Comments on: Wonderful Wedgies With Cut Nails

By: Swanz

Swanz — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 09:41:28 +0000

Interesting technique. I’ll admit to wincing at first sight.

By: Christopher Schwarz

Christopher Schwarz — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 22:38:21 +0000

Bill,

Gads.

You don’t have a nail puller? They are awesome because they work so much better than the "claw."

I think I paid 50 cents for mine at a Maine flea market. I know I overpaid. Sorry!

Chris

By: Bill T.

Bill T. — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 21:08:46 +0000

Except that those tapered cut nails can be a bear to pull out. You might even break a wooden-handled hammer trying to pull a cut nail out of your workbench, leaving the head lying neatly on the bench with the nail smiling up at you from between the hammer’s claws, and leaving you gripping nothing but a snapped-off wooden hammer handle.

Do Not Ask Me How I Know This.

By: Christopher Schwarz

Christopher Schwarz — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:17:17 +0000

Sampson,

The only real advantage is that you can work without clamps — like using hot hide glue for a rub joint.

And you make your bench into a great toothpick holder!

Chris

By: Corey

Corey — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:14:51 +0000

Chris, this is not a waste of bandwidth. I love learning the old ways of doing things and this is new to me. I have been reading and learning about woodworking for 20 years and I’ve never come across this. Maybe it just seems like common sense to the old timers. I really appreciate these posts, I never would have thought you could exert enough pressure with just a few nails.

Keep it up.
Corey

By: Samson

Samson — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:36:13 +0000

Thanks, Chris. Don’t get me wrong, I find this interesting and am glad you explored it. I just wondered if it provided some advantage I was missing.

By: Christopher Schwarz

Christopher Schwarz — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:29:33 +0000

Samson,

I did it simply to try a new (actually very old) technique.

I have been amazed at how few tools and clamps you really need to build furniture if you try some of these old-school techniques. So I’m happy to explore things such as this.

Chris

By: Samson

Samson — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:49:52 +0000

Two questions:
- why would you need to do this? As opposed to just using clamps?

- If you did need to do this, why not use a scrap piece of 3/4" ply and save your bench top?

By: Chet Kloss

Chet Kloss — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:23:56 +0000

What, pray tell, are cross-stretchers?

By: Luis Madeira

Luis Madeira — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 12:32:35 +0000

I have to admit that I grinned as well when I saw the photo at the beginning of this post…and if you keep up this practice, your bench will begin to look like my grandfather’s in another 20 years or so.

I’ve seen too many people treat their benches like fine mahogany dining room tables. To qualify, there’s nothing wrong with taking care of your bench – it is, after all, one of the most important and versatile tools in the shop…but it is a TOOL. I can understand the reluctance to "pepper it with holes", especially considering the amount of work required to build one.

Having said that, beech and hard maple don’t accept steel penetration as readily as SYP…and pre-drilling holes for nails as workholding devices would be a bit of a pain.
I didn’t think to try cut nails (as opposed to regular round nails) for this application…would they be more robust than regular nails? I’ll have to give it a try…