To drive in a nail, no special experience is required, every developer can cope with this task, another thing is to correctly pull out a hammered nail. If the hat is flush with the surface, then it is recommended to know some of the subtleties of this work. And a lot depends on pulling out nails on which tool you choose. It is best to use a titanium nail puller for this purpose, which will handle the nails best.
Purpose of the nail puller
There were times when wooden nails were used everywhere, for this they first drilled holes in the boards that fit the diameter, and after that they connected the structural details in a similar simple way. Such nails were called pins. However, the pin could not be pulled out. And today these products have been replaced with metal fasteners that have wide caps. In the manufacture of wood products, it often becomes necessary to pull out improperly hammered nails.
They are easy to pick up with a puller - a special tool with a flattened end, where there is a wedge-shaped slot, which is convenient for gripping a nail. After hooking, you also need to pull out the fastener, which is tightly compressed by the fibers of the tree or wedged in the concrete panel, so a forged nail puller should be used. The leverage helps, so all nail pullers are made quite long, and near the toe there is a bend that acts as a support. The material is also of great importance, so tools for pulling nails are often made hardened.
Claw hammers perform the functions of an ordinary carpenter's hammer or act as a nail puller. Such a tool will help to hammer in a nail, and easily remove an unnecessary one if it is installed incorrectly. Today there are similar hammers with different handles: wooden, metal, rubberized, fiberglass.
Thus, the purpose of a manual nail puller is to pull out nails. And the scope of its use is quite large. With it, you can gently and easily pull the nail out of the floor or baseboard. Regardless of the description of the nail puller, it is used when dismantling various buildings, wooden structures, boxes and containers. The nail puller is indispensable tool for loaders, carpenters, other technical workers and private developers at home.
In addition to the main function that the nail puller performs, its other functions are also known: pulling out nails using a flattened end with a slot, breaking asphalt, ice and frozen soil, lifting various objects, opening boxes and other surfaces fastened with nails using a pointed end. The solid profile, which is equipped with a nail puller, successfully allows you to dismantle building materials.
Nail puller design
The nail puller is a lever-wedge device manual type for pulling out nails driven into the material. The nail puller is produced in the form independent tool or a tool that is combined with tools such as a crowbar or a hammer, as in the photo of nail pullers.
A nail puller is a curved metal wedge, which is divided in two by a working groove, which is designed for the process of capturing and holding when pulling a nail by the “hat” from the material. The action of the nailer is based on the action of the wedge on the surface - fastener and the material into which the fastener is hammered, and on the principle of a lever when pulling out a nail. The principle of the lever has been used by man since ancient times, when it was necessary to break off a piece of stone, lift a heavy object, which required remarkable efforts.
This building tool at one end has a curved flattened platform with a slot that expands, and at the other there is a straight pointed stake. The second end is often simply flattened and pointed. Depending on the requirements for the tool, the nail puller comes in different sizes. The price of nail pullers on the market also varies. The length of the nail pullers ranges from 320 - 1000 millimeters, and the weight is 0.6 - 4 kilograms. The choice of the size of this construction tool depends directly on the size of the nails with which it will work.
Most hammers that are equipped additional function pullers for nails, are equipped with a rubber handle, thanks to which they are clamped in the palm of your hand, like a glove. To increase the strength of nail pullers, heat treatment of high carbon steel is also used, which is a common tool material. There are also nail pullers with a wood handle and an iron tip. But it is not recommended to get carried away with a variety of form factors, the main thing in a tool for extracting nails is flat surface blades, which is brought under the hat, and the level of its strength.
Making a nail puller with your own hands
Any owner needs a good nail puller no less than a saw, a hammer or an ax. Therefore, it is useful to know how to make a nail puller at home. We suggest you make a set of three nail pullers that will help you pull out any nails and fasteners.
A nail puller for pulling out small nails is best made of steel with a high carbon content so that its working part can be hardened. To do this, take a steel wire 0.5 mm thick, then straighten it on the anvil and flatten the working end a little.
Make a shallow cut with a hacksaw along the axis, process the edges of the cut with a needle file. Bend the working part of the tool in a vise. It is customary to make a bend in two steps: first in a place where the workpiece is thicker, and then closer to the working end. Remove small dents from the vise with a file. Then sand the working part of the tool and, if possible, polish with a polishing paste.
