How do you get old nails out of salvaged wood?

[Josiah Bartlett]

If I can't drive them through the board then I use a plug cutting bit to cut a shallow circular hole around the nail head and attach a pair of vise grips, then twist and lift. I either fill the hole with the next sized plug cut out of a raggedy area of the board, or just plane off the top of the wood until the plug holes are gone.

I'm thinking about building a really powerful electromagnet to just draw the nails out, much like a Quarter Shrinker.
http://capturedlightning.com/frames/...n=bookmarkfeed

[Jason White]

The plug-cutter sounds like a great idea!

Jason

If I can't drive them through the board then I use a plug cutting bit to cut a shallow circular hole around the nail head and attach a pair of vise grips, then twist and lift. I either fill the hole with the next sized plug cut out of a raggedy area of the board, or just plane off the top of the wood until the plug holes are gone.

I'm thinking about building a really powerful electromagnet to just draw the nails out, much like a Quarter Shrinker.
http://capturedlightning.com/frames/...n=bookmarkfeed

[Stephen Edwards]

If I can't drive them through the board then I use a plug cutting bit to cut a shallow circular hole around the nail head and attach a pair of vise grips, then twist and lift. I either fill the hole with the next sized plug cut out of a raggedy area of the board, or just plane off the top of the wood until the plug holes are gone.

I'm thinking about building a really powerful electromagnet to just draw the nails out, much like a Quarter Shrinker.
http://capturedlightning.com/frames/...n=bookmarkfeed

That device might work very well for shrinking other things, too. If so, there may be a market for that in Borneo, New Guinea and some tribal regions in South America!

If one were to market it those areas you'd want to be sure not to go in with a "big head" attitude!

[Wayne Cannon]

There is a screw-extractor that is like a small diameter (e.g., 1/4") hole saw that works great.

http://www.woodcraft.com/catalog/family.aspx?id=2000983
http://www.amazon.com/1-4-Diameter-S...658885&sr=1-17



This "Nail Extractor" is my favorite for pulling nails once you have it partially exposed.

http://www.nailextractor.com/

[Rick Thom]

There is a screw-extractor that is like a small diameter (e.g., 1/4") hole saw that works great.

http://www.woodcraft.com/catalog/family.aspx?id=2000983
http://www.amazon.com/1-4-Diameter-S...658885&sr=1-17



This "Nail Extractor" is my favorite for pulling nails once you have it partially exposed.

http://www.nailextractor.com/

That's the 'tube extractor' I was describing. I now see that Rockler sells them too, but at a higher price. In reading the reviews http://www.rockler.com/findit.cfm?pa...4&cookietest=1, user's experience is spotty however they offer some advice that is useful. Since the tool lacks a starting center spur, like a brad point drill bit, use a block of wood with a hole in it to guide the tool, and where possible use a drill press rather than hand-held drill to get a better result and less wear on the tool. The cutting action causes a lot of heat so cool it with water frequently.
I am wondering if it's better to make one from stainless steel tube than buying these?
btw, I tried one of these metal detectors (the larger one) http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...5125&cat=1,240 and it seems to work well even at a depth of several inches.