One of my favorite anecdotes about nails is the history of those pioneers that were moving west. They would save up to buy the nails needed to construct a building just large enough for their family to live in through the winter. Each spring they would burn the building to the ground, collect the nails, and continue west. In the fall, they would stop, harvest the lumber needed to construct that building again, and settle in for the winter. The nails, were the "irreplaceable" part...the lumber was everywhere...literally in the way.
If anyone else was discussing this topic, I probably wouldn't watch it. However, your expertise and fondness for nostalgia always make me interested in what you have to say. Also, I worked in a hardware store through high school, undergrad, and graduate school, so I have been asked every question under the sun about nails and had to teach myself most of what you discussed. Thanks for sharing!
Sometimes (and I mean this in the most flattering way possible), this channel feels like Mr. Roger's Neighborhood for grown-ups: Learning about things in general, and learning about life, and learning how to be a good neighbor. God bless you, Scott!
I was told starting out that I had to learn to pull nails before I was allowed to drive nails, then I knew the struggle of taking something apart that wasn't done properly.
My first solo building project, 50 years ago, was to build a shed addition with used doug fir 2x4s, and I had to remove and straighten the nails first. Learned a lot that summer.
I spent my youth straightening nails and smashing fingers. My grandpa never wasted anything. I didn’t get any enjoyment out of it then but I’d smash both thumbs to be able to straighten nails for him again.
I still straighten nails out to reuse them. I don't smash my fingers but it can be painstaking. Waste not want not! They're perfectly good still. I don't build someone's house with them but I put my own stuff together with them. Especially with the price of everything today. I have 10 pounds of em ready for my next project. They are gonna hold the wood siding on I made from pallet slats.
I was raised by the same stock of folk. My Grandpa, Dad, and I save everything. I keep a screw gun in my vehicle at all times just to stop and pull screws from thrown-out cabinets. And if the cabinets are real wood instead of garbage presswood I'll take the whole thing. Our property is a scrapyard, a homestead, and more lol. I save every tool I dumpster dive for parts and projects. Definitely adds clutter and people call you a hoarder. But you always have what someone needs
@@Kryynism I just tore into an old washer machine tonight. It had about 10 stainless-steel hose clamps throughout the inside of it. 4 different sizes. Oh, and I saved to cord also.... to fix a space heater with. HAHA!
@@PatrickWagz haha reminds me when I repaired our home washing machine with a small plastic piece from a washer in our scrap pile that was from the 80s. Apparently they used the same parts for 20 years on some models. It was the little plastic keyway or whatever that locks the electric motor to the rotational part of the washing machine. I had no idea what I was doing so guessworked the whole repair. Fake it til ya make it babeh
Thank you for this topic. It reminds me of a story my father told me. When he was a child (during the depression) he would gather bent nails from my grandfather's job sites. He was a carpenter. He would take them home and straighten them and sell them to people in the neighborhood. I have the wooden cask he used to throw the straightened nails in before sorting. I find myself straightening nails occasionally.
Another fun nail and language fact- the "d" comes from the latin "denarius", the standard Roman coin for a period of time. When the Romans occupied Britain the term was used to describe the British penny, with the abbreviation "d" being used for that coin all the way up to the 1970s! "Denarius" is also the root of the Spanish "dinero" and other words across many different languages meaning/related to money. Love the videos; thanks for taking the time to share your wisdom and expertise with us. Keep up the good work!
Fascinating! This reminds me of the Latin generic word for money, 'Pecunia'. Which is derived from the word for cattle, 'Pecu'. The logic following, if you had cows, you had money!
Awesome comment, but it kind of sounds like you're saying that it survived from Roman Britain. I don't think that's true. I think that the LSD survived throughout Europe and I'm guessing it was reintroduced into Britain some time in the middle ages.
So I want to preface that this is a wisdom and not age related comment. But you are the Grandpa I never had. I am watching a 13 min video on nail types because of your knowledge, narration, and love for educating others. I think I speak for all of your fans when I say, you are appreciated more than you know.
Better yet people interested in the trades and taking their construction knowledge to the next level (like 5% of construction workers) can learn on their own thanks to top notch content like this
Totally unrelated: making money "hand over fist" comes from how coins used to be minted. One hand (the "fist") was curled around a cylindrical coin holder. The other hand (the "hand") held a hammer that was used to strike the die onto the coin in the holder.
Thanks. Brought me back to being an early teenager with my old carpenter grandfather explaining the very basics of carpentry. After 16 years learning to become a decent carpenter. I can now grasp the 3 lifetimes of learned lessons his father, he and my father gave to me. Happily it wasn't put to waste.