It remains to harden with a future vacation. After this manipulation, grind the working part of the tool again and polish it. Attach the resulting workpiece to the handle. Do-it-yourself nail puller for small nails is ready!
Nail pullers for large and medium nails are usually made of reinforcing steel. Just remember that the working part does not need to be flattened. Preliminary carry out all rough processing on an emery wheel.
Handles are not required for such nail pullers. To pull out a long nail with an ordinary nail puller, you have to put various objects under its base, for example, a piece of board, which is not very convenient. Improve your nail puller by welding an additional part at a distance of 6 centimeters from the working one.
Using a homemade nail puller
Now you should learn how to properly use a homemade nail puller. Using this tool is quite simple. Depending on the diameter of the nail, you need to select the appropriate home-made nail puller from the set and knock out the pre-wedge part of the tool with a hammer under the hat.
When the nail enters the slot of the working part, move the handle towards the wood - the nail will come out a little from the hole. Place a low block to support it. After that, the nail will come out a little more. Now you can grab onto his hat with pliers.
Crowbar nailer is convenient fixture to remove nails from different designs. It greatly facilitates the dismantling work for the master. Helps to resolve the issue of removal of nails quickly and efficiently. In turn, this is an ergonomic tool, despite the fact that it belongs to the category manual fixture, there are also models of an electric nail puller
If you pay attention to the photo of the nail puller, you can understand that this tool is a curved wedge with a forked end, with the help of which the cap of the removed nail or other element is captured. It is made exclusively from high quality metal and has a long arm.
Scope of application
Despite the simple device, the use of the tool is necessary in the construction industry. It is used wherever the task is to extract objects from different surface, also it is very helpful for loaders to lift heavy loads. Carpenters, locksmiths, builders use it to solve everyday issues. Also, the nail puller can be used not for its intended purpose, but for the reconstruction of the premises, parsing is not desired structures, frames.
Varieties
In the classic version, the tool looks like a rod made of steel with cut ends, while they can be on both sides of the nail puller.
The length of a standard fixture is from four hundred to five hundred millimeters, the diameter is from ten to twenty-five millimeters. If the length of the product increases, then the strength, due to the thickness, also increases, although the weight is added.
One type of tool is a hammer with a nail puller function. It has a short handle which makes it easy to use. This is very universal type fixtures, since a hammer nail puller can not only extract elements, but also hammer.
It has a two-piece structure different ends. On one working surface there is a round hammer head, and on the other a classic pointed part with a forked wedge.
The main part of the models has a non-slip rubberized handle. The only drawback is that the possibility of leverage of this device is limited.
The nail puller has gained particular popularity in the sales market among consumers. Its design has a second wedge resembling a flat blade.
With its help, you can dismantle wooden floors, raise building devices, remodel boards. At the same time, the other end perfectly performs the function of pulling out nails and other unnecessary elements.
To purchase best nail puller, you need to determine for what work, you need a tool. In any case, before buying, pay attention to the following properties of the device:
First, the nail crowbar must be made of high strength metal such as tool steel, which is not prone to warping. Although the instrument best quality made from titanium. Of course, they are significantly overpriced.
It is desirable that the tip be covered with a special protective paintwork or anti-corrosion coating. This will make it as strong and durable as possible in use.
Secondly, the length of the tool matters. Give preference to those models that will be necessary for your work. So, for disassembling bulky structures, a device with a handle up to one and a half meters is required, and if necessary, small dismantling work, a short nail puller up to fifty centimeters long can be useful.
The force of its impact on the material will also depend on the weight of the tool. A heavy reinforced nail puller can destroy large structures, but the work will be tedious.
Making a fixture
You can not buy, but make a nail puller with your own hands. How to make a tool yourself, we will further consider step by step:
- 1 step. First, choose a wire made of steel right size depending on the diameter of the nails to be removed.
- 2 step. Next, process the tip of one part, flatten it with a hammer, then cut a slot for further removal of the elements.
- 3 step. If defects have formed, and notches, remove them with a needle file.
- 4 step. The next step is to bend both ends of the nozzle. Start with the thicker part of the instrument.
- 5 step. If possible, it is recommended to harden the fixture. Polish the product and attach to the handle.
