Thread: Salvaging useable timber from old joists

Have a look in here https://www.woodworkforums.com/f11/na...timber-159530/ in particular to the Crescent No 56 SureGrip Nail Puller it will remove broken nails. I have a cheap chinese version paid about $50, it did my de-nailing job but it is crap.

I didn't have much luck with my vintage version.

puller.jpg

I don't know why mine is so soft. Some of the 'nails' could also well be screws, but in any case the rusted shanks just nibble away and don't pull out. Some years ago I had a big mutha version nail puller, it was about 1.5m long and the hammer end was really heavy. Now that one worked, but I think it would still be difficult to use on the crumbling edge of these joists.

I'm thinking of trying this blade but it would be a bit of a wait to get it posted from the UK. It looks like it should rip OK.

If you intend to saw through nails do it very slowly!

I know it sounds sacrilegious to do ths with a saw blade but sometimes you have no choice.

I also prefer more teeth on a blade to cut through nails. Less chance of catching a tooth and breaking it off.

Carbatec have a CMT contractors blade that looks like it might do the job Contractor's Saw Blade : CARBA-TEC and more in my price range.

I would be inclined to go with a 'Rotary Hacksaw' style metal cutting blade as used in high speed coldsaws. Carbide is intended to cut through 5mm or more steel, negative rake geometry, medium/high tooth count. Available from Australian Saw Co in Melbourne, or most tool places, look for ferous metal blades next door to timber blades on the shelf. Slow your feed down to start and check cut and finish, then speed up as you become familar with the blades properties.

Not cheap blades, but you will get a reasonable cut without damaging the blade, and you only need to loose 1 tooth on a lesser blade to trash it, replace it and you are about back at the cost of one of these.

I would be inclined to use a punch if possible to punch the nails out, however the Saw Blade suggested are designed to cut nails in timber .

They cut metal because they have a negative rake aspect to the tooth , this allows the tooth to be thicker at the top and absorb the impact, also the Carbide will be different to the Carbide in timber only blade.

Remember that the blade Spec's say 5mm steel, this is rated for cutting sheet, nails are rarely more than 4mm in dia, so this should work.

Jeff
vk4

You can get all the nails out with a bit of determination.
It took me a couple of days but I got them all out of this load of old studs, bearers and joists.
The ones that didn't budge were excavated with an old chisel and removed with vice grips.

I use various methods to remove nails, from the obvious claw hammer to chisel and vice grips, I have one claw hammer that will grip the nail better than the other ones, something to do with the shape/sharpness of the gripping faces, like NC if I have a nail flush with the surface I will excavate with chisel around the nail and grip with the vice grips, sometimes two pairs of grips on the nail, (usually for 4" nails), I use the pinch bar under the jaws of the grip to lever it out, for rusted ones that just keep shredding I drill down beside the nail, either just one hole or two on each side of the nail, I then punch the nail sideways into the hole and then grip and hopefully out it comes, I like to see the pointed end so I know I have it all, I also sometimes just let the drill chop up the nail, watch the tell tales signs of black tannin stained wood and the slivers of steel coming out to tell you which direction to go, I use somewhere about 3/16 to 1/4" drill bit, strong enough to tolerate some angling, if you have an old one use that cos over time the lands and the sides of the drill are destroyed, but keep it for that job, some of the stainless and self driving screws can be quite hard so they require a bit of care, they can cause the drill to break if it grabs. It's a constant battle ....nail versus man..... It's not fun but satisfying when done to pull a bucket of nails out of a stack of reclaimed wood



Pete

P.S. a metal detector is a good investment, even if it just finds one

I use a claw hammer and a wrecking bar to pull nails. If the head is broken off then drill a hole beside the nail or screw and use an old screwdriver or steel spike of sone sort and wedge the nail sideways into the hole. Vice grips and pliers do the rest. That being said I will be intrested to see the results of the nail cutting blade.
Regards
John

I've tackled denailing and cleaning up recycled studs and flooring before but these decking joists which have been out in full sun and weather for around 40 years are a whole new level of difficulty. There might be a short intermission before I get up to Carbatec.

It depends on how big the nails are, but I have a 'cats paw' nail puller that works a treat. Easier than a hammer or demo bar to get under the nails and usually moves them enough to get a bigger tool under it if needed.

Even if you cut through the nails you'll have the issue of part of the nail still embedded in the good timber, which will be a pain when you plane it/joint it to get a good face. It's much easier to pull a nail with the head on, rather than a few cm buried in the timber.

Trav

I guess if there are only nails in one side and if the nail cutting blade does the job then that side is the bottom of the bench top with no further work involved. I have to say denailing is a bitch of a job and even if you think they are all gone then Murphey shows up. I did 2 bandsaw blades in 10 mins one time I thought they were all gone.
Regards
John

At a guess I think some of these are actually screws not nails which doesn't help with the pulling.

https://www.woodworkforums.com/attach...ists-nail1.jpg

Even after cutting away 20 mm of the rot the shanks are still half rust. I wonder if using a plug cutter might be an option? Run the plug cutter around the nail/screw, then break away the wood to get a better hold on the shank. There are no nail heads to start on, they all rusted away decades ago. Any attack has to be with some sort of pincer, claws pulling on nailheads are not an option.

For the most part I think any use for this reclaimed timber won't need 4 good faces. I think I can live with one dirty face as long as I can cut it straight.

Definitely remove as many as you can I'd say.

I like my pincers for the especially #@!!@@ nails ... no head ... weird angle ... because you can grip the shaft right at the base, have excellent leverage, and only have to move it a few mm and you can re-grip and go again.

Also judge where you can just cut sections away rather than fight with them. Eg that second photo, I'd cut across that remaining shelf of wood and the nails will either come with it or be well exposed.

Also when nails are showing their tail ends out another side of the timber I hammer them up where they came from whenever I can ... takes some contorting of the exposed tail sometimes to mentally (and physically) prepare it for ejection.

Should be nice wood - eventually

Cheers,
Paul

Also ... the pincers will sometimes rotate screws out ... but the vice-grips are probably better.