My grandparents farm house was demolished early 2020. It was 160 year's old and built with square nails. Before it was torn down I was able to salvage about 20 nails. There the only physical piece from the house that's left. They are in a toothpick holder that my grandfather made on a prominent shelf in my house.
I'm seeing it 3 mins after posting, lucky me! Scott, I had to look up your name, you are the most wholesome contractor-youtuber I have ever seen. I love your channel!
The ease and simplicity you talk about nails and all the other topics on your channel wouldn’t be out of place on a university course and is just really interesting and wholesome.
Your video about nails brought back a childhood memory. My brother-in-law was an upholsterer. I remember him placing material onto a furniture frame with a mouthful of furniture tack nails. He would use an upholsterer’s hammer, which had a narrow magnetized head. He would bring the tip of the hammer head up to his mouthful of tacks where one of the tacks would stick to the hammer. He would then tap the tack on the hammer tip through the material and into the wooden frame and with one blow. The short tack was then buried into the frame with one additional blow.
1976. First job in the lumber business. Boise Cascade Building Materials and Services Division. Hardware buyer. 18 years old. Keg 100# 1/2 keg 50# I need 1/2 a keg of 1-3/8 chemically etched, phosphorus coated, cupped head drywall nails and 2 boxes of wax coated 16d commons. And don't forget a keg of 3/8" x12" hot dipped galvanized decking spikes. Still doing it and mentoring newbies at the local yard. Glad to be alive. Thanks for the video, Scott
My grandad told me that back when he was building full time with Rimu and Kauri timber (NZ's native trees). He would slick his hair back with product and run each nail through his hair before sinking it. Having now moved into building myself I work mostly with pinus radiata which is pretty easy to nail into. When I have come across this older harder timber I am reminded of his story and I understand why he's so damn good with a hammer
Great video Scott. I'm 38 years old and you answered a question that I've had since I started construction right out of high school. Sadly no new Kid starting in construction would even think to ask the question what's a 8 penny nail. Probably never hear them reference that way.
Good video as always. I've been doing some renovation on my 130 year old house, which is constructed with a variety of cut nails. At my local lumberyard, I was surprised to see they had cut nails for sale! I found out that there is a company still making cut nails here in the US called Tremont Nail Company in Mansfield, MA. I went on their site and was surprised by the variety of cut nails they make: not just length, but shank size, head style, etc. So I'm here on youtube seeing what more I can find out about them.
I had a reprint of a civil war construction guide for constructing bridgework and the like. Fascinating reading it even had pull out forces and shear calculations for all sorts of nail types and timber types. Be well and stay safe.
Currently working for a general contractor, had a ROUGH day at work. I love it. 2 yrs in. One more year and I'm going to be a union carpenter, (framer) 👍 As I right this, I'm sipping a beer and watching this particular video. The Essential Craftsman rules 🤘
Mr Rodgers meets Bob Ross.. and the verbal exchange flows well, just like the Essential Craftsman.. Man some kids lucky your his grandpa. Keep up the great content!
Oh when the head breaks off of the nail you’re trying to pull! 🤬 it was a remodel job, so the nails were old, but I didn’t know that if the steel is too hard, it could break the nail when trying to pry them. You and Nate are awesome man, you two help out guys like me who didn’t have anyone to show them this kind of stuff. 🙏🏽 thank you
I cannot believe the timing of this video. I'm starting a project where I need to know exactly what nail to use. I come to youtube and BAM here it is. Thank you.
Thank you Scott for the reminder of where the Penny designation came from. My father grew up in his fathers hardware store in Dayton, Oregon (think 1920s & 30s) and passed along to me the Penny sizes and why they were called out in Penny's. I'm approaching 75 years old and sometimes information like the reason it's called a 16D (or Penny) escapes me, but your tutorial here brought my Dad's voice into my head with the information you so graciously passed along. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Since most all High Schools have chosen to dismantle all their shop and trade classes, your videos should and are treasured by those who enjoy and find value in learning from craftsmen such as you. Please continue to share and inspire current and future men and women working in the carpentry trades.
When I was just a kid I worked many summer days at the local hardware store . Old mom and pop place , and still going ! Pete ( the owner ) gave me a run down on nails one time , actually a few times ! Lol . Pete Was a tuff old bird but a hell of a guy . I’m glad I had the chance to work for him in his hardware store .
@@royreynolds108 absolutely between the jokes and the real world knowledge . What more could you ask for . It gave me character and give me respect , or I should say Learned respect . Let me say one more thing .. I didn’t know how to count change as like I don’t know how to give people back the exact change for money , school didn’t teach me that . Pete taught me , how to give exact change how to do it fast .