So without much difficulty, you can independently make such a necessary thing as a crowbar nail puller.
Photo crowbar nail puller
ABOUT metal processing is carried out not only in factories: when repairing a car, home mechanization, inventory and equipment, not to mention construction work, you have to drill, forge, sharpen and cut.
Of course, if you need a complex part made of special steels, it is better to order it in a specialized workshop - http://zelmatik.ru/, where metalworking is carried out using powerful presses and precision machines. But, if right now you need a simple part or a device made of iron? It even costs a penny, but until you find it, the day will pass! This is where knowing the techniques of working with metal will help.
Do desired item from waste scrap metal you will be able to, having a minimum of tools, literally “on your knee”. Let's see how to do it and what is needed for this.
What will we work
Tools that have already become familiar in household:
- powerful;
- welding machine;
- electric grinder.
Let's add an anvil, cutting torch(included) and a powerful vise.
All this can be borrowed, but it is better to buy. In the economy such universal fixtures come in handy more than once.
The anvil can be made from a regular rail. At the rail trim on one side, we form a point with a grinder, then we drill holes for fastening with a drill and a working hole, for what it is, you will see further.
Klupp and (or) a set of dies with a holder for M10 ÷ 18 threads will significantly expand your capabilities.
You can not do without hand tools:
- a hammer and a small sledgehammer "cam";
- pliers;
- metal scissors;
- pliers (can be ordinary carpentry).
We process metal, hardening
Before we find out what can be done on the farm with the simple set described above, let's look at some of the properties of the metal.
Various rolled products, fittings, parts from mechanisms, that is, almost any steel available to an ordinary person, becomes malleable and ductile with strong heating. It can be flattened, bent and twisted as you like.
However, after the metal has cooled, it often becomes more ductile than it was before, but less hard and durable. This is especially noticeable when you work with springy steels, for example, an automobile spring.
The reason is the slow cooling of the workpiece during operation, during which the so-called "vacation" occurs. In order to restore hardness and strength to the metal again, it must be hardened, i.e. heat up again and cool quickly.
With damaged hats that cannot be unscrewed. Due to its shape and strength, it can also be used for dismantling wooden, plastic and other structures that can be separated as a result of the applied force.
How a nail puller works
The tool may have different shape, but regardless of the variety, it always has the same working part. It is a flat wedge, shaped like a spatula with a forked tip. The longitudinal slot on it has a special groove that allows you to capture the head of a nail or screw. Subsequently, the tool is used as a lever for pulling out the fastener.
Usually the tool is made of carbon steel. It has high hardness. Also on sale you can find cheaper nail pullers made of weak alloys, which are of little use for dismantling work. To identify low-quality tools, it is enough to scratch their working part using the tip of a nail. At good tool steel is hard, so scratches do not form. If a bad nail puller is tested, then a mark will appear on it directly in the metal, and not just on the paint.
Where are nailers used?
The need to pull out nails may be required in various circumstances. Such a tool is used by people of dozens of professions. First of all, it is necessary for builders, as well as for finishers who perform repair work. It is convenient to tear off old floorboards with a nail puller, tear off wall lining, dismantle the roof from slate. The need for it arises during disassembly wooden fences. Nail pullers are much more compact than crowbars, so they can be used for accurate demolition brickwork. Thanks to a flat spatula, it is convenient to push them under the brick, and using a lever to tear it off the wall.
Also, the tool is used by loaders and couriers involved in the delivery of goods in the crate. Due to its increased strength, this device can be fully used for striking during dismantling. Of course, a hammer makes everything much more convenient, but when the latter is not at hand, it is quite possible to get by with a nail puller.
Varieties of nail pullers
This is a highly demanded tool, for which there are no analogues in the performance of certain types of dismantling work, therefore dozens of well-known trademarks. Each of them strive to improve the design, making it more convenient for performing certain tasks. In this regard, there are several very successful varieties of this tool that are used everywhere. Conventionally, they can be divided into ordinary nail pullers and those combined with other types of tools.
Ordinary
Such a tool is intended solely for tearing nails. He has small size up to 40 cm. At its end, an ordinary handle with an overlay is provided, similar to that found on hammers. This is a relatively light nail puller, allowing you to work mainly with fasteners. He is quite capable of tearing off floorboards or dismantling wooden boxes. Purely nail pullers are not very popular, since for a similar cost you can purchase a more advanced tool that can perform at least one more additional function.
