Pulling Large Nails?

[Stuey]

Earlier today I posted a "Pulling Long Nails How-to" over at TG b/c a buddy of mine questioned the use of the tool.

I know there are many nail-pulling tools on the market these days, and am wondering which you guys use most. (Misused cutters, nippers, and pliers included.)

 

[Monte]

for small ones...:

 

[tatra]

slide hammer nail puller and assorted 2x 's to increase height of tool fo really long nails..........never slide the hammer on the web of your hand, tends to slow down the project...........

 

[mdbeck1]

If it's got a head... I usually use a large crowbar.
Once it loses the head I go with a pair of nippers (http://www.harborfreight.com/16-inch-heavy-duty-end-nipper-42266.html) or grab a hammer and twist it sideways. It bends the c!@p out of the nail but it comes out.

 

[YZ Rider]

If a little bit of the nail is sticking out, I take a large vice-grip and "un-screw" it from the wood. That worked the best when I pulled 6in nails from beams.

 

[Stuey]

Lots of good ideas! I've tried to "unscrew" nails before, but always end up mangling the heads and gunking up the jaws of the locking pliers. =(

 

[BQuicksilver]

Tack puller like posted above for small nails and to get larger ones started, then just a big pry bar or claw hammer.

If too deep I usually just take a punch and drive them deeper.

 

[KEH]

After breaking the head off, I have clamped the nail in a good vise and applied a big hammer to the wood. Only works if you have room to manuever the wood to the vise. Not good if the wood is valuable, but then what good is the wood if its full of nails.

If you are down to the last nail or two you can drill a small hole or two next to the nail to loosen it. Then when you use the wood you have to plug it and do some careful planeing and sanding.

KEH

 

[speed bump]

Crow bars get pretty big, I have a couple that were used to pull rail road spikes.

 

[5lima30]

I use a large pair of farrier nippers (they were my Dad's) even though I have numerous crow bars including a real nice Mayhew. The nippers just roll the nail out with little or no wood damage and less damage to my hands when I slip with the crowbar! YMMV.

 

[2oolhound]

When I was a wee lad, long long ago I had a carpenter's helper job on a huge construction site and I pulled lottsa nails. We had a "nail puller" that looked like this:

It could grab nail heads that were driven in flush to the board. You could hammer on the top to make it dig or you could just slam it down on the head and it would dig under the head once you got good with it. Anything you did with it made it grasp harder and lift on the nail. It was about 26" long. I found it too slow and cumbersome though so mostly used a 36" crow bar and a hammer unless I really needed the nail puller. I found this pic on the web of a smaller newer similar tool sold at lee valley.

 

[BrokewrenchLS1]

Framing hammer and twist the nail out using the claw, if it bent driving it in. If it's really stuck, then a flat pry-bar; if it's already set and needs to come out, a small crow's foot.

Course, that's only for framing, rough work, and demo, where looks don't matter, but I can't think anywhere else I'd be using big nails.

 

[ChrisF250]

Cats paw, if that wont get it out use the claw on the hammer and that hasn't failed yet. If the head of the nail breaks, nail set the nail through the wood and pry the piece of wood off. Any other problems... Get the sawzall

 

[NUTTSGT]

Hammer, block of wood, wonderbar, mini-wonderbar, mini-crowbar looking thing, crowbar, and a set of gorilla bars.

Whatever is the closest or whatever I grab.

Sometimes bigger is better.

 

[smallcarguy]

I use a large pair of farrier nippers (they were my Dad's) even though I have numerous crow bars including a real nice Mayhew. The nippers just roll the nail out with little or no wood damage and less damage to my hands when I slip with the crowbar! YMMV.

x2
This is exactly what I do. It seems so much easier to just "roll" them out.