Reply from customer service at VA .......................................... Dear Robert,
Thank you for writing. You are correct, our nail spinners are discontinued and are no longer available . I am sorry for any inconvenience.
We value you as a Vermont American tool user & trust that you will use your Vermont American with confidence. If you have further questions please write back. ..........................................
so..... there you go, seems like nail spinners have joined the swing brace and the ratchet screwdriver.
Hey! I own both of those items! Been looking all over for new side-notch style bits for the giant-size yankee with the red wood handle, but apparently everyone on ebay thinks they are made of gold.
Never even used the old brace drills I had, since I was born after the advent of affordable power drills. I do miss my lost or stolen crank drill, which I used occasionally when I didn't want to drag a power cord out. Just don't care to own battery powered tools.
I picked up one of those driver "kits' in a plastic case at HD or someplace a while back when I saw the bits were worth the price of the kit. Maybe 5 bucks for the kit. They were unloading them. Chinese, like almost everything else. I've got a feeling that when I get my tools organized and out of various boxes and containers, I'll find way too many of just about every driver bit. Also think the razor knives will add up big time. Anyway, my kid was putting together the "fireplace" I mentioned recently, and there were many phillips screws to drive in tight spots. I noticed the store bag with the driver kit and pulled it out. Had a ratcheting driver handle and he used it. Sloppy action and I figured it would break, but it lasted the job.
I don't want to insult anybody, but that nail spinner is about the most stupid tool I ever heard of. I've driven plenty of nails and screws in hardwoods and only split wood once - the first time. After that I chucked a drill bit slightly smaller than the nail or screw shank and pre-drilled. I pre-drill pine too when using fat or long screws.
Recently put up a couple hundred feet of oak crown moulding, baseboard, door casings and shoe, using a brad nailer for the first time. No splits, and very little denting. I'm a fan of brad nailers now. They don't cost much, and the little pancake compressor has other uses. Blowgun - and tires in a pinch. Well worth the 60-70 bucks for a kit. Besides that, I'll use that nailer again soon for shelf cleats between the studs in my garage. That right there will save me a thumb and a finger.
BTW, I read long ago that blunting (flatten with a grinder) the nail tip will prevent splitting, because the nail will shear the wood fibers instead of separating them. Never tried it, and don't know if it really works. I pre-drill. But the 18 ga gun brads I used for my oak are flat tipped. Don't really know if that's because it's cheaper to produce them with no point, and the gun force doesn't need pointed nails, or it's because it prevents splitting, or both. For hardwood trim, I'll use the nailer from now on.
You can do the same thing by turning the nail upside down and hitting the point. That way you don't need a concrete or metal surface.
The other tip is to align the nail in the correct orientation. Nail points have flats with an elongated diamond shape. If the nail is placed with the wider axis running across the wood grain it will cut the fibers and is less likely to split the wood. This works with both finish and common nails.
Check out the ridges right under the nail head on a common nail and you'll see how the ridges relate to the longer axis. You can feel these ridges and orient the nail without looking at it.
I have used the old swing brace drills even though I was born after the advent of affordable power drills. I used one before I could afford a HoleHawg or heavy duty right angle drill kit. I haven't used a swing brace is over 25 years
Every tool has its time and its use. Just because you cannot see the previous (or current uses) for a nail spinner doesn't mean "that nail spinner is about the most stupid tool I ever heard of".
Your comment is not insulting but it is revealing.
Stupid tool might be the correct phrase but the reference seems wrong in this case.
Now that you've discovered brad nailers and are clearly an expert, shall we cease the manufacture & sale of small hammers, finishing nails and nail sets?
FYI the mechanics of "driving" a nail with a nail spinner is substantially different than driving a nail with a hammer or shooting brads. And there a situations were "spinning the nail in" is advantageous. Using a cordless drill as substitute of for a nail spinner is an 'ok" solution but the drill chuck grips the a finishing nail differently than a nail spinner.
