One of my habits (not going to debate whether it is good or bad) is to keep extras of many things. This has mostly been made stronger by living miles from the nearest retail establishment of any kind.

A round trip to town is going to take up at least an hour or two, not to mention the cost of gas.

One thing found to be very handy is a large nail. The last time an 80d (about 8"X5/16") was put in to a permanent use another one was purchased on the next shopping trip in to town. At that time there was also some large spikes at the Orange Borg. So a 12"X3/8" was also purchased.

Recently at an estate sale a small bundle of five nails was purchased. That has added to my assortment of large nails/spikes:

Big Nails.jpg

The third one from the bottom was salvaged from a piece of lumber from an old barn. It is kept because it has a square shaft. Not sure how old that one might be.

The largest nail/spike has been helpful in restoring a socket on a socket chisel that was mushroomed:

Peening Mushroom.jpg

Recently it has also helped with pulling large staples out of a fence post:

Staple Wedge (Big Nail).jpg

A new fence with a different orientation is going to be erected. This post has been an intersection for a few fences over the years. Getting a hold of the staples to pull them was a real challenge. Then it struck me. Drive a large wedge under the staples to lift them out enough to get a good grip with a pair of pliers. The end was first ground to a smoother point for this task.

Life is easy.

jtk