# Help! how do you pull nails?



## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

Here's the problem...

I went and gathered 8 skids today from around the neighbourhood. My objective is to collect some wood and start working towards some "nice" projects, worthy of hard woods. To date, I've only worked with softwood.

I got them home and took the first small one and it came apart quite nicely. All the nails came out and I tested using my new metal detector all of the bits and pieces to be sure all the nails were out. Beautiful.

The next skid seemed to be some sort of hardwood so I mustered up by best muscle, gave a mighty wack with my hammer and damned near gave myself a black eye. I reached for the safety glasses and the pry bar. Nope, crowbar, nope - small sledge hammer + crowbar + end cutter, nope!

How in tarnation do you get nails out. This is too nice a stick to use for firewood :-( I noticed that this stuff (I think it's walnut) has been here before. I'm finding other nails that have just been cut off rather than pulled. 

If I'm going to do any sort of serious woodworking I should be at least able to remove some nails. At the moment I'm feeling like a pretty miserable failure as a woodworker!

Allthunbs ;-(


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## dovetail_65 (Jan 22, 2008)

Try this

http://www.nailextractor.com/

If the wood is super hard it is not Walnut.

You can cut the nails with a Sawzall(reciprocating saw), hacksaw or whatever you prefer and as long as there is a slight amount to grab the extraction tool will pull them out. Or you might have to dig around the nail and expose about a 1/16" of it before the tool can get a hold of it if they are below the surface.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi allthunbs

Just my cents 

Sometimes they come out and sometimes they don't, at that point it's not worth a set of planer blades or jointer blades, cut out what's good and trash can the rest...

You can always glue up the good parts..

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allthunbs said:


> Here's the problem...
> 
> I went and gathered 8 skids today from around the neighbourhood. My objective is to collect some wood and start working towards some "nice" projects, worthy of hard woods. To date, I've only worked with softwood.
> 
> ...


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## dovetail_65 (Jan 22, 2008)

I agree I would not want to mess up my planer! 

I have never come across a nail from a pallet that those extractors did not get out though. Whatever the reason the design does it better than anything I have ever used and never ends up cutting the nail like a lot of other devices. I collect the pallets from a flooring company from the factory down the road a few miles. You would not believe the exotic woods they use for some of those pallets coming from other countries. I got the nicest Australian cypress I ever saw off one of their pallets! Tons of super hard woods like Ipe and Royal Mahogany too, I guess they use the wood they ship for the pallets.


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## bigburb (Oct 29, 2008)

i work in a shipping dept., and true some nails are almost impossible to get out of those pallets. I've never seen the nail extractor before, but it looks like it would work.


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## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

nickao65 said:


> Try this
> 
> http://www.nailextractor.com/
> 
> ...


All I know is it is kinda dark and any attempt to pull nails leaves them broken. I use an end cutter (I don't know if that's the right name) to grab the nail and a crowbar to lift the end cutter. That breaks the nails. So far, in four skids I don't have one usable piece of hard wood.

Allthunbs


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Allthunbs

You will have them all once you pick them up from the bottom of the fire place 
Hardwood burns real nice in the fireplace,,,Xmax is coming.... 
Pop one or two in on the 24th and get some nice hot coco and sit right in front of the fireplace..


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Reclaiming wood from pallets is a great source for free material. There are times the nails have followed the grain and twisted like crazy... they simply will not come out. In this case I use a Stanley Short Cut Tool Box Saw to cut as close as possible to the nail. These saws are very aggressive with great control and perfect for this sort of work. (The shorter the better) Another idea which works at times is to chuck up a plug cutter in a cordless drill, then a screwdriver to lift and remove the wood around the nail. This gives you enough room to grab the nail and extract it.


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## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

Mike said:


> Reclaiming wood from pallets is a great source for free material. There are times the nails have followed the grain and twisted like crazy... they simply will not come out. In this case I use a Stanley Short Cut Tool Box Saw to cut as close as possible to the nail. These saws are very aggressive with great control and perfect for this sort of work. (The shorter the better) Another idea which works at times is to chuck up a plug cutter in a cordless drill, then a screwdriver to lift and remove the wood around the nail. This gives you enough room to grab the nail and extract it.


hi Mike and Bob: "Stanley Short Cut Tool Box Saw" 9pt aggressive tooth - is that a tooth pattern like a dozuki saw? http://www.leevalley.com/shopping/TechInfo.aspx?p=43978 and http://www.leevalley.com/shopping/Instructions.aspx?p=41059

Ok, you cut alongside the nail on both sides and then remove the wood then the nail? 

