Nail crowbar: how to make the right choice of construction tool. Any builder working with wood should have a nail puller and a plane. Where are nail pullers used?
The principle of leverage has been used by man since the very moment he became intelligent. Roll away a stone or log, lift it heavy object, breaking off a piece of rock - all this requires considerable effort, but with a lever system, even a weak person can move a substantial load. Today, the classic lever is embodied in a tool such as a nail crowbar, but a device for extracting nails is included in the different instruments, for example, in a hammer or pry bar, and can also be independent.
It’s quite understandable why we started with a crowbar; it’s a lever no matter what, it’s almost impossible to bend it (human weight, in any case, is not enough for this), and the length allows you to move objects with a large mass. The smaller version is often used by antisocial elements for purposes other than their intended purpose, but to break locks.
Yes, in fact, and as an independent element, the puller can be used to open boxes, lift various items, they are also convenient for scratching your back. IN computer games this tool is effectively used as a weapon by various characters.
What does it take to pull out a nail?
There was a time when they were used wooden nails, to use them in boards, they first drilled holes of suitable diameter and only then connected them in such a simple way individual parts designs. However, it is almost impossible to pull out a dowel (a nail made of wood), and you cannot make a mistake. Another thing is metal fasteners with wide heads; they can be picked up with a puller - a tool with a flattened end, in which a wedge-shaped slot is made, convenient for gripping a nail.
However, it’s not enough to pick it up; you also need to pull it out, but how to do this if the fasteners are tightly compressed by wood fibers or wedged deep in the concrete panel? Leverage will help, and that is why all pulls are made long enough and with a bend near the toe, which acts as a support. The material also plays a role; for the most part, the tools for pulling out nails are made of hardened steel, but some will like a good-quality titanium nail hammer, the reliability of which you don’t have to worry about.
Everything for the convenience of working with the tool
Modern industry is constantly developing, new opportunities are opening up to improve the characteristics of tools, including those that require significant effort when used, and therefore must fit comfortably in the hand.
In particular, most hammers with additional function in the form of a nail puller, they 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 the pullers, heat treatment of high-carbon steel, a common tool material, is also used.
When choosing a hammer with a pull, pay more attention to single-element tools, which have higher reliability than those whose working part is mounted on a separate handle.
Modern hammers for roofers are interesting; the puller on them is somewhat modernized. One of the teeth of the “fork” of such a tool is elongated and pointed, which allows you to drive it into the wood with one movement, freeing your hands or thereby stopping a fall. A kind of alpenstock combined with a puller. However, don't get carried away by the variety of form factors, the main thing in a nail removal tool is... flat surface blades placed under the cap, and its strength.
May 26, 2014The name of the tool – “nail puller” – speaks for itself. This is a device designed to remove nails driven into wood, plastic, metal, etc. The nail puller has the appearance of a curved wedge made of high-strength metal. This wedge is divided in half, forming a working groove in the middle, with the help of which the nail is grabbed by the “head”, held and pulled out.
If the nail is “tightly” fixed in the material, then its removal can be done using the principle of a lever, the role of which will be played by the so-called “handle” of the nail puller. This tool is also widely used by loaders when manually lifting too heavy a load, and by carpenters to destroy structures that are not particularly strong. There are several types of nail pullers: claw hammer, nail crowbar and independent instrument. The last option is much less common than the others.
Claw hammer
What tool could be more versatile than a hammer with a nail puller on one handle? Everything is very logical: you hammer the nail in with one side, and take it out with the other, in case the procedure is unsuccessful! Very convenient, isn't it? However, there is a small “but”: with such a nail puller it is not always possible to reach the “head” of the nail, since the hammer has a relatively short handle. Plus, its strength is not so high that a hammer nail puller can be used using the lever principle. In general, such a tool is much inferior to its “crowbar” counterpart. The only thing it wins in is mobility. Due to its compactness, such a nail puller will always be at hand for the master.
Nail puller
This type of instrument is considered classic. It is made from pure, durable steel. It looks like reinforcement with ends bent in different directions, on which nail pullers are installed. Naturally, with the help of such a tool you can do everything: pull out nails, lift a load, destroy structures, etc. Their length ranges from 40 cm to 1.5 m. But you should always remember that as the length of the nail puller increases, its strength and weight increase.
Choosing a nail puller
- Tip. It should be sharp, flat and without external defects.
- Weight and length. If there is a huge amount of work ahead, such as dismantling doors and windows, dismantling furniture, demolishing structures, etc. Then you will need a nail puller on a crowbar 1 m long. If you need to disassemble drawers, repair benches and benches, then a nail puller 40-50 cm long will do just fine. When choosing a weight, you should “listen” to yourself: if you have enough strength, you won’t get tired when working with a heavy nail puller long time, then it's yours! After all, the higher the weight of the tool, the less effort it will take to tear out a nail!