The summers of 1997 and 98 ‘ they are forever burnt into my brain . ! Lol i’ve been at the scrutiny I’ve made jokes good times every time I go in there and there’s a new kid working for the Marcho Family at Pete’s Hardware store ! I’d never change a thing
I love listening to older gentlemen talk about things they’re passionate about and truly experts at, thanks for helping a young buck like me at 28 with a wife and home I have to take care of, I’m always learning, and you’ve taken me thru “Nails 101” in a relatively short video, thank you very much sir! 👍
I remember working on a roof and grabbing a handful of roofing nails. I commented to my buddy about how half of them were pointing in the wrong direction. He called me a moron and said those nails were for the other side of the roof!
I'm in the process of putting my house back together after the pipes burst during a 4 1/2 day electricity outage. That said, I am in the one-man drywall process right now (actually, into the taping and bedding) but will be doing texturing/painting, flooring, and casing, in that order. Watching now, but about to go put some mud and tape on a wall! I'm thankful that my son was in town when we had to do the demolition. Thank you for the content, I always enjoy this channel.
Archaeologist here, I'm much more familiar with the older kind you described near the end. Great to see other types a nails out there these days. Thanks.
I have been watching you from the beginning, I want just to just say thank you!!! I always learn from you no matter the content. Keep up the good work!
I started watching this as a contractor not thinking much about it but man this was a cool video with lots of info a couple things I didn’t know and a couple things I just didn’t think to much about. Nice job, carpenter from alabama
My first job was working for a demolition company. We had a big Cat digger with an articulated claw and houses built prior to 1954/55 we would pull apart 2 by 4 by 2 by 4. In 1956 when Ardox nails arrived in Canada when you tried to pull apart framing you would end up with firewood. Simple technology but the difference in strength is huge. Great topic as usual
Love the video. As a carpenter in Canada we never used the penny designation. And in my experience over the last -5 years always used spiral nails- no sinkers other than gun nails. We called them ardox whatever that means.
As a young women in the '70's, I worked with my grandfather in the summer to earn money for school. On those hot days he'd sometimes swipe a nail against the sides of his nose using the oils as a lubricate to help drive it in. I remember the trips to the hardware store to buy nails out of bins measuring them on a metal scoop scale. Good memories of hard work.
If I ever met a girl who could do construction work ( or knew some parts of it) I was instantly taken by her. I met a young woman (20’s) once who could weld since she was taught by her father. I was blind to all the cheerleaders after that.
Next town over has a big, local hardware store where all the employees know their stuff, and boy is there a lot of stuff. They've got stacked bins of nails too. I've always loved that place.
Can’t believe I just watched a video on nails lol. Great work Scott, very informative and interesting. You are definitely the only person I could listen to talk about nails for 13 minutes. Have a good one and keep up the great content. These videos are great. Could you maybe do one on lumber, like different types of plywood and sheathing: OSB, Zip, particle board, 3/4 vs 23/32 etc and on the different grades of stick lumber ie 2x4 PT verse non PT and the different lengths and sizes of boards and what each purpose is and like shims and stickers and furring strips. Thanks.
My first encounter at Lowe’s as a teenager was about nails. I asked a lady working there, where can I find your nails at. She replied, do you see the sign hanging down that says Nails Nails Nails. You can find them right there. Well you know how I felt.
Good Lord! That’s my superpower. When I can’t find something at Lowe’s, I can make it appear two feet behind my shoulder just by asking someone where it is. It’s most convenient.
I've pulled out and straightened so many nails as a kid, I can't remember how many days I spent doing that. Then I learned as an adult about working with screws and it completely changed how I see construction and crafting. I still love working with nails though, it reminds me of simpler times. :) Ty for the vid!
A goodly sum of my early youth was spent picking up nails on job sites, to later be straightened on the Vice at home. That stopped in the mid 80s with the advent of nail guns.
I didn't know drywall nails (as opposed to screws) were still used by much of anyone. I look forward to hearing more about this when the drywall goes up in the spec house series.
Scott, from what I’ve been taught during my early years working at Dettinger Lumber in western Massachusetts, a common nail is formed from one piece of steel, hence the lower side of the head being out of parallel from the striking surface. A box mail is a piece of wire, welded to a tiny disc for the head. Box nails tend to rip apart when pulled whereas a common nail pulls well. Your videos are great, even being myself a fairly well versed craftsman working with metal and wood alike, you have an incredible knack for explanation.