The plug cutter method I can understand. What a miracle I understood something ;-)

Bob: you're making me homesick. The home I sold in Quebec had a beautiful wood stove for the principal heat in the home. Nothing nicer than sitting in front of the fire with a hot chocolate or hot toddy watching the snow fall on the river. It made getting up in the middle of the night to stoke the fire, worthwhile.

Allthunbs


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## dovetail_65 (Jan 22, 2008)

I like that plug cutter idea! You can use some of those cheap Chinese plug cutters that are really cheap. 

Possibly it is the nails and not the wood that is the problem. If the nails are snapping they just may be to brittle for any to come out. I think there is a point the labor in trying to get them out nullifies the cheap cost of the lumber. 

Without a sample of the end grain I can not ell you what the wood is. Color and hardness are not much to go on.


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## Hamlin (Dec 25, 2005)

Hi,

The nails used in making pallets are designed in such that they don't come out. Think of it as a screw without threads. The bad part about them is, they are installed with an air nailer, they have a barb left on 2 sides. This alone will make them difficult to remove. I personally use the zawsaw, cut the nails, then hammer and punch. 

Forgot to add, they do make a specific tool for breaking down pallets. It looks just like a 2 pronged fork. These are simple and easy to make yourself. However, you still have the problem of the nail(s) not wanting to "give". I've seen boards break quite easily using this method.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Guys 

I have tried the hole cutters/plug cutters and you end up with some real nice swiss cheese hard wood  most of the nails don't go down in the wood true/strait you end up cutting more than one hole to get them out not to say anything about the pry marks in the stock.. 
I have used vise grips to pull out the nails but most just break off... I also have a nail puller that's about 2 ft.long that goes into the wood and grabs them, it's like a slide hammer setup but again it's looks like you took a ax to the stock..just to get a old nail out 

Good Luck with getting your nails out, but don't forget Xmax is coming  

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## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

Hi Ken:



Hamlin said:


> Forgot to add, they do make a specific tool for breaking down pallets. It looks just like a 2 pronged fork. These are simple and easy to make yourself. However, you still have the problem of the nail(s) not wanting to "give". I've seen boards break quite easily using this method.


Does it look like this? http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=47883&cat=1,43456,43399&ap=1


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## Hamlin (Dec 25, 2005)

Hi,

Yes, with the exception the handle is longer. 




allthunbs said:


> Hi Ken:
> 
> 
> 
> Does it look like this? http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=47883&cat=1,43456,43399&ap=1


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## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

Hi All: 

One brave soul has asked "why?" Well, in my first 8 pallets, I have 2 made of pine, and 5 oak. Some of the oak pieces are beautifully figured with knots and swirls. Structurally the pits but artistically beautiful. The colouring is magnificent. Then there's some that I can't identify, yet.

I've summarized all of the responses to this point along with suggestions from friends, neighbours etc. I still have nothing definitive. Here's the problem. The nails are put in by a nailer. These particular nails are ardox (screw nails) but some have barbs on them so they don't come out. 

Heat: The nails are all coated with a glue that isn't supposed to be able to be removed except with heat. One person suggested a soldering gun to heat the glue before attempting extraction. Then, there's Bob -- he suggested the woodstove but I felt it counter productive and not in keeping with the objectives of this thread. He may be right but I'll never admit it ;-)

Radio Frequency Heating: Particle board and a wide variety of other composites are partially cured using Radio Frequency Heating. I see no reason why the opposite shouldn't be the case, except noone suggested it and I can't find a suitable machine.

I'm going to digress for a moment and go at things from another direction. Up to this point, we've been discussing pulling nails. The other side of things is disassembling the pallets such that you can reclaim usable materials. These following tools do just that, or at least are purported to.

Right Angle Fork: A two pronged fork arrangement was suggested. Further discussion with Hamlin confirms that this is similar to what he was recommending except his version has a longer handle. A goodly chunk of pipe could help.









Straight Fork: Hamlin returned later with a further example of what he was describing.









Ok, I've only disassembled 6 pallets to date but I've observed the following: Actually getting the slats off the pallets is the biggest pain in the butt. I can only see the two fork arrangements above being a frustrating attempt.

