watched your videos I have learned something from our past that I plan on implementing in my future. a cut nail I use all the time is horse shoeing nails. I'm a farrier. thank you for your videos.
Thanks for the explanation why this is the case. I was pissed that the walls of a free standing planter kept being pressed out. I noticed that our older outbuildings were still holding up very well and decide it was the nails because it was the only difference and pulled a few and used them. Havent had a problem in 2 years
Phenomenal knowledge, much appreciated!
Thank you for this video Mr Nubs.
You made that extremely interesting. Thanks
Good tip on the cut masonry nails. I kind of like the look of those over the wood ones. One could take a torch to bunches of them and easily take the temper out of them.
Zane Greene If the nails are hardened, you'd want to temper them to remove more of the hardness so that they can be bent over without snapping off. Tempering is done after the hardening process to reduce the hardness below the point where the metal is brittle and shatter prone. There are many differing levels of temper. I doubt you'd want to fully anneal them though, as they may become too easy to bend and unable to be driven into the wood.
Honestly, just put’em in the oven at 500 or so. Basic cleaning cycle.
great vid, nail theory on tapers and grip from angles makes a lot of sense.
Thanks for this video. It's an interesting subject and good information. Much good info is prompted by and provided by comments too.
Excellent video. Thanks.
agree totally, you find your wire nail joints failing some years later, loosing and pulling open, a few seasons of expansion/contraction and load, and your joints are gappy, been fixing a lot of shelves in my garage this year for that reason, 30 years means lots of looseness, though of course nailing into end grain for shelves was a bad way to make them, but it was quick!
This episode nailed it.
Thanks! Just the info I needed!
Great info, thanks for your time.
Thank you; I now know more than I did before.
So much information in such a little video. 10/10
You make very good videos. Thank you.
Nice job, Stubby.
Thanks again for more valuable information Sir.
Old measurement systems and everything tied to them is confusing as all hell. How to figure out which nails to use. Easy! Rule is, you take fart duration of average cat, multiply by 3.61, then from that number subtract length of three barley corns in 1800s and then give up.
that's why normal people use metric system :))
Try shopping for a truck. What is a half ton pickup? Who knows.
Multiply that by 3.14 as I recall.
that is my method.
One four best videos. Thanks
Of!
Very useful info. Thank you.
Yes sir that was a interesting video. thanks.
You might also look at a farm store for horse shoe nails for a reasonable substitute. May have to grind heads down a bit, but they work for some projects.
And they are thinner and softer because they too are made to clinch.
Alright! Another good idea that made a great presentation and shows the high value of a major degree earned at the University of Observation with a minor in keep your mouth shut and your ears and mind open. Thanks for information.
Hey great video. Thanks
In Sweden you can buy cut nails as baseboard/mouldingnails ("listspik" in swedish) at any building supply store. They are usaly 60mm long and often coated in white paint.
Same in the usa
Good info. Thanks.
How do you compare the industrial cut nails to modern twisted nails?
A good compromise between ancient and modern nails is the use of galvanized wire nail. The galvanization of the nail makes zillions of protrusions on the nail and these allow for a very strong holding power of the pieces of wood joined together especially when the wood "swollens" from dampness.
They are still widely used in traditional boatbuilding construction when copper riveting is not needed. Actually I do have a couple of handful of galvanized nails on my boat and, yes, they are useful and I use them mostly for temporary repairs.
I may add that stainless steel or iron nails on a boat should absolutely be prohibited. The stainless steel is too slippery and the nail does not hold even when the wood "swollens" around the nail, an iron nail is calling for fast rust.
At any rate, thanks for posting.
vincent7520 or ring shank nails
If you need short wedge nails, just look in the upholstry department. Not sure what they're called in English, but they're called Mechanieke Nagels here or clou mecanique in french. Though those are expensive and the longest ones I've seen were only 50mm
Liked this video.before I started it. Dude knows his shit. Great video. Keep em coming.
Very informative 👌🏻👍👍👍
I've actually seen cut nails used as decoration in chairs and in couches. Some craftsmen would create a pattern using the heads of the cut nails as well as use cut nails of different materials. A herringbone pattern with black iron and burnished copper nails can make a simple chair look amazing.