Photo: burbuja.info, protoolreviews.com
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A nail puller is almost always present in our construction equipment, and it is rarely purchased as a separate tool; it is much more convenient when it is included with its permanent partners - a hammer or a crowbar.
Design and purpose of a nail puller
There is no person who can perfectly drive nails into any surface without making a single mistake. The percentage of errors made, of course, depends on the experience of the worker, but never drops to zero. Therefore, you can’t do without a nail puller on a construction site. In addition, quite often it is required not during the construction process, but already for destruction, for example, wooden building. Many people burn the remains of a rotten building and use the ash, but it will ruin all the properties, so they are removed first.
It is not always easy to remove a nail with small pliers, especially if the material is quite strong and the nail is long. This is where school physics and the law of leverage come to the rescue. Even the most stubborn nail can be reached without much effort if you have a long lever with a firm grip on the end. From here it is easy to guess about the design of the nail puller, which is quite simple. A correctly pointed end of the gripper will help pry up even the most deeply driven nail.
IN general case, our tool looks something like this: a long handle, at the end of which there is a bend, ending in a flattened forked tip with a slot. The length of the tool depends on the severity of the tasks that it can perform; this is the same length of the lever, which is directly related to the effort expended to pull out the nail. The pointed end easily fits under the nail head, which may not even protrude above the surface of the material. The slot firmly grips the head, and the bend as a stop allows you to smoothly move the center of gravity of the tool slightly back so that the pointed end rises, dragging the nail along with it.
Thus, without unnecessary sudden movements and enormous efforts, you will get any unsuccessful or unwanted fasteners. We have already said that most often we can find a nail puller as an additional head on a hammer. For most economic works This is quite enough and convenient; immediately at the moment of hammering the nail, it can be removed. The hammer handle is long enough for leverage. But for more serious work, loaders and carpenters always have individual tools, made from high-strength materials. A nail puller is often used for more than just pulling nails, especially if it is highly durable.
Titanium nail puller – how to buy a good tool?
Looking at the design, it seems that choosing such a tool is as easy as pie. But if you experienced master, then you will approach the matter very demandingly. In addition, the range of seemingly monotonous devices is quite wide. For example, just by length you can expect to find a purchase from 32 cm to 1 m, weight can reach as much as 4 kg, although the lightest options will only pull 0.5 kg. The material used for manufacturing also differs; most often, it is high-carbon steel, but titanium nail puller is considered the leader in strength.
When choosing a tool, it is still important to look at some parameters. First, immediately pay attention to the tip. It should be fairly flat, sharp and durable. Sometimes only the tip is made of durable material, and everything else is made of cheaper metal, or even wood. It happens that the tip is protected by coatings, paint or anti-corrosion. Yes, over time it will wear off on numerous nail heads, but this will still extend the service life, preventing rusting and disintegration at least at first.
Next, choose the length and weight. If you are in the mood for a large amount of work, for example, windows, dismantling large-sized furniture and similar operations, then do not hesitate to take a nail puller about 1 m long. If your plans are limited to dismantling boxes, repairing benches and other little things, then the 30-40 cm option is quite suitable.
And the weight you should choose is light, although it is responsible for the effort made. That is, the greater the weight of the tool, the less effort you will need to make to reach the nail. But do not forget that you personally have to carry and deftly operate a heavy tool, which means that the chance of getting tired quickly is quite high. So you have to choose best option to ensure that the work requires moderate effort and that the tool itself is efficient without being heavy. A weight of 1 kg is considered just right according to these criteria.
Choosing a tool involves evaluating the material, quality of the tip, as well as the length of the lever and the weight of the entire device.
Creating a homemade version
For those who are especially skilled, we offer a way to independently make a set of the most commonly used types of nail pullers.
How to make a nail puller with your own hands - step by step diagram
Step 1: Preparing the nozzle
For this you will need steel wires different diameters, for the smallest nails 0.5 mm is enough, but for heavy work you can even take fittings. The tip should be treated first. To do this, flatten the end with a hammer on an anvil (for reinforcement, you should not flatten it, you just have to cut the material to the desired sharpness, you can do it on an emery wheel). Next, use a regular hacksaw to cut a slot of moderate depth. Too long will force us to drive the nail deep into it, and this is not at all necessary, extra work.
Step 2: Processing the nozzle
Now you should take a file and process the edges to remove irregularities, nicks and other defects that inevitably form when working with metal. Next we have to bend this nozzle, try to do this in two steps. First, the thick part of the wire, which is located before the transition to the flattened one, is slightly bent. And after it, the part that is closer to the area where the work will be carried out also bends.
