Tiger 2nd May 2006, 12:51 PM Dear all,
I have to remove some nails from some furniture. They are mainly roundhead and have been set so that they are flush with the timber, some are slightly below the timber:mad: . It is not possible to get a pair of pincers under the nail:( , the cat's paws that I have don't make it under either. While I accept that there's going to be some damage to the surface, what is your tool of choice to remove the nails but cause minimal damage to the wood's surface?
Harry72 2nd May 2006, 01:06 PM If its a butt/half lap joint knock the joint apart without removing the nail, so it pulls through the wood without damaging the visable surface.
Any other type of joint with nails... find the maker and give them a slappin!
Knurl 2nd May 2006, 01:14 PM http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=28517&highlight=soldering
shows you how you can use a soldering iron to loosen the nails. I think you'll find this helpful.
masoth 2nd May 2006, 03:52 PM If the soldering iron doesn't work, you may like to try (with great care) drilling the head off the nail. Then again, you could, using a long nose punch, punch the nail through till it's clear of the outer timber.
soth
Clinton1 2nd May 2006, 04:56 PM You can cut out a sliver of wood around the nail with a home made 'chisel', a sliding slicing cut that raises a sliver. That gives access to the nail and then later glue the sliver back in.
To make the chisel, grind to shape an old broken hacksaw blade, just feather the edges of the blade and sharpen it. Lee Valley have some sort of all singing set up to do this as an invisible nail kit, but its a basic task, LV's kit would make it pretty much fool proof though.
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32683&cat=1,41182
The link shows the concept, you just have to do it in reverse. Cut a slot down the hacksaw blade to 'go around' the nail when you take the sliver. I use a scapel blade or razor to cut through the wood that is left because of the slot in the blade, just get at it from the side.
Also, think about a pin vise for gripping the nail, although a cats paw is great as well. Stuart Minchin has 2 pin vises pretty cheap in his user tools/assorted tools 2 page http://www.toolexchange.com.au/Stanley%20User%20Tools-12.htm
paul.cleary 2nd May 2006, 07:35 PM Clinton,
thanks for this. I have to take some deeply counter-sunk nails out of the rear joints of some mahogany dining chairs we bought so I can pull the dowelled joints apart to replace them. I was dreading the damage that would result to the surface.
Unfortunately someone got to these with nails and epoxy glue before I did!
Paul
Cliff Rogers 2nd May 2006, 09:23 PM If you burn the furniture on a sheet of iron in your back yard, you should be able to pick up the nails out of the ashes & apart from being a bit black (will scrub off OK) they should be totally unharmed.
PS. They may be a bit soft the next time you try to use them. :D
journeyman Mick 2nd May 2006, 11:16 PM Cliff,
good bit of lateral thinking there:D .
Mick
Hickory 3rd May 2006, 04:20 AM If possible seperate the pieces without removing the nails and then pull the nails all the way through, this will leave a larger hole on the inside but a small hole on the face. Easier to patch in the future. If you cant remove the nails then try using a thin punch (nailset) and punch them through. In the case of chair rung being nailed into the joint (often the problem when amatures try to fix a loose chair) then drive the naill deep into the joint and free the rung. Either leave it there if you can work around it or dig it out with needle nose pliers from inside the leg hole. On re assembly, I use Polyurethane glue as it swells and fills the void from years of loose joint and the tearout from the repair.
Sturdee 3rd May 2006, 04:15 PM I've been doing some delicate :eek: woodwork building planter boxes out of recycled redgum sleepers. My method is to knock them apart with a sledge hammer and then cut of the protruding ends with a angle grinder before cutting the sleepers to size.
You could do the same knock them apart and cut of the ends with an angle grinder.:D
Peter.
Carry Pine 3rd May 2006, 05:47 PM If you burn the furniture on a sheet of iron in your back yard, you should be able to pick up the nails out of the ashes & apart from being a bit black (will scrub off OK) they should be totally unharmed.
PS. They may be a bit soft the next time you try to use them. :D
Cliff,
You should be too busy slicing up that Silky oak to spend time answering questions like this one.
And when do we get a sample?
Carry Pine
hcbph 5th May 2006, 02:17 AM Tiger
I do furniture restoration so most of the ones I hit are brads but here's something that works most of the time. I take a small drill bit and drill a small/shallow hole on opposite site of the nail. Take a small pair of side cutters (the more pointed the tip, the better) and try gripping the head of the nail. I slip a shim shingle under the side cutter to reduce denting and damage. Try levering the nail out, or twisting at times helps break it loose.
Most times, this has been the path of least damage when getting out of brads and nails, and I have coffee cans full of old hardware I've taken out that way. I save the old handcut nails for projects that are missing some and those can be straightened and reused.
This is assuming you can't tap the joint apart or get to it from the back side.
Paul
Knurl 5th May 2006, 08:52 AM that's very clever hcbph. It made me think of my long nose electrical pliers which have a very pointy pair of jaws and small horizontal slots inside and close to the tip of those jaws.
While your drill holes would be smaller than the indentation from the nose of my pliers and I think your side cutters would allow a better nip/grip on the head of the nail, I've been using those long-nose pliers for years with passable results.
Whatever solution you take, you'll always end up with the old nail hole.
BTW are the hand-cut nails of some residual value since you collect them? I toss old nails without thinking.
hcbph 6th May 2006, 05:11 AM Knurl
The old hand-cut nails are hard to come by. On occassion I have something come in that predates machined nails. Some times due to water damage or missing parts, I don't have the salvaged nails to match out against the original design. By saving and straightening recycled nails, many times I can exactly match what was there. Alot of the time I could probably use a machine made nail in a restoration job, but then again, I'd know it wasn't like it was when it was built.
Though I use new glues etc, if possible, I like to send it out the door looking as close as I can to how it was originally created. Once in a while, you have that family piece someones Grandfather had modified, and the customer wants it to look the same as it was then. Again, something that makes the customer happy.
By the way, I find needlenose pliers don't work that well pulling nails if you have to twist the pliers. The jaws twist off opposite sides of the nail (actual flex in the pliers). If I can get the head of the nail up far enough to allow twisting it to remove it, I use a small pair of locking pliers (Vicegrips) to grab the nail and twist it.
Paul
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