Fasteners and their mechanical uses and complexities is one of my favourites. Screws in all its variations/glory are 3 times more complex than nails! However I never knew what the Pennie designation was, until you taught me, as you always do. Thank you for this video. I get giddy when I found cut nails in my old 150 year old house.
Thanks for that, Scott. On the topic of hand made nails, a while ago I researched my family tree and discovered one of my forebears had a wife and 5 children, who according to a national census of the time (mid-18C) were all employed in the industrial midlands of England making nails by hand, even the youngest at 7 years old. They had to, otherwise they would have starved. It certainly puts our modern lifestyle into perspective.
I love this. I worked on a framing crew, and now I work on a timber framing crew. The attitudes and perspectives on nails are so diverse and so are nails themselves.
Sad thing that not many USA manufacturers left anymore.my home town still makes them, hot dipped galvanized. Maze nails .look for the bright yellow box, they also own the oldest lumberyard yard in Illinois.
I love learning about the why's and wherfore's of things and I am ever informed and educated when I watch your channel. Thank you for this great information.
The 3 1/4" Green Vinyl Sinker was the mainstay hand driven connector for 2x framing the last decades of the 20th century. The green coating is dried poly vinyl alcohol which reacts with the moisture in the wood and friction heat from being driven making it liquid again before cooling and drying in its hole. Also the steel is formed by a stamping process using powdered metal hence a heavier shank. With the advent of nail guns wire and narrowed shank became more common with the steel being a much more "chewy" and flexible in nature from wire. The green vinyl is still used on the tips.
For those interested in working with the old style cut nails for a project (not hardened nails for concrete), check out Tremont Nail Company. They are the oldest manufacturer of cut nails in the country and make tons of nails specific to tasks like clinching, shingling, and decorating (rosehead).
Spitting tracks came from when the tacks were being held in ones mouth to be faster at upholstery. Some were fast enough to have been told they were spitting tacks into it.
One of my favorite anecdotes about nails is the history of those pioneers that were moving west. They would save up to buy the nails needed to construct a building just large enough for their family to live in through the winter. Each spring they would burn the building to the ground, collect the nails, and continue west. In the fall, they would stop, harvest the lumber needed to construct that building again, and settle in for the winter. The nails, were the "irreplaceable" part...the lumber was everywhere...literally in the way.
Wow love this
So cool
THIS IS AMAZING. thank you 🥳
Love it
If anyone else was discussing this topic, I probably wouldn't watch it. However, your expertise and fondness for nostalgia always make me interested in what you have to say. Also, I worked in a hardware store through high school, undergrad, and graduate school, so I have been asked every question under the sun about nails and had to teach myself most of what you discussed. Thanks for sharing!
Sometimes (and I mean this in the most flattering way possible), this channel feels like Mr. Roger's Neighborhood for grown-ups: Learning about things in general, and learning about life, and learning how to be a good neighbor. God bless you, Scott!
Haha! Absolutely!
Good. We need that.
I was told starting out that I had to learn to pull nails before I was allowed to drive nails, then I knew the struggle of taking something apart that wasn't done properly.
Absolutely! I pulled many roof nails when I was a kid! Makes you be careful building stuff! Lol
My first solo building project, 50 years ago, was to build a shed addition with used doug fir 2x4s, and I had to remove and straighten the nails first. Learned a lot that summer.
Love this
I spent my youth straightening nails and smashing fingers. My grandpa never wasted anything. I didn’t get any enjoyment out of it then but I’d smash both thumbs to be able to straighten nails for him again.
I still straighten nails out to reuse them. I don't smash my fingers but it can be painstaking. Waste not want not! They're perfectly good still. I don't build someone's house with them but I put my own stuff together with them. Especially with the price of everything today. I have 10 pounds of em ready for my next project. They are gonna hold the wood siding on I made from pallet slats.
Nice comment. Grandpas are gone before you know it. Mine died in '93 and nearly everyday.... he'll cross my mind.
I was raised by the same stock of folk. My Grandpa, Dad, and I save everything. I keep a screw gun in my vehicle at all times just to stop and pull screws from thrown-out cabinets. And if the cabinets are real wood instead of garbage presswood I'll take the whole thing. Our property is a scrapyard, a homestead, and more lol. I save every tool I dumpster dive for parts and projects. Definitely adds clutter and people call you a hoarder. But you always have what someone needs
@@Kryynism I just tore into an old washer machine tonight. It had about 10 stainless-steel hose clamps throughout the inside of it. 4 different sizes. Oh, and I saved to cord also.... to fix a space heater with. HAHA!
