Old nails

[Mrs C]

I want to get some very old nails out of an even older piece of oak.

General consensus seems to be to use a blow torch to heat the nail, however I don’t like the thought of a naked flame in my workshop.

Is there a safer way to do it? (Other than chopping it off with a hacksaw!)

Thanks

 

[bourbon]

Do it outside then!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Very old nails in oak will usually break off. The corrosion weakens them.

 

[Mrs C]

Do it outside then!

That doesn’t remove the hazard which is me with a blowtorch!

 

[PerryGunn]

You could try a slide hammer nail puller - supposed to be very effective once you get the hang of setting it

 

[niall Y]

You can use a hole-saw improvised from a narrow section of steel tube to cut around the outside of the nails. This should allow you to remove them neatly. The holes can then be filled with oak plugs.

Edit. I've just 'clocked' that Ebay are selling very narrow diameter hole-saws for making Buddha Beads that might do the trick, and save you having to improvise one.

 

[Orraloon]

I am a bit suspicious of the heating up with a flame advice. Likely do more harm than good. If the nail still has a head then first thing is to try and pull it. Claw hammer, crowbar/wrecking bar, slide hammer nail puller or even mole grips. If you then snap off the top leaving some nail in the hole then the hole saw advice above. Another way if you dont have a suitable hole saw is to drill a hole close alongside the nail then with a punch or similar force the nail sideways into the hole and remove.
Regards
John

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[ChaiLatte]

Making the nail red hot will char some of the surrounding wood and loosen it, so the method is sound. I have used it for snapped-off screws in hardwood and it works.

It is not a practical suggestion here, but a non-flame method of heating could be a huge copper bit soldering iron.

The more modern alternative is an induction heater, generally sold into the automotive world for freeing off seized bolts.

 

[okeydokey]

Hi what is the woods eventual purpose as that might affect the method of removal.
Assuming the resulting hole is to be filled maybe plugged and if the plug size doesn't matter then orraloons idea is good and quick.
I guess you can't simply knock straight down below the surface and fill.
I'm not sure if the benefit of heating but a soldering iron or bit of metal red hot would do without putting a flame onto the wood

 

[heimlaga]

When I repair wooden boats I loosen nails by heating them with a very large electric soldering iron with a custom flat tip. While it is hot I drive the nail in a bit further with hammer and punch. Then I pull it.

However very old nails (mid 19th century and older) tend to be forged from wrought iron. Often they have already been straightened and reused a few times so the iron is often terribly brittle. Wrought iron becomes very brittle when cold hammered.
Oak has tannines in it that reacts with iron and forms a very strong chemical bond. Reused wrought iron nails that have spent the last 150-200 years in a piece of oak may be totally impossible to pull.

 

[Chubber]

I use a spoon bit in my brace, sized to clear the outside of the head to take it out together with surrounding material. Then a clean through with a sharp twist drill and finally a cut plug from a non-visible part of the work before finishing. Works nicely too when a screw head breaks off. Care is needed to clear the waste.

I saw two amongst box of 'junk' recently.

I have disposed of my twist bits but kept the reamer, the two large screw driver bits, three snails and the four spoon bits.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

She doesn't make clear whether she needs the whole nails removed or just broken off flush.

 

[Orraloon]

Making the nail red hot will char some of the surrounding wood and loosen it, so the method is sound. I have used it for snapped-off screws in hardwood and it works.

It is not a practical suggestion here, but a non-flame method of heating could be a huge copper bit soldering iron.

The more modern alternative is an induction heater, generally sold into the automotive world for freeing off seized bolts.

I could see the theory was sound but how you heat the nail was an issue. I was not aware of induction heaters for that application however. That said after drawing red hot metal out of a board that board would have to stay out of my shed for at least 24 hours. Extinguished wood fires are prone to flare up again even after being hosed down.
Regards
John

 

[Mrs C]

She doesn't make clear whether she needs the whole nails removed or just broken off flush.

Ideally save the nail, but otherwise end up with a hole to put a new nail in. It’s the seat of a very old kitchen chair.

 

[John Brown]

I've gone the improvised hole saw route in the past - used a stainless steel drinking straw, but it wasn't totally successful. If you go that way, I'd recommend drilling a guide hole of the right diameter in a scrap of wood to stop the drill wandering all over the place.

 

[okeydokey]

Ideally save the nail, but otherwise end up with a hole to put a new nail in. It’s the seat of a very old kitchen chair.

Would it be cosmetically possible to either put any other nail of any vintage beside the existing - punch it in a little (and use that new nail as the fixing) it might "disappear" if angled sideways slightly or punch the old one in deeper and then another old nail hammered in so that it covers the hole?

 

[TomGW]

If you are planning of removing the whole board/seat before re-fixing it in place I would attempt to drill through the old nails, starting with a very fine bit and then larger. Only deep enough to get through the seat part and not necessarily completely the full diameter of the nail, but sufficient to weaken it enough to break. Prise apart by breaking the nails and you can deal with the lower bit in the frame in a less delicate manner. A slight reposition of the seat will provide a new location for new nails in the original holes in the seat.
I have done this in similar situations and it's much easier than it sounds. A fine, sharp drill for the initial hole and a slow speed is all it takes.