At present, I'm using stone cutters cold chisels to wedge between the slats and the frames. This allows me to get the slat off to the point that I can get a hacksaw type sawzall blade in to cut the nails. Is there something out there that can actually wedge between the slats and the frames and lift the slats off?

So, here is the nail pulling part, up to this moment...

Claw Hammer: I'll start where everyone starts, the old dependable claw hammer. Some suggest that if you start with the claw of the hammer sideways, then pivot the hammer up, you can get an adequate grip of the nail. My experience is that the heads break off of the nail, forcing me to resort to other methods.

Prybar/Crowbar: any sort of lever that can be used alone or in conjunction with another tool to increase the leverage you might have on a nail. My trick is to grasp the nail with the End Cutter, below, and jamb the crowbar under the end cutter and use the crowbar's leverage to "lift" out the nail. Well, it does work, once in a while. In the same vein, use vice grips in conjunction with the crowbar.

Nail Puller: The nail puller has been recommended. I don't have one but I'm game. I'll see if I can find one. This model is pretty expensive $50-. I blew the budget on the metal detector so I'm seeking alternatives.









Nail Puller (mini): This one is a miniature version of above sold by Lee Valley and appears to function the same way with a few twists. Instead of having the hammering mechanism inside the handle, you use a hammer with this one to both drive it into the nail and to lever the nail out. Interesting possibilities here.









"The Extractor:" This is "the Extractor". http://www.nailextractor.com/ It is full of promise and comes well recommended. It has distinct possibilities.









End Cutter/End Nipper/End Nips: this is the common tool that everyone uses and abuses. This seems to be the standard by which all others methods are measured. Take a grip, lever a bit out, take another bite, lever another bit out and keep going until you get it all. If this doesn't do the trick, use "the Extractor," above.

****/wire cutter/*di*agonal *c*utter: This is the same action as the End Cutter/End Nipper above except from the side. Based on experiments, the fulcrum is in a different place. The ***** don't have as much leverage as the Nippers. However, you can generate two fulcrums, one on the tip of the cutter and one on the hinge. The may be a good thing. If so, please advise.

Vice Grips: yup, the old standby for hanging on to almost anything. But, for some reason, my collection of a dozen or so vice grips never seem to grip will enough to be of much use.

Saw: This one is a bit more difficult for me to get straight -- and that's the problem -- straight. When pneumatic nailers drive in one of their nails, it seldom goes straight. This suggestion is to saw down both sides of the nail and then pry it loose? I'm not sure. That would render a nice piece of wood that otherwise would have a small hole, rather useless.
At any rate, the tool recommended was the "Stanley Short Cut Tool Box Saw" I went to http://www.stanleyworks.com but couldn't find the saw there. I think it might be a Japanese saw tooth.

Plug Cutter: Another suggestion was to use a cheap plug cutter to remove material around the nail, lever out the material with a screw driver and use a vice grip to remove the nail. When you purchase your plug cutter, make sure you get a larger one to cut the plugs to fill in the holes you've made. These holes can be camoflaged or used as an artistic statement. Bob tried the plug cutter and found that he made too may holes as he tried to follow a nail.

Cat's Paws: Lee Valley has a whole collection of these. There are several different types but they all seem to function on the same principle -- that nails can be pulled! Obviously they've never tried to pull nails from hardwood skids!









Reciprocating Saw(zall): The philosophy with this one is quite simple. Cut off the nails between the boards and use a nail punch to remove the nail heads. Of course, the larger and more desirable frame pieces would be lost this way but at least you would get some lumber. This is what I'm doing right now. However, I am inventorying the frame parts until I get an Extractor.









When all else fails, this is the ultimate solution recommended by some. Saw down each side of the frame members and throw away all the nail infested parts. 









I'm still looking for that elusive "perfect" solution. BTW, if you find any of these products of use to you, merely select reply with quote and you'll see all of the urls with the image.

Allthunbs


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## Hamlin (Dec 25, 2005)

Hi allthunbs,

Another thing about the nails used is, they are blunted on the end. So, as to what's been said about them, "they don't always go straight in" is true. These nails are nothing more than a PITA!  It's why pallet makers use them. 

This is why I use the zawsaw. I don't save the 2x4's due to the fact, these are usually in bad shape and not salvageable. I know, I handle skids almost on a daily basis at work. 

I should note, (you are probably already aware of this), some pallets are used for handling chemicals. So, be aware of this.