In the 1600's one of the important things carried on the yearly pack trains from Mexico City to outposts like Santa Fe were cut nails.
Thank you for explaining the size system for penny nails
I live in Canada and only hear "penny nail" from US citizens. We use inches and milimeters. I think when I was a kid 70 years ago we used penny nails.
And yet pretty well all nails sold in Canada today have the penny size on the box.
@@gnolls Cause they're mostly likely the exact same boxes of nails also sold in the US. And I've only ever heard other people in America refer to nails by their length in inches. Maybe it's a regional thing.
"The Romans really nailed the design"
-Jesus Christ
You should try it, we need confirmation, do it for science.
They nailed it to a T.
I see what you did there
One less thing that needs to get designed! Go ahead and cross it off the list.
@@lasergames1798 😂
Excellent
I have heard that nails were so expensive and valuable that when moving, some settlers would burn down a house to recover the nails without having to pry them out.
Nailed it Stumpy! #TIA CREW
I never understood how hard wood floors were installed back in the day with cut nails without cracking the wood. Just hammered it in there right on the toe and that was it.
Horseshoe nails are tapered like that. The heads are big though. Brads seem to hold really well for what they are.
I want to make a TV stand using 2x6s and I would like to use nails to hold it together as I think it would look cool seeing flush nail heads in the piece. These cut nails seem too expensive so I was curious if using spiral shank nails would be a good alternative. Appreciate any advice you can give me.
Just got a 50lb box of cut nails from Tremont Nail Co. that I am going to use to face nail shiplap I am using as flooring.
I'm looking to install wide plank live sawn pine using the cut nails as an accent. Are you using cut nails only to install? Am considering shiplap. Why are you using shiplap over tongue and groove?
Used shiplap because of the very attractive price point. When we installed the shiplap I used a nail gun to nail the "lip" to the floor and then ran a bead of glue along it before placing another over and next to it. The glue was just to temporarily hold down the over lip. We then pre-drilled 1/8" holes thru the shiplap and into the sub floor. If you want the head of the cut nail to show you can proceed to nail in your cut nails. If you do not want the head of the nail to show then you should redrill the top 3/8" of your previously drilled holes with a 3/8" drill bit (depending what size cut nail you use) to accommodate setting the head of the nail. Once this redrill is done, hammer in your cut nail and then use a punch to set the nail below the face of the shiplap. Fill all the holes with wood filler.
We are going back to the property next month to finish the living and dining room. However, this time - due to a time issue - I am just going to use my finish nail gun to face nail the rest of the shiplap down at a 45 degree angle.
Will figure out what I am going to do with the rest of the 50lb box of cut nails at a later date. LOL! Hope this addresses your question. If not shoot me an email at handystanley@gmail.com.
I'm about to install wide plank wood flooring by face nailing with cut nails. QUESTION: Does it matter if the nails show rust? Should I be looking for nails without rust?
Thanks for the info, Stumpy. Just to be sure I understand, the wide part of the nail runs with the grain, not across it, right? I just brought home about a pound of cut nails from the antique mall last week, also saw a crank-style butter churn that was big enough to have been made into a table...Have you been following me? Am I following you? Thanks for sharing!
Hey stumpy! Quick question.... Have you ever tried softening the tip of a masonry nail with a blowtorch? Would that make it clinch able?
You can also find them in Tractor Supply in the horse parts area. I need for barn door build.
Hello, very nice informativ video, for what are the square twisted nails be used?
So does the size system you refer to apply only to cut nails? I ask becuase that system would make a 16penny nail 4.5" long and they are 3.5" to my knowledge. Modern nails skip around a bit as they get longer. Or maybe Im not understanding.
Good video and informative as always. Thanks for sharing
fascinating
Great video. Does anyone know of a You Tube video on cut nails where they talk about the pilot holes, how deep to make the pilot holes, and what sized bits to use for pilot holes with different wood and thicknesses?
Did you get another plane?
I can think of one guy who didn’t appreciate the romans and their nails...
Jeez!
It's still too soon🤣
the masonry nails can be clenched if you first heat them to critical temp then Let them cool slowly.
