Wrought Head Nails

[Jim Koepke]

The look of these appeals to me.

It appealed to the person who bought my bench, or at least he said they did. So another is being built.

This is just a post on using them.

Other ideas are encouraged.

With pre-drilling and the smooth sides it seems these need an improvement in holding power. Even though the bench base is glued the nails can contribute.

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Here a sharp cold chisel is being used to put barbs on the corners of a nail.

Photo Note: The blue tape was added to the chisel because the reflection off of its surface effected the exposure making everything dark.

Here an old auger file is being used to remove a burr from the nail head due to a miss strike. Even with a safe edge file it is good to have a piece of wood under the file to keep from marking the wood.

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The piece of wood being used here is the drill spacing template.

So far four templates have been made for these benches. The drilling template has the drill size and the rail size written on the other side.

Two, half templates have been made for the leg layout, short and tall legs. One template has been made for the rail ogee. All the templates have notes on them.

Maybe I should take a photo of the templates.

jtk

[Patrick Bernardo]

Thanks Jim. I dig the look too.

I'm unsure of the miss-strike you mean - I 've seen them in completed work, but never used the nails myself. Did you smash the head? Come to think of it, I've noted the way in which one can bend or even chip the head of a common nail. Is this what you're talking about?

Maybe I missed it, but have you posted a picture of the completed bench?

Also, care to share your source for the nails?

[Dave Beauchesne]

Jim:
I like the look as well.

I bought my nails from LV; the box shown is a Odate Tool Box that was made for our new this year, half Japanese grandson.

The material is quarter sawn Douglas Fir. No finish.

Keep up the good work.

Dave B

[Mike Allen1010]

Very cool Dave!

In my book, nothing better than making something as nice s your toolbox for kids in the family. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Mike

[Jim Koepke]

Thanks Jim. I dig the look too.

I'm unsure of the miss-strike you mean - I 've seen them in completed work, but never used the nails myself. Did you smash the head? Come to think of it, I've noted the way in which one can bend or even chip the head of a common nail. Is this what you're talking about?

Maybe I missed it, but have you posted a picture of the completed bench?

Also, care to share your source for the nails?

The miss-strike was a glancing blow. It caused a little burr.

I posted about a similar bench. It sold at the first farmers market this year.

This time I am posted some pictures of the build process involving the Wrought Head Nails.

Today the hinges are being installed. Maybe I should take some shots of that.

Then there are the templates...

jtk

[george wilson]

I used to use horse shoe nails to make "hand made" nails. Stick them in a nail header,and hammer the thick heads down into a 4 facet wrought head (rose head) nail. They are very easy to clinch without breaking the wood because they have thin,flat sided shanks.

I have an 18th. C. Southern pine blanket chest that has hand wrought nails that are not as thick and stiff (to clench) as those "boat" nails they sell with die forged "hand made" heads. If I HAD to clench those,I'd heat them up to an orange heat,and bury them in hot sand to draw the temper out of them at least.

Here's my tool chest with closeups of clenched nails I made from horse shoes.

[Jim Koepke]

I like the look of the Odate Tool Box, but it doesn't seem like a style that would work for my needs.

I like the old tool tote so it can be filled up for the job at hand.

jtk

[george wilson]

Thank Heavens I am not Japanese if that is the tool box!:)

[Dave Beauchesne]

Thanks guys for the feedback.

George: I should have clarified; the Odate Tool box is more a keepsake box. Our daughter in law wanted told assist me making a keepsake box for our impending grandson.
Being the little tyke is half Japanese, I thought a Japanese influenced style box would be appropriate. Also, no hinges to break, lid to slam little fingers in etc.
It is less than 16" long, and fairly light.
The test was when the daughter in laws father saw it, and he said ' it looks like a Japanese tool box. '.
Mission accomplished.

I like the trouble Jim is going through - I hope to get down to meet him some day, as I am only a few hours north.

Happy Easter everyone!

[Joe Tilson]

Jim,
Is this nail what we call a cut nail here in the south?
Yes,
Happy Easter everyone!

[Jim Koepke]

Jim,
Is this nail what we call a cut nail here in the south?
Yes,
Happy Easter everyone!

It is like a cut nail, but the head is made to a pattern. There are different nails that all look the same other than the head detail.

Here are some more pictures:

These are the templates used to layout parts and spacing.

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As things come up notes are written on the templates for future use.

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The piece used for placing the hinges is also used to drill holes for the cut nails.

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A butt gauge comes in handy for laying out the hinge mortises.

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A home made gauge stick and an Odd Jobs are used to center the top to the base to mark the hinge placement. These are used on all four corners to check the centering.

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And the finished bench.

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And with the lid up.

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At least now I have some spare wood if this one sells this weekend. Even if it doesn't sell I may start on getting the parts together to make another so it will be quicker.

jtk

[george wilson]

Cut nails are flat,tapered nails. The nails Jim is showing are actually modified "boat nails",which have had their heads swaged to look like hand made nails.

[Joe Tilson]

Jim and George,
Thank you both for your willingness to share with us your knowledge and skill. I would also like to thank all the others who are helping us to learn from your skills.
Joe

[glenn bradley]

I like the look and have used them functionally and decoratively. I used them to hold the ship lapped maple back panels on a dresser. This doesn't do much for show but, I often do things that will cause the chance observer to do a double take somewhere down the line. Its either a twisted sense of humor or that drop on the head when I was a child.

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Another example is using them in place of pegs as on the picture frame shown.

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[Jim Matthews]

Waitaminnit - you use templates and follow your own instructions?

That's cheating, innit?
I bet the lid closes tight, and everything.

Show off.

[Jim Koepke]

I bet the lid closes tight, and everything.

You would lose that bet. Pine and others like it will warp something awful. Even if it is perfectly flat it can move overnight if there is a radical change in the humidity. Up here in the Pacific Northwest the humidity is always changing in a radical manner.

It closes good enough.

Glenn, did you shorten the nails for use on the picture frame? It looks very nice.

jtk