There are also more compact devices designed to work with small nails, which are usually used in furniture assembly, as well as knocking together small boxes. They have the size of an ordinary large one, with the exception that they are equipped with a slotted spatula at the end. With the help of such a device, fasteners can be removed, creating minimal damage to the surface from which they break out. This tool is also suitable for dismantling push pins that are firmly embedded in wood. They can also rip off the clips holding the internal plastic elements car interior.
Combined
Such a nail puller combines one or more additional tools:
- Ticks.
- Mount.
Nail pullers compatible with crowbar have dimensions up to 150 cm. At their second end there is a flat blade or a pointed wedge. It is a versatile construction and demolition tool and the easiest to work with because it has a large leverage, which reduces the load when pulling out nails. With a similar device, it is good to dismantle floorboards, benches, wooden buildings, as well as roof battens. In addition, the tool can be used as an ordinary scrap. Its forked shoulder blade is quite large, therefore it is not able to capture small carnations with a small diameter cap. It will not work if it is necessary to carefully disassemble small structures, the components of which must be kept intact, preventing the appearance of dents in the wood.
Enjoy great popularity hammers, they have a nail puller on the opposite side of the striker. They have a small leverage, so pulling out fasteners with such a device is quite difficult. At the same time, such structures also have advantages. First of all, they are compact and able to fit in a toolbox. Hammers can quite cope with tearing out small nails, but for long ones their leverage is too short. The bulk of the load falls on the hammer handle, which is usually made of wood. Overdone and pressing too hard, it is quite possible to break it. If you plan to make great efforts, then it is better to choose an all-metal hammer with a nail puller. Such a tool may well survive a large load, and besides this, it will not be damaged if the handle is lengthened. metal pipe to increase leverage. Typically, these hammers are used when they need to be used to drive nails. If one of them is bent, then it can be immediately removed to score the other.
Nail pullers-chisels
A highly specialized tool designed for beekeepers. It is used for processing and cleaning old frames. With its help, small carnations are removed, and the planks of the frame are cleaned from the old foundation with a chisel. Also on sale are reinforced chisels, which, in addition to performing the current two functions, also work like a hammer. This makes them versatile for repairing bee frames and more serious tasks. It is worth noting that such nail puller although it is a chisel, it is not sharp enough to carry out woodcarving, like carpentry counterparts.
Meet ticks, which themselves are used to extract nails. At the same time, on one of their handles there is a flat spatula with a slot for studs, copying the shape of a nail puller. Such a device cannot cope with large fasteners, but it is quite useful for disassembling small wooden boxes, which are usually used for the transport of vegetables and fruits.
Nail pullers deserve special attention mounts. This is an almost universal dismantling tool that allows you to perform a large list of works. Typically, these devices are 4 in 1. They can be used as a nail puller, pry bar, hammer and tool for bending metal rods. Often this device costs much more than all other varieties. However, it cannot compete with the power of a crowbar nail puller.
How to use a nail puller
Often, when using a nail puller, one has to deal with heavily hammered nails, the head of which is deepened into the surface. In this case, there is no way to get hooked. To solve this problem, it is necessary to keep auxiliary tools at hand. First of all, it is a hammer, or pliers.
If a structure is being dismantled, in which there is access to the reverse side, where the tip of the nail is located, then it is worth checking if it protrudes. If the pointed part sticks out, then it is necessary to hit it with a hammer, after which the hat will come out and you can pull it out. Sometimes fasteners with reverse side bent for increased reliability. In this case, it needs to be unbent. For this, pliers or tongs are useful. After leveling, hit the sharp side so that the hat comes out a little.
In the case of dismantling surfaces in which the tip does not protrude from the back, or there is no access to it, the work will have to be done more roughly. First you need to put the spatula of the nail puller against the hat, directing it at an angle of 30 degrees. With a hammer blow on the back of the nail puller, it must be driven into the surface until the cap is hooked. After that, the tool is used as a lever and pulls out the nail as usual. This is a fail-safe method, but spoils the boards, which is not always acceptable if you plan to use them in the future.