Many people also manage to harden such a workpiece, if you have such an opportunity, and you are sure that the wire material allows you to do this, do not ignore this idea. Now go over the entire tip with a file and sandpaper, and then with polishing paste, it’s almost ready, so let’s polish it. Thus, the entire set of tips is made according to your taste and whim, if you want to have a nail puller for almost every head size.
Step 3: Use
Now all that remains is to fit the resulting tip onto the handle, if there is one. But don’t despair, if you can’t find a reliable handle, you can attach it to an already existing tool, for example, to the same hammer. You can increase the leverage value by placing a block under the tool after the nail head is in the slot. Of course, the work will not be immediate, but you will achieve the effect. Since there is no huge lever, sometimes it will be difficult to get the nail out completely, but once you get it halfway out, it’s easy to finish the job even with pliers; a minimum of effort will be required.
The home set of various devices, equipment and hand-held auxiliary devices in the workshop as a whole is determined, first of all, by the personal interests and needs of the craftsman at home. Because the general type activities home handyman is not contained in one specificity, then the range of tools in the workshop should be suitable for all occasions in life.
This article, which discusses the main tools that should thoroughly settle in the utility room of a home craftsman, will concern a nail puller and a woodworking device - a plane. Let's start the discussion.
Burglar's Tool: Nail Pull
Ideally, the nail puller should be formed from a single piece of scrap, its diameter should be at least 20 mm, and its length should be 750 mm. Classic type hand tools looks like a curved wedge of metal, with a cone flattened towards the end, flattened into a plane. The rolled out plane must have a groove divided in two, which is designed to grip the “head” of the nail.
The action of the nail puller is based on the resistance of the wedge to the relatively wedging surfaces, that is, to the material into which the nail is driven and the nail itself. And also on the effect of the lever principle, when pulling out the fastening element.
nail puller good quality It is permissible to pull out nails about 20 cm long. For more convenient reproduction this process, under the heel of the product under discussion, as the nail comes out, is placed. If the procedure is severe, you should try to pull out the nail using jerky force. As a last resort, you can make several blows with a sledgehammer to the body of the device.
If too much force is applied, the nail head may come off. There’s nothing you can do about it; you’ll have to take a hacksaw to separate the rest of the fastener. The main thing is that in the work we will get the separation of the component parts that were put together with this fastener. You can, of course, use a slightly different method, for example, grab the rest of the nail with pliers and turn it a little around its axis. In this case, the fastener should give in and calmly come out of the raw material.
Nail pullers were previously produced at metallurgical plants; now it is possible to freely buy a similar device on sale, even with a rubberized handle for ease of use. A nail puller with a rubberized handle from the manufacturer Stayer can be purchased for only 77 rubles. A forged reinforced crowbar nail puller from the manufacturer ZUBR retails from 196 rubles to 530 rubles.
Hand-held woodworking tool: plane
A plane is a hand-held woodworking tool designed for planing. Use it when necessary to give wooden surfaces parts of various configurations of the desired shape, plane, straightness or roughness. It can be used to create extended recesses on wood parts, by the way, of various shapes: tongues, “quarters”, etc.
The item in question consists of a block with a taphole (through socket) into which a cutter is mounted, made of steel at a certain angle. Steel cutter, in turn, is also sharpened at a certain angle; in the design of a manual product there can be two of them. The cutting angle of the knife can vary between 45-80 degrees, even more, it all depends on the purpose of the device. The block itself was previously almost always made from wood raw materials, while modern instrument blocks are made of metal.
The variety of jointers is actually quite wide; from the total mass we can highlight one of the most universal models called a grinder or a device with a single cutter. A planer with a single blade is used for leveling large area uneven surface. The grinder is designed for finishing, the cutting angle of the knife is around 49 degrees.
The jointer cutters are sharpened at the factory. If over time the device becomes difficult to plan, then the knife can be brought down with a whetstone. You can reproduce this procedure yourself using wooden block with the same angle (the cutting edge of the knife is at an angle of 7-8 degrees relative to the surface of the device plane).
To do this, extend the cutter to right size and secure it. The block is fixed with wire, which is pulled “tightly” with pliers, but only until the work is completed. After sharpening, the cutter line should be parallel to the surface of the plane of the device in question. Line cutting edge may be violated, since the width of the knife is slightly smaller than the hole (tap) of the woodworking device.
A plane with a metal box from Kraftool with a 50 mm knife can cost about 1098 rubles. The same device and from the same representative, but in a wooden box, can be purchased at a price of 370 rubles. A fairly good quality device from Raspel-Hobel can be found at retail for 660 rubles.
