Modern oak plank removal (correct jpgs links)

[Kunta Kinte]

I took up some 1.5" mid-60s oak plank flooring for re-use. The nails are slightly edge-serrated, fairly soft and most remain in the tongue fully set with the business end having a slow bend. The heads are L-shaped. because of the L I can't pull them. The bend and the softness make reverse hammering them pretty impractical.

Is my only option to dremel them and beware during re-installation? thanks for any ideas, Bryan

I've put three jpgs up at:

[RicodJour]

at:

Why do you have to pull them at all? Is the nail's removal and additional damage to the wood helpful? Nope. Cut them off and avoid nailing near the old nails when reinstalling.

R

[marson]

at:

Used flooring is a ton of work, no getting around that. I'd suggest if you can't break them or cut them with a good pair of nippers, then your next best option might be an angle grinder with a cutting wheel. This would accomplish the same thing as a dremel, though much faster.

>

[Steve]

at:

I'll second that. You might try using end cut pliers

from the underside of the board. Grab the nail as close to board as you can, rotate plier just enough to ensure that the head is sunk well into the tongue of the board and snip. If the nail heads are all fully set just nip away.

Steve

[v8z]

at:

Definitely use a 4-1/2" grinder with a cutoff wheel - if you don't have a grinder, HarborFreight has em for under $10 - I've got a good one for grinding, but bought 2 of the HF ones just to save the time switching between grinding, cutoff and wire brush and I figure if one burns after a year, its less than a dinner to replace it.

[Kunta Kinte]

Thanks to all! I bought a pair of nippers and my wrist might thank me (someday) --

I may also try and find cut-off wheel for my ryobi bench grinder? Is that do-able? instead of a whole new 4 1/2 grinder -- I presume that would be hand-held vs. the logistics of a bench grinder...

[PeterD]

Buy a cheap hand held 4 1/2 inch grinder. Harbor Freight for example, or the local discount store, or even (shudder) WalMart. A bench grinder won't hack it...