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## Hamlin (Dec 25, 2005)

Hi allthunbs,

Here's a tool a bit cheaper than the one you posted. 
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200328338_200328338

Hope this helps.


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## dutchman 46 (May 23, 2007)

The best way to remove nails, and staples is; Lay two cement blocks or any very hard wood on the ground. support the skid, but leave the board You want to remove free of support. Push a flat piece of hard wood in between the top, and bottom boards. It should be wedged in between the boards with shims of some sort. Use a piece of steel that is solid, but can fit between the slats on top, and can hit the wedge. Hit that piece of steel to make the bottom slat move. It may take several hits to make the wood loose, but the shock will more often continue to loosen enough to push the slat back and have the nails ready to pull. It works with most hard woods, Some are not able to take the stress of the hammer blow. These are junk unless You cut them off of the skids.


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## jlord (Nov 16, 2009)

It take a delicate touch to pull the nails with cutters without cutting them.


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## AxlMyk (Jun 13, 2006)

If I can't get the twist nails out by beating the crap out of things, I cut the board off, and keep what I can.


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## CharleyL (Feb 28, 2009)

I've used pallet wood a few times and gave up trying to pull the nails. I just use a sawzall to cut along the rails, saving only the wood slats between the rails. They're short pieces, but there are no nails in them. A check for embeded gravel and other foreign material and they are ready for my "old" planer. I never run them through my DeWalt 735. The result is some pretty wood, a little thin, but it works great for scroll sawing or making small projects. You will find all kinds of wood in pallets, and some of it has very pretty grain. I also found that print shops receive very heavy stacks of paper on very heavy specially made pallets that usually get thrown out after the paper reaches the printing presses. These usually have heavy 4" X 8" red oak rails and 5 - 6 quarter planking and the nails seem to come out of them fairly easy. A strong word of caution though. All wood pallets are made from green wet wood. Even if it seems dry it will shrink significantly and destroy anything that you make with it, unless you can dry it before using it. I put all of my pallet wood in the attic of my shop and let the sun on the roof and the resulting high temperature of the attic bake it dry for about a year before I try to do anything with it. After a year the moisture content is down to 8-10% and it is usable. I joint and glue pieces together if I want wider boards, and then plane them to the thickness that I want. There's a lot of waste, because many pieces warp too much to use during the drying, but these make great firewood.

Charley


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Another couple of ideas.

I always use vice grips and a jemmy bar to extract tight nails. This seems to work for me.

My woodworking teacher also uses recycled timber (not from pallets) and his trick is to remember that the nail compresses the fibres running along the grain, not as much across the grain.
He teaches his pupils to drill 2 small holes, along the grain, close to the nail and this helps to relieve the pressure.


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## darrink (Sep 7, 2009)

I use a drill in the middle of the head until it breaks off, then remove the piece of wood exposing the shank of the nail that you can get a good grip on. I have never tried this on pallets, but it worked well for me in other situations.


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## Frank Lee (Nov 29, 2008)

You might try useing a hand held grinder, grind the head off ( or heads ) then try to separate the boards thus giveing more nail to work with --- rotz of ruck Frank Lee, Kingman Az


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## Dal300 (Jul 14, 2011)

Frank is right...

I have a friend that worked at a pallet company on the rebuild line and they cut the heads off then do what they can to pull the pieces apart. Once they have the stringer loose, they have enough nail shank to heat with a propane torch and then pull.

They also have one of those fancy pneumatic nail extractor/pushers that actually blows the nail out through the back of the wood. It's called "The Nail Kicker" Nail Kicker denailer
He hasn't been impressed with it, but he said it might be great for a home owner or even a construction crew that needs to recycle the wood.

I also saw a small piece on it on "Cool Tools" from DIY network.... Cool Tools : Chris Grundy : DIY Network

Good luck, I usually just cut the stringers and slats apart since I probably don't want all the nail holes anyway.

DF


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## 603Country (Dec 1, 2010)

I use a nail extractor and several other tools to remove nails. My brother gives me reclaimed Cypress from old houses, and most of the 1 inch thick boards are full of small nails. I finally found a way to spot the nails so that I can remove them. I take a band sander and run it over the surface of the old cypress. Then hold the board up to the light with just the right angle and you'll see the shiny nail heads. I don't want to jinx myself, but I haven't put a nail head into my planer blades yet.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi

I guess I do it the old way with a hammer, pair of vise grips and a crow bar, after all that work I want the wood not firewood.. 

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