@@PatrickWagz haha reminds me when I repaired our home washing machine with a small plastic piece from a washer in our scrap pile that was from the 80s. Apparently they used the same parts for 20 years on some models. It was the little plastic keyway or whatever that locks the electric motor to the rotational part of the washing machine. I had no idea what I was doing so guessworked the whole repair. Fake it til ya make it babeh
Thank you for this topic. It reminds me of a story my father told me. When he was a child (during the depression) he would gather bent nails from my grandfather's job sites. He was a carpenter. He would take them home and straighten them and sell them to people in the neighborhood. I have the wooden cask he used to throw the straightened nails in before sorting. I find myself straightening nails occasionally.
you really nailed that one. driving the point home...
That pun should be considered a war crime =)
Meaux L he really threw his “two cents” in
(Haha) just found this channel. I like this guy
Yes, the information was quite hard hitting.
these comments are sharp as a tack.
Yep hit it right on the head
Another fun nail and language fact- the "d" comes from the latin "denarius", the standard Roman coin for a period of time. When the Romans occupied Britain the term was used to describe the British penny, with the abbreviation "d" being used for that coin all the way up to the 1970s! "Denarius" is also the root of the Spanish "dinero" and other words across many different languages meaning/related to money.
Love the videos; thanks for taking the time to share your wisdom and expertise with us. Keep up the good work!
Fascinating! This reminds me of the Latin generic word for money, 'Pecunia'. Which is derived from the word for cattle, 'Pecu'. The logic following, if you had cows, you had money!
Awesome comment, but it kind of sounds like you're saying that it survived from Roman Britain. I don't think that's true. I think that the LSD survived throughout Europe and I'm guessing it was reintroduced into Britain some time in the middle ages.
So I want to preface that this is a wisdom and not age related comment. But you are the Grandpa I never had. I am watching a 13 min video on nail types because of your knowledge, narration, and love for educating others. I think I speak for all of your fans when I say, you are appreciated more than you know.
These are videos that need to be shown in high schools during Shop class
Excellent suggestion.
Shop class?
Better yet people interested in the trades and taking their construction knowledge to the next level (like 5% of construction workers) can learn on their own thanks to top notch content like this
I think shop classes are becoming a thing of the past
Or perhaps shop teachers need to learn how to teach like this. Calm, clear, and approachable.
Totally unrelated: making money "hand over fist" comes from how coins used to be minted. One hand (the "fist") was curled around a cylindrical coin holder. The other hand (the "hand") held a hammer that was used to strike the die onto the coin in the holder.
thats very interesting too
I work at a "Box Store" and your videos are helping me help others. Thank you
Thanks. Brought me back to being an early teenager with my old carpenter grandfather explaining the very basics of carpentry. After 16 years learning to become a decent carpenter. I can now grasp the 3 lifetimes of learned lessons his father, he and my father gave to me. Happily it wasn't put to waste.
My grandparents farm house was demolished early 2020. It was 160 year's old and built with square nails. Before it was torn down I was able to salvage about 20 nails. There the only physical piece from the house that's left. They are in a toothpick holder that my grandfather made on a prominent shelf in my house.
That's pretty cool. I love that!
Man - with inflation and cost of living, keeping land for long is difficult.
Its a shame to see a historical building be torn down
I'm seeing it 3 mins after posting, lucky me! Scott, I had to look up your name, you are the most wholesome contractor-youtuber I have ever seen. I love your channel!
Thank you Nicolas!
Love using Maize nails for interior wood work and hand nailing
The ease and simplicity you talk about nails and all the other topics on your channel wouldn’t be out of place on a university course and is just really interesting and wholesome.
Another EXCELLENT UA-cam video.... I’m an obstetrician, I know nothing of carpentry, but I find all of your videos highly informative and interesting!
Thanks 👍
Nice job getting down to the brass tacks about nails. I finally understand the "penny" designation!
Your video about nails brought back a childhood memory. My brother-in-law was an upholsterer. I remember him placing material onto a furniture frame with a mouthful of furniture tack nails. He would use an upholsterer’s hammer, which had a narrow magnetized head. He would bring the tip of the hammer head up to his mouthful of tacks where one of the tacks would stick to the hammer. He would then tap the tack on the hammer tip through the material and into the wooden frame and with one blow. The short tack was then buried into the frame with one additional blow.