BTW an 18 gage brad nailer is a bit on the small side for crown and kinda wimpy for shelf cleats. I would suggest you consider a 16 gage brad nailer or 15 gage finish nailer. I have access to all three but use the 16 gage the most of the time, that is, when I'm not pining for a nail spinner.
Dulling a nail point does help to reduce the tendency for the nail to split the wood but it certainly won't do the whole job in a serious hardwood. Pre-drilling, especially in hardwood, is a good technique if you don't have a brad nailer.
I usually plan on doing it right the first time, and don't make backup plans from the get go. Bob is right and you should have used a heavier gage nail. Houses move and brads have minimal holding power and strength.
I liked your story though, if it's any consolation. ;)
These are pretty bright kids- as soon as they saw the spiral part of the tool, and used it once, they understood it. The point is, they had never seen one before. Have Yankee-style screwdrivers been gone from the mass market that long? I haven't seen them in stores around here in several years.
Yeah, I've got a garage sale Yankee 130A sitting here I keep meaning to order bits for, if I can ever find them at a decent price. Still shiny, even- just like the one my father has, that I used as a wee lad. 10-15 years ago, I found a new-in-package one, bits and all, at an old hardware store that was going under, and I sent it as a gift to my nephew, who was starting to get into woodworking at the time. He even got the old family ShopSmith MK V, as we sorted out stuff during one of the ongoing family moves and relocations. My brother had gone through it, fixed up the wiring, and cleaned and trued it up. It has to be as old as I am, and still works, AFAIK. It even saw a decade or so actual money-making use, with my father's construction company.
I know just fine how they work. It's not brain surgery. Googling every reference to nail spinners I found some fans, 5 or 6. One guy was a professional trimmer and used it until he moved on to a gun. I wouldn't argue with him. He made money with a spinner. But I asked you before what happened to your spinner when you said you pine for one. You didn't answer, so I guess you don't even have one. Mike lost his spinner. Looks like nobody here has a spinner anymore. No big deal. A few door casings are easily pre-drilled. The bright side is I learned that nails can work as drill bits. Thanks RicodJour! For kicks I'm going to chuck some in a drill and put some holes in scrap hardwood when I get back in the garage. See how that works, since I've snapped some small bits drilling pilot holes. Had to leave some in and cover with putty. I'm wondering if the nails don't twist off too, but nobody mentions that. I''l see for myself.
Now you're catching on. Nobody sells my "stories." And nobody sells nail spinners.
They still sell them. You don't see them for the same reason you don't see many Crescent wrenches. There's better tools. Last time I had a Yankee I only used it as a drill instead of breaking out a power drill. Didn't do that well either. Never drove a screw with it. But if you have bad wrists or the Yankee works for you, use it. The plumber I worked for had an 8" Crescent for compression nuts. I used it on our jobs and it kinda made sense for him, but I've never used a Crescent otherwise except as a kid on my bicycles, and never owned one.
Vic...? Please contain your youthful exuberance and refrain from disparaging something you know nothing about.
For decades the Yankee driver was the tool of choice for locksmiths. Not mom and pop locksmiths, union installing 45 floors (Manhattan, obviously) of door hardware locksmiths on a tight schedule, and well after the advent of cordless driver/drills.
I won't presume to educate you on more than one thing at a time, and explain to you all of the reasons it's been so popular, as I've already met my quota. ;)
re: "The bright side is I learned that nails can work as drill bits."
So can wire coat hangers.
They're great for drilling through thick walls, like through the sill plate, then through the sheathing, siding, etc. as a means to locate the hole on the exterior.
They work prttey good on cement block also.
If you know where you want to go out through the wall, drill through from the inside with a sharpened coat hanger to ensure that where you come out will work on the outside. If it works, enlarge the hole from both sides. If it doesn't, you've only got a tiny hole in the siding/ block to caulk. No major damage.
I have one that my grandfather used when I was a little boy of 9 and before. He left when I was 10 at the age of 64. I be 69 now and wonder how much longer I can use it and do dips and chin ups at the gym.
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