When the nail is driven with great force, the back of the nail puller cuts into the wood, leaving a deep dent there. The same occurs when dismantling the mount on slate roof. To avoid this effect, it is worth placing a small soft wooden plank under the stop of the tool. It will take on the deformation effect on itself, distributing the load over a larger area, so a dent will not appear.
This building tool is rather anti-building. The fact is that with the help of nail pullers they do not build, but break. It is intended primarily for disassembling fixed joints of wooden structures made with nails. At the same time, with the help of a nail puller, you can also perform other dismantling work: beating off plaster, dismantling brick walls and much more.
Nail pullers come in a wide variety of designs, but they all have common feature. At least one of their ends has a flattened area in the form of a narrow blade with a widening slot. When pulling out the nails, the upper part of the protruding nail is inserted into this slot and using the nail puller as a lever, resting against the nail head, it is easy to pull it out. IN construction stores you can find a very wide variety of nail pullers and we want to talk about all of them.
Types of nail pullers
crowbar nail puller
This tool is a classic nail puller tool. It is made entirely of steel. Structurally, it is a piece of steel rod, the ends of which are bent in different directions, and one or both of them are flattened and slots are made in them for pulling out nails. Along the length of the crowbar, the nail puller can be either of a small length - 40 cm, or very significant - up to 1.5 meters. Accordingly, the longer the nail puller, the thicker and stronger it is.
Previously, these tools were usually made independently from improvised materials. Usually, various shafts from mechanisms and machines were used for these purposes. If you see such a homemade nail puller - take it without hesitation. The fact is that this is a truly eternal tool due to the very high strength qualities of the material used. All the same, the shafts are made of high-strength steel. They used to make nail pullers usually familiar from factories that had access to powerful presses, or in forges that can be found in the vastness of Russia at the present time.
Those crowbars - nail pullers, which are now sold in stores, are of course worse. First of all, this is due to the fact that standard rolled metal products are used for their production. Currently, for the production of crowbars - nail pullers, reinforcement, a round bar or a hexagonal bar with a diameter of 10 mm to 25 mm are used. Despite the fact that some manufacturers still harden the ends, this tool wears out quickly and is easy to bend if you try to break a powerful building structure.
As an example, I will give own experience- as a result of using a small modern nail puller, the slot developed to such a state that the nail heads in it simply stopped holding within two days. And this is taking into account the fact that I pulled out with it only about 1500 nails 30 mm long from a wooden floor ( old fiberboard tore off).
Nail pullers made of reinforcement are a little stronger, but they can very quickly rub calluses on your hands if you do not wrap the handle with electrical tape, for example. Round and hex rod nail pullers are approximately equal in strength. Checking the strength of a nail puller is easy enough. Take a nail approximately 120 - 150 mm long and try to scratch the working part of the tool (slotted blade) with the tip. If the scratch turned out, and even deep, do not take this nail puller. There will be little sense from him. 
coming up with this design manufacturers primarily cared about giving the tool versatility. So two tools in one. Structurally, this is a classic hammer, usually with a rounded head, the sharp part of which is made in the form of a working part of a nail puller. On the one hand, of course, this is convenient, especially if you are sitting on the top of the roof, hammering nails and it took you to pull out one nail, which was bent from an unsuccessful blow.
At the same time, it is inconvenient to use a nail puller as a dismantling tool. It is not always possible with its help to crawl under the head of a nail, and it also has a less durable handle - made of wood, and the lever is much shorter than that of a crowbar - a nail puller.
As a material for the metal part of hammers of this type, forged tool steel is usually used, which usually surpasses the material of modern classical nail pullers in strength. On sale you can also find a tool of this type completely made of metal with an ergonomic rubberized handle. Hammers - nail pullers are usually used in plumbing and carpentry.
As recommendations, we advise you to have three types of nail puller in your tool kit: a hammer - a nail puller, a small classic nail puller 40 - 50 cm long and a powerful crowbar - a nail puller at least 90 cm long. The hammer can be used in construction work when you need to pull out one or more unsuccessfully hammered nails, with the help of a small nail puller it is convenient to pull out the upholstery studs and remove the lining, but big tool will be needed when dismantling powerful building structures, pulling out large nails or staples, as well as dismantling brickwork.