1976. First job in the lumber business. Boise Cascade Building Materials and Services Division. Hardware buyer. 18 years old. Keg 100# 1/2 keg 50# I need 1/2 a keg of 1-3/8 chemically etched, phosphorus coated, cupped head drywall nails and 2 boxes of wax coated 16d commons. And don't forget a keg of 3/8" x12" hot dipped galvanized decking spikes. Still doing it and mentoring newbies at the local yard. Glad to be alive. Thanks for the video, Scott
UA-cam needs more people like you , Thank you
My grandad told me that back when he was building full time with Rimu and Kauri timber (NZ's native trees). He would slick his hair back with product and run each nail through his hair before sinking it. Having now moved into building myself I work mostly with pinus radiata which is pretty easy to nail into. When I have come across this older harder timber I am reminded of his story and I understand why he's so damn good with a hammer
All your videos swiftly take me away to another place, another time that our modern life has long forgotten.
I’m young carpenter and I learn so much from thanks for doing all this
I worked in Minnesota with a roofing contractor, really appreciate your time to make this educational experience .
Thank you, for making videos. I am learning from you. You keep up the good work, too.
Great video Scott. I'm 38 years old and you answered a question that I've had since I started construction right out of high school. Sadly no new Kid starting in construction would even think to ask the question what's a 8 penny nail. Probably never hear them reference that way.
I bet we all were thinking that we'd listen to Scott talking about anything. Well here it is, and it's magnificent.
Good video as always. I've been doing some renovation on my 130 year old house, which is constructed with a variety of cut nails. At my local lumberyard, I was surprised to see they had cut nails for sale! I found out that there is a company still making cut nails here in the US called Tremont Nail Company in Mansfield, MA. I went on their site and was surprised by the variety of cut nails they make: not just length, but shank size, head style, etc. So I'm here on youtube seeing what more I can find out about them.
You made a video about screws 4 years ago, and this goes great with that one!
I had a reprint of a civil war construction guide for constructing bridgework and the like. Fascinating reading it even had pull out forces and shear calculations for all sorts of nail types and timber types. Be well and stay safe.
A new EC video, spring weather, coffee. Oh man, oh mannnnn
Currently working for a general contractor, had a ROUGH day at work. I love it. 2 yrs in. One more year and I'm going to be a union carpenter, (framer) 👍
As I right this, I'm sipping a beer and watching this particular video. The Essential Craftsman rules 🤘
Mr Rodgers meets Bob Ross.. and the verbal exchange flows well, just like the Essential Craftsman..
Man some kids lucky your his grandpa.
Keep up the great content!
Dare i say “ you nailed it”!
“Drove it home”
Under rated comment
Yeah he did not SCREW up
Oh when the head breaks off of the nail you’re trying to pull! 🤬 it was a remodel job, so the nails were old, but I didn’t know that if the steel is too hard, it could break the nail when trying to pry them. You and Nate are awesome man, you two help out guys like me who didn’t have anyone to show them this kind of stuff. 🙏🏽 thank you
My question was answered thanks.
I cannot believe the timing of this video. I'm starting a project where I need to know exactly what nail to use. I come to youtube and BAM here it is. Thank you.
Thank you Scott for the reminder of where the Penny designation came from. My father grew up in his fathers hardware store in Dayton, Oregon (think 1920s & 30s) and passed along to me the Penny sizes and why they were called out in Penny's. I'm approaching 75 years old and sometimes information like the reason it's called a 16D (or Penny) escapes me, but your tutorial here brought my Dad's voice into my head with the information you so graciously passed along. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Thanks Scott. You really got right down to brass tacks. Really drove it home. This video really nailed it! 🔨
Since most all High Schools have chosen to dismantle all their shop and trade classes, your videos should and are treasured by those who enjoy and find value in learning from craftsmen such as you. Please continue to share and inspire current and future men and women working in the carpentry trades.
AMEN! Bring back the trades to our schools. I learned a lot in shop class.
When I was just a kid I worked many summer days at the local hardware store . Old mom and pop place , and still going ! Pete ( the owner ) gave me a run down on nails one time , actually a few times ! Lol . Pete Was a tuff old bird but a hell of a guy . I’m glad I had the chance to work for him in his hardware store .
I bet you got a real education working in a real hardware store too.
@@royreynolds108 absolutely between the jokes and the real world knowledge . What more could you ask for . It gave me character and give me respect , or I should say Learned respect . Let me say one more thing .. I didn’t know how to count change as like I don’t know how to give people back the exact change for money , school didn’t teach me that . Pete taught me , how to give exact change how to do it fast .
The summers of 1997 and 98 ‘ they are forever burnt into my brain . ! Lol i’ve been at the scrutiny I’ve made jokes good times every time I go in there and there’s a new kid working for the Marcho Family at Pete’s Hardware store ! I’d never change a thing
I can't be the only one who's dad made them straighten nails as a kid.
I think we've all been there mate, complete with banged fingertips and thumbs
I always had to do that.
It was my grandpa!