Just a note .... In the UK pre-decimalisation (of money) the symbol for pennies was D! LSD (not the drug) was short for Pounds, Shillings and Pence .... the L being a simplified £!
Nice
Interesting.
How very informative. I never knew the value of cut nails. All I knew was I have hated nails my entire life because they don't hold crap (Wire nails obviously) and that hatred has always made me a screw guy. Now at least I can put into context why I cannot stand modern nails.
Hey Nubs! You forgot the one modern nail that is cheap (relativity) and out does all other nails ,old or modern. The " ANNULAR NAIL ". Predrilled ,will never split. Holds way better then any squared. This is the premium nail.
Hey Stumps, how did you learn all this?
should the hole be drilled just slightly smaller than the largest part of the shaft?
+Jason Huckstep No, just the size of the nail's thickness. That will keep it from wedging the grain apart, while the wedged shape of the nail, which you position with the grain, will compress the fibers as described in the video. In soft wood you don't need pilot holes at all.
+Stumpy Nubs (James Hamilton) Thanks!
Hi. Can you use cut nails to attach 2x4 sill plate onto concrete?
Blunting a round wire nail helps to mitigate splitting. Face nailing a built up beam without toeing nails counter to each other in your pattern is nothing short of negligent. Cut nails that I have come across have been brittle and I would not favour them in a structural situation. Cool look though in decorative stuff. I think thicker soft steel wire nails are well suited to structural applications particularly in earthquake zones. It never ceases to amaze me how many people banging nails do not seem to appreciate the intent of placing a nail for a purpose. Each and every nail. I think one gets the hang of it after a couple hundred thousand of them. Some mornings I wake up thinking I really just want to go out and bang some nails. Oh happy day!!
Finally, I could be wrong on this but I think of a toenail as a cantilever. 1/3 in the piece to be attached and 2/3 of the nail into the attachee. size the nail length according to what you are doing.
Nails hold things together that children and other innocents use. It is no game. Use lots intelligently!
Where I can see comparison test of that nails?
I also like square tapered shafts
It seems to me that the nails used in a pneumatic nailer are not round, but rectangular like cut nails. I can definitely see it in my brad nailer. I was looking at finish nailers at the home store, and they looked like rectangles too. Is that true or am I not seeing it right?
The gun nails in trim guns and brad guns are rectangular but nails for framing guns and roofing guns are round.
What about those spiral nails that (apparently) work like screws? Are they stronger than cut nails?
or... just actually use screws...
Where i live we only use square shaped nails , rhe only exception os when using nailguns then we use round nails
can cut nails be used in plywood ?
4:31 The abbreviation for a penny is the lower case 'd'- not a capital.
I’m trying to find these in Canada for a good price. No local blacksmiths anywhere. I’d try to modify some masonry nails so they would have a proper edge, but those are hardened and wouldn’t bend with the wood.
"Didn't really come from the head... It was the shaft that did the work" LMAO😂😂😂 SORRY My mind went in the gutter
I'll use nails to stop side-to-side movement, but won't depend on them against forces that want to pull them out.
I wonder if the masonry nails could be softened by heating them up and cooling slowly
They can.
My neighbor's old barn burned down years ago and they never cleaned it up. I remember finding some cut nails in the ashes, but only picked up a few. Hmmmm, might have to go back there with a strong magnet. There must be thousands of them in there. Could be a gold mine.
Construction nails, round, are coated with glue for increased holding strength. My old foreman used to bitch about certain brands with “p-p coating” ... 😉
Another advantage of cut nails is you can get fancy heads. When we built our house, and used 2000 board feet of pine from the trees we cleared to make paneling. I shiplapped it, and used Tremont Nail Company (www.tremontnail.com) rosehead nails to nail it all up. The nice roseheads look nice, so the exposed nails are a design feature, not a nail hole that would need to be filled, but always still show, as when you use a regular finish nail.
A rusty protruding nail you wish to remove, give it a tap in it breaks the rust making it easier to extract. A rusty screw tighten it same effect. Skew nailing put a kink in the nail it will pull the timbers tighter together.