Of course, as a rule, a plane is used if there is no electricity at the construction site, or, in extreme cases, increased certain accuracy is needed. When large volumes of work are expected, preference is given to an electric planer, and labor productivity immediately increases significantly. Power tools from the manufacturer of hand tools ZUBR are offered in retail chains at a price of 1,700 rubles. The Hyundai trade and manufacturing brand offers its consumers woodworking equipment starting from 2,400 rubles.
There is some wisdom regarding working with a plane on wood flooring. With the subject under discussion, wood is planed along the direction of the grain, and not across the grain or against the direction. Otherwise, scratches will form on the surface. To determine the direction of the fiber, run your hand over the material. First, move the palm in one direction along the plane of the raw material, then in the other. If the palm has the ability to seem to slide over the surface, then this is directional along the grain, and accordingly, you need to plan in this direction.
In progress construction work there is a need not only to build any structure, ensuring it reliable fastening, but also to dismantle the building. In the latter case, you will need to quickly remove the fastening elements - ordinary nails. You can do this with improvised tools, but it is better to use more convenient device- nail puller.
Purpose and design features
A nail puller is used to remove nails from wooden, plastic and other structures. There are many varieties of this device, but in general it is a handle, at the end of which there is a curved wedge made of durable metal.
The wedge ends with a slot, i.e. has a forked tip. This groove captures the nail head and then removes it.
When a nail is more firmly attached to the surface of a workpiece or other construction object, the handle of the tool acts as a lever. Loaders often use a nail puller as an assistant to lift heavy loads, and carpenters use it to dismantle wooden structures.
This tool belongs to the manual category, although there are also electric nail puller models. You need to choose taking into account your financial capabilities, the range of planned work and the required ergonomics in use.
Hammer with claw function
This is a universal type of tool that can be used not only for removing nails, but also for driving them. Therefore, the claw hammer has two different ends on the working attachment:
- rounded head of a classic hammer;
- a pointed part with a slot to perform the functions of a nail puller.
The metal part of the hammer is made of high-strength steel. Many models are equipped with a rubberized handle. It is compact and mobile instrument. Thanks to the short handle, it is easy to carry and always have at hand.
However, on the other hand, this feature does not allow the tool to be fully used as a lever. In addition, the working slot does not always allow penetration under the head, and the wooden handle is less durable compared to full-fledged crowbar-type nail pullers.
IN professional models a hammer with a nail puller function has a one-piece forged design, always with a rubber handle. High-quality rubber helps to effectively dampen vibration.
Crowbar nail puller
In the classic version, the extraction device is a solid steel rod with flattened ends turned in different directions. There can be a slot for removing nails at both ends.
But especially popular is the nail puller mount, the second wedge of which is flattened and looks like a blade. With this end you can destroy structures, lift floorboards, and disassemble fastened boards.
The nail crowbar can be 400-1500 mm long. For manufacturing, reinforcement is used, as well as a round or hexagonal rod with a diameter of 10-25 mm. As the length of the tool increases, its thickness and strength increase, but its weight also increases.
How to choose a tool
There are many designs and modifications of the device, which is clearly visible in the photo of the nail puller. When choosing, you need to pay attention to the following parameters:
A flat tip that must be strong and sharp. It is made from high quality material, while other parts may be made from less durable materials. It is welcome to have a special protective paint or anti-corrosion coating on it.
The length of the tool depends on the type of work performed and its complexity. To dismantle large structures, furniture, doors, a tool with a longer handle of up to 1-1.5 m is required. But for small manipulations, for example with drawers, you can limit yourself to using short nail pullers 30-50 cm.
Nail puller weight. Heavier devices will require less effort from you when dismantling works ah or removing nails. A nail puller reinforced with stronger material allows you to disassemble even large structures without the risk of damaging the tool. But the work will be tiring.
You need to select the weight for yourself in order to effectively perform the work with a minimum of effort and fatigue. The optimal weight is 1 kg.
Making tools at home
It is not necessary to spend financial resources on purchasing a device. You can do it on your own. To learn how to make a nail puller with your own hands, we recommend that you study our simple instructions:
Select steel wire of different diameters. For small nails, you can take not very thick wire, but for thicker ones, a reinforcing rod will do.
When processing the tip, one part of the wire should be flattened on an anvil with a hammer. The reinforcement can be cut at the desired angle. Use a hacksaw to make a small hole for the nails.
A needle file is used to process the edges and remove various defects.
The nozzle bends. First, a bend is made on the thicker part of the nozzle before the thin section begins. And then a bend is made at the flattened end. If possible, harden the workpiece.
The nozzle should be processed with a file and then polished. The attachment is attached to the selected handle.
A nail puller helps make many dismantling jobs easier. Choosing the right tool will allow you to carry out manipulations quickly and efficiently. At the same time, you need to remember about the ergonomics of the tool and ease of use.