Straighten them nails n toss em the bucket with the rest.
Yeap. Have a bucket of straightened 4" I use to forge into hanging hooks now
I love listening to older gentlemen talk about things they’re passionate about and truly experts at, thanks for helping a young buck like me at 28 with a wife and home I have to take care of, I’m always learning, and you’ve taken me thru “Nails 101” in a relatively short video, thank you very much sir! 👍
I remember working on a roof and grabbing a handful of roofing nails.
I commented to my buddy about how half of them were pointing in the wrong direction.
He called me a moron and said those nails were for the other side of the roof!
I recently stumbled upon this channel.. and I'm loving it.. I'm gonna watch all you videos Sir!
I worked at a lumber yard for three years, learned then there was a great deal I didn't know about nails, 25 years ago! Keep up the great work!
Very informative as always. Please make more videos of this type about more basic tools etc.
Thanks, will do!
I'm in the process of putting my house back together after the pipes burst during a 4 1/2 day electricity outage. That said, I am in the one-man drywall process right now (actually, into the taping and bedding) but will be doing texturing/painting, flooring, and casing, in that order. Watching now, but about to go put some mud and tape on a wall! I'm thankful that my son was in town when we had to do the demolition. Thank you for the content, I always enjoy this channel.
Texas?
@@PatrickWagz Yes
Archaeologist here, I'm much more familiar with the older kind you described near the end. Great to see other types a nails out there these days. Thanks.
thanks for taking the confusion out of years of questions .. Joe
I have been watching you from the beginning, I want just to just say thank you!!! I always learn from you no matter the content.
Keep up the good work!
I started watching this as a contractor not thinking much about it but man this was a cool video with lots of info a couple things I didn’t know and a couple things I just didn’t think to much about. Nice job, carpenter from alabama
My first job was working for a demolition company. We had a big Cat digger with an articulated claw and houses built prior to 1954/55 we would pull apart 2 by 4 by 2 by 4. In 1956 when Ardox nails arrived in Canada when you tried to pull apart framing you would end up with firewood. Simple technology but the difference in strength is huge. Great topic as usual
Love the video. As a carpenter in Canada we never used the penny designation. And in my experience over the last -5 years always used spiral nails- no sinkers other than gun nails. We called them ardox whatever that means.
Love all your videos, , thank you for all your knowledge and your expertise. You are the last of a dying breed. God bless you.
Id love to work with this guy for a few weeks just to learn!
great rant..........worked construction all my life and did not know half the stuff discussed here,thanks!~
I love watching these vids feels like I’m listening to my grandad in the shed pure respect for your knowledge 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Your teachings are awesome. Should be watched by people in the trade schools and shop class.
Lots of wisdom being passed here. Thank u sir
I'm a plumber but I love watching your contractor/carpentry videos.
As a young women in the '70's, I worked with my grandfather in the summer to earn money for school. On those hot days he'd sometimes swipe a nail against the sides of his nose using the oils as a lubricate to help drive it in. I remember the trips to the hardware store to buy nails out of bins measuring them on a metal scoop scale. Good memories of hard work.
If I ever met a girl who could do construction work ( or knew some parts of it) I was instantly taken by her. I met a young woman (20’s) once who could weld since she was taught by her father. I was blind to all the cheerleaders after that.
The hardware store by my house still sells hardware like that :) love it, reminds me of working with my grandpa as well
Next town over has a big, local hardware store where all the employees know their stuff, and boy is there a lot of stuff. They've got stacked bins of nails too. I've always loved that place.
UA-cam content usually a table full of soda , chips , cookies . But theres that fresh pear , that is this channel and many craftsman channel
Can’t believe I just watched a video on nails lol. Great work Scott, very informative and interesting. You are definitely the only person I could listen to talk about nails for 13 minutes. Have a good one and keep up the great content. These videos are great. Could you maybe do one on lumber, like different types of plywood and sheathing: OSB, Zip, particle board, 3/4 vs 23/32 etc and on the different grades of stick lumber ie 2x4 PT verse non PT and the different lengths and sizes of boards and what each purpose is and like shims and stickers and furring strips. Thanks.
😂same here.
My first encounter at Lowe’s as a teenager was about nails. I asked a lady working there, where can I find your nails at. She replied, do you see the sign hanging down that says Nails Nails Nails. You can find them right there. Well you know how I felt.
Good Lord! That’s my superpower. When I can’t find something at Lowe’s, I can make it appear two feet behind my shoulder just by asking someone where it is. It’s most convenient.
Great video! Spoken like a true gentleman!
