Need Nail Set Source

[Ken Krawford]

I volunteer with Habitat and find that 16g finish nails frequently don't countersink no matter the gun setting when shooting into quarter round. Using a manual nail set makes sinking these nearly impossible as the tip of the set keeps slipping off. Can anyone suggest a supplier that has a nail set with a concave tip? I found one but the $6 + set has an $18 shipping charge :(

[Jim Matthews]

Lotsa choices on Amazon with free shipping.

Home Depot lists a set that appears to have a concave tip...https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-1-32-in-2-32-in-3-32-in-Bi-Material-Nail-Set-3-Piece-DWHT58018/203638542

[Ken Krawford]

Thanks for the suggestions. I didn't see any that specifically mention "concave tip" but your link to the Dewalts at Home Depot shows it has this feature if you read the Q&A's .

[Grant Wilkinson]

Not inexpensive, but excellent quality
https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/hand-tools/punches/70526-lee-valley-nail-sets?item=50N0605

[Lee Schierer]

Here you go. (https://www.amazon.com/Piece-Nail-Setter-Center-Punch/dp/B01MYRNIRU)

[Harvey Miller]

Stanley’s 3 piece cushion grip nail set #58-930 (plastic grip) has the concave tips- their website has a specific pic of the ends while Stanley’s cheaper nail sets don’t have tip pictures. Nor do the ‘fat max’ sets
https://www.stanleytools.com/products/hand-tools/demolition-tools/nail-sets/3-pc-cushion-grip-nail-set/58-930

[Bill Dufour]

Seems like a dremel with small ball shape grinding bit would do it quickly. I thought pointed stayed put better?
Bill D

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I thought pointed stayed put better?
Bill D

I do too, but as always YMMV.....
My $0.02 on concave tips, some of the new ones are really huge (compared to a finish nail), and they leave a correspondingly huge hole to fill. Don't ask me how I know that. Something I KNEW, when I looked at it, but hey! this one will work really well. No way the set will slip off the head. Yep. It don't slip off the head. Pick a concave set that's small......

[Peter Kelly]

https://www.mcmaster.com/3425A9/

$11.30 for a set of 3 made in USA nail sets including 2 with concave tips.

[Rob Luter]

Ace Hardware.

[Phillip Mitchell]

I work as a finish carpenter pretty often and really like the Spring Tools nail sets. They are spring loaded with a concave 1/16” tip on one end and 1/8” on the other. There’s also one with a 3/16 flat tip that is very handy for popping out door hinge pins.

Best I’ve used.

[Ken Krawford]

Thanks again everyone for your feedback. The Spring Tools look interesting. I'm intrigued by the description of one model calling it a "hammerless nail set".
As long as I'm getting advise, let me please expound on the problem with trim on the houses we're currently building. We use 3 1/4" base and then apply 11/16" quarter round. The floors are poured concrete and the sheetrock sits about 1/2" about above the floor leaving a gap. Because of the gun angles it's difficult to consistently hit the sole plate with a nail. With the 1/2" gap at the bottom, trying to set proud 2" finish nails just results in a lot of bouncing of the bottom of the base/qtr round molding and little nail movement. Any tricks around this problem?

[Phillip Mitchell]

The Spring Tools is totally “hammerless” because you pull back on the sprung part and let it go with one hand, while holding the nail set on the nail head with the other hand. Spring loaded “hammer” thats built into the tool. Very convenient in awkward to reach nail setting; I’ve gotten to the point where that’s typically all I use when doing finish work, though of course it’s handy to have other types of nail sets / punches for different things.

As for your bouncing base/shoe...what pressure is your compressor set at? Maybe try turning it up a bit so that you hopefully have less nails to set in general especially if the 1/4 round is oak.

If you’ve got that 1/2” gap under the drywall that exposes the bottom plate pretty much everywhere and it’s giving you problems, you could rip some 1/2 x 3/8 strips of scrap wood and simply place them in that gap before putting up your base to act like a shim and prevent the bouncing. Honestly, I don’t do much shoe molding, but I would use an 18 ga Brad nailer with 1 1/2” long brads and just nail it into the baseboard. It’s a narrower nail gun and if you lay it nearly flat on the floor with a slight downward angle but still enough to not bounce off the concrete floor, it should hold just fine if the baseboard is into solid framing (studs/bottom plate.) Just my opinion.

[Ole Anderson]

My luck with setting those skinny nails is less than stellar. Once they stop, they really don't like to get going again, half of the time they just bend.

[Ken Krawford]

The 1/4 round is just some type of pre-primed soft wood. I tried pushing the compressor up to 110 psi but still left quite a few nails proud. I'll try your suggestion RE: an 18G nailer. You've really intrigued me with the Spring Tools nail set. I just ordered one.


The Spring Tools is totally “hammerless” because you pull back on the sprung part and let it go with one hand, while holding the nail set on the nail head with the other hand. Spring loaded “hammer” thats built into the tool. Very convenient in awkward to reach nail setting; I’ve gotten to the point where that’s typically all I use when doing finish work, though of course it’s handy to have other types of nail sets / punches for different things.

As for your bouncing base/shoe...what pressure is your compressor set at? Maybe try turning it up a bit so that you hopefully have less nails to set in general especially if the 1/4 round is oak.

If you’ve got that 1/2” gap under the drywall that exposes the bottom plate pretty much everywhere and it’s giving you problems, you could rip some 1/2 x 3/8 strips of scrap wood and simply place them in that gap before putting up your base to act like a shim and prevent the bouncing. Honestly, I don’t do much shoe molding, but I would use an 18 ga Brad nailer with 1 1/2” long brads and just nail it into the baseboard. It’s a narrower nail gun and if you lay it nearly flat on the floor with a slight downward angle but still enough to not bounce off the concrete floor, it should hold just fine if the baseboard is into solid framing (studs/bottom plate.) Just my opinion.

[Jim Becker]

If you're using a small compressor for this work, that can also be contributing to the issue of some fasteners not being driven flush or below the surface because you can discharge the air reserve pretty quickly with some guns if you move along somewhat "efficiently". I have to be careful with that with my own small compressor, especially when I pull out my 15 gage gun. It's less issue for the 18 gage tool and zero issue for my pinner.

[Dave Zellers]

My luck with setting those skinny nails is less than stellar. Once they stop, they really don't like to get going again, half of the time they just bend.
A big issue with trying to go back and set finish nails from a gun, is that the glue strip that holds them together is designed to melt upon firing into the wood and immediately adhere to the wood. When you try to set the nail deeper you have to break that bond which can be difficult.