Help With Nail Removal

[Frank Drew]

Mike,

If you can use the undersides of the bench tops, great; if not, I'm in the drive 'em in camp. With small-headed nails like brads you can easily drive them deep enough to never, ever be a problem.

"I recommend against sinking anything below the surface: you'll forget it, and it will be a land-mine at some point in the future (... deep chisel cut?)."

Work on your bench, not into it.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I would consider flattening the tops with a router bridge and use a metal cutting end mill.

That way I'd not worry if I got 'em all and just cut them off even with the table top as it got flattened.

Then over the years of owning it - eventually - those nails would get hammered in and forgotten - again.

It was a school - they have children in 'em and kids will be kids.