I've pulled out and straightened so many nails as a kid, I can't remember how many days I spent doing that. Then I learned as an adult about working with screws and it completely changed how I see construction and crafting. I still love working with nails though, it reminds me of simpler times. :) Ty for the vid!
Thank you for being such a great teacher. May I suggest a part two, with nail guns: angles, plastic or paper, full head, D head, brands?
Good idea!
When you grab a nail from your pouch be sure to note which end the point is on. Nails with the point toward you are for the other side of the house.
Well done, thanks for sharing your time and knowledge with us.
My pleasure!
Project Farm has a really great video about nail pull out resistance for different types of nails. Well worth a watch.
A goodly sum of my early youth was spent picking up nails on job sites, to later be straightened on the Vice at home. That stopped in the mid 80s with the advent of nail guns.
I didn't know drywall nails (as opposed to screws) were still used by much of anyone. I look forward to hearing more about this when the drywall goes up in the spec house series.
In some ways nails are great b/c the hammer leaves a dent which when filled with mud is less likely to pop out later than just filling a screw head.
They're the best things for corner beads, IMO, at least on wood studs. [obviously]
Grew up doing demo and drywall, never used nails, always screws, and this was just in the early to mid 80s in New England.
My missus used to tell me I "hit the nail on the thumb" whenever I misunderstood her. :-P
She should be thankful it wasn’t on the head. 😉
Thanks really informative and interesting...
Scott, from what I’ve been taught during my early years working at Dettinger Lumber in western Massachusetts, a common nail is formed from one piece of steel, hence the lower side of the head being out of parallel from the striking surface. A box mail is a piece of wire, welded to a tiny disc for the head. Box nails tend to rip apart when pulled whereas a common nail pulls well.
Your videos are great, even being myself a fairly well versed craftsman working with metal and wood alike, you have an incredible knack for explanation.
Fasteners and their mechanical uses and complexities is one of my favourites. Screws in all its variations/glory are 3 times more complex than nails!
However I never knew what the Pennie designation was, until you taught me, as you always do. Thank you for this video.
I get giddy when I found cut nails in my old 150 year old house.
Thanks for that, Scott. On the topic of hand made nails, a while ago I researched my family tree and discovered one of my forebears had a wife and 5 children, who according to a national census of the time (mid-18C) were all employed in the industrial midlands of England making nails by hand, even the youngest at 7 years old. They had to, otherwise they would have starved. It certainly puts our modern lifestyle into perspective.
Would be neat to see you tour a nail factory!
Thanks!
Thank you Sir for passing on your wealth of information.
Very informative Video.
I love this. I worked on a framing crew, and now I work on a timber framing crew. The attitudes and perspectives on nails are so diverse and so are nails themselves.
Sad thing that not many USA manufacturers left anymore.my home town still makes them, hot dipped galvanized. Maze nails .look for the bright yellow box, they also own the oldest lumberyard yard in Illinois.
I love learning about the why's and wherfore's of things and I am ever informed and educated when I watch your channel. Thank you for this great information.
The 3 1/4" Green Vinyl Sinker was the mainstay hand driven connector for 2x framing the last decades of the 20th century. The green coating is dried poly vinyl alcohol which reacts with the moisture in the wood and friction heat from being driven making it liquid again before cooling and drying in its hole. Also the steel is formed by a stamping process using powdered metal hence a heavier shank. With the advent of nail guns wire and narrowed shank became more common with the steel being a much more "chewy" and flexible in nature from wire. The green vinyl is still used on the tips.
What is 2x framing?
What does "sinker" mean?
I always thought the Penny designation had to do with the diameter.
I learned something today. It's a good day
Use to call 16d and 8d nails when first in trade big ones and little ones. Ha ha
This video hit the nail on the head.
He has nailed this topic for sure.
So enjoyable. Thanks. Tidbit of knowledge is wonderful trivia and the origins of common expressions
Nails=rabbit hole. Good job!!
Been waiting for this since screws
what an incredibly incitful video! I learned a lot! Im a boat builder by trade not a carpenter. Learned a lot from my father! You are a great guy!
I'm a retired industrial arts teacher. I would have loved to have your videos available when I was active. 9
For those interested in working with the old style cut nails for a project (not hardened nails for concrete), check out Tremont Nail Company. They are the oldest manufacturer of cut nails in the country and make tons of nails specific to tasks like clinching, shingling, and decorating (rosehead).
Spitting tracks came from when the tacks were being held in ones mouth to be faster at upholstery. Some were fast enough to have been told they were spitting tacks into it.
Brilliant!
Thank you for explaining nails, I wouldn't even know what question to ask if I had to find out about nails.
thanks!
Welcome!