bending nails

[gcotterl]

How do I prevent finish nails from bending when I hammer then nails through pre-drilled holes in quarter-round oak molding into drywall? (I'm not using a brad-nailer).

[gcotterl]

How do I prevent finish nails from bending when I hammer the nails through pre-drilled holes in quarter-round oak molding into drywall? (I'm not using a brad-nailer).

[dpb]

A) Better technique (gotta' hit 'em straight and hard enough)

B) Failing A), larger pilot hole

--

[willshak]

gcotterl wrote the following:

They have to be nailed straight on, any other angle of the strike between the hammer and nail can bend them. They must be struck with lighter hits than thicker nails. More like tapping them in. That way, if the nails starts to bend, you can stop and straighten it, or pull it out and reinstall a new nail.

[hrhofmann]

You can also try holding the nail with a pair of needle-nosed pliers to help hold it straight, but hitting it squarely without any sideways motion of the hammer head when you hit it squarely is still the only sure-fire method, and, even then, cheap finishing nails from a cheap hardware store like the Menards chain of stores are softer and bend more than high-quality nails. Some of the Menards nails are not much better than hard butter.

[JIMMIE]

I got a little doer as a gift about 35 years ago dont know what you call it but its a tube with a plunger inside. You put the the nain in the tube push hard on the plundger and it drives the nail. Damned hand for getting in difficult spots.When I got it I couldnt belive you could push a nail into wood like that but it works great.

Jimmie

[JIMMIE]

OK my CRS cleared a bit....its called a push hammer. Even my wife can drive a nail in straight with one of these.

Jimmie

[dpb]

C) If can locally, find a better quality nail (really, really hard any more w/ most everything being Chinese or even worse imports)

I've supplies from 50-lb boxes or even kegs of virtually everything I use routinely that date from 30 to 50 years ago and the comparison to present stuff is night and day...much better steel and better-formed heads, points are actually well-formed, etc., etc., etc., ...

[Steve B]

Could be:

inferior nails modern nails not built like the old days incorrect angle of strike by hammerrer round face on hammer incorrect hammer for the job really dense wood that anything would bend in

Solutions:

Better quality nails one of those new hammers that does it for you and hits it straight as one said, larger pilot holes beeswax the nails and hole prior to use try hammer with checkered face or definitely flat face

Steve

[Don Phillipson]

Would it not save time and trouble to use a nail-gun?

[knuckle-dragger]

It's a dang nuisance that one can't remember where one got a particularly useful gadget. You could try:

They have a spring loaded set something like you describe.

Unfortunately I don't see the two items I use to solve this problem. One, the one I think I bought from Lee Valley ten or so years ago, looks like an old-fashioned screwdriver with a red wooden handle and the tang going through it so you can strike the end with a hammer. But it's not a screwdriver. It has a sprung cylindrical tube with an internal plunger. You put the nail into the tube, place the tube over the point into which you want to nail and hammer away. The tube won't allow the nail to bend and the plunger will extend about 1/16" and countersink the nail at the same time. The risk is that you can overdrive the nail and push the tube into the surrounding wood.

The second solution was available from places like Hartville Tool, McFeely's and even IIRC Sears. It consists of a round bit (only describes as such because it's chucked into a cordless drill) with a diameter of about 1/2". In the center is a hole into which you insert the nail. You'll find it's gripped by teeth similar to those of an internal pipe wrench. You put the projecting end of the nail where you want to drive it and push while turning on the drill. Effectively you use the nail as a drill bit. No pilot hole is generally necessary

[HeyBub]

Use a brad nailer. A perfectly acceptable one is available from HF for under $20. Once you get a brad nailer, you'll use your hammer for pounding everything EXCEPT nails.

'Course you'll need a compressor, too.

[gcotterl]

Buying a brad nailer and a compressor doesn't make economic sense since I have only 26 feet of molding to install.

Getting a good, straight swing with the hammer is hard because I'm bending over countertops and ducking under wall cabinets.

[mkirsch1]

You've got 26 feet of molding to install. Suck it up and deal with the damn bent nails.

[mm]

Shoot down the wall cabinets and bulldoze the countertops.

[hrhofmann]

Do you mean "duct tape" ?

[HeyBub]

Okay, get a brad nailer and a compressed air tank. Fill the tank at the gas station or off a friend's compressor. Tank should cost about $25.00.

All the more reason for a brad nailer, etc. You've got more than $150 worth of aggravation otherwise.

[Steve B]

Bought a new DeWalt with cart and hose the other day at yard sale for $60 ............

Used it already on the back forty for fencing that had to be stapled to cedar posts. What a joy. The guy working for me even commented that it was light years ahead of fence staples.

Steve

[Steve B]

Buying a brad nailer and a compressor doesn't make economic sense since I have only 26 feet of molding to install.

Getting a good, straight swing with the hammer is hard because I'm bending over countertops and ducking under wall cabinets.

reply:

This is when you find the value of the economic sense of buying a tool that will do the job RIGHT quickly. And future jobs. Pancake compressors can be had for $50, and nailers for $20-$100. Why putz with anything else?

Steve

[Joe]

Put the molding up with construction adhesive. Hold the molding in place with painters tape or some other ingenious trick until the adhesive cures. Doesn't take long and there are NO holes to putty.

Joe