How The Simple Nail Changed History

A recent building of a new shed around an old shed leads me to think about nails. No, to be honest, I don't think it sounds that interesting either. But you can see for yourself!
Shifting our Shed:
• Mega Movers: Shifting ...
Some info about Inchtuhill and the 'Glen blocker forts'
www.castlesfortsbattles.co.uk/...
Canmore link on Inchtuhill (More detailed archaeology notes)
canmore.org.uk/site/28592/inc...
50 scientific discoveries that changed the world (for a history of the nail)
books.google.co.uk/books?id=j...
A bunch of different kind of nails-
www.diydata.com/materials/nai...
Thomas Jefferson's "Nail Letter" - web.archive.org/web/201705101...
Twitter......................► / calumraasay
Instagram................► / calumraasay
Website....................►calumgillies.com

[@Polecat54941]

Crazy, I thought I was the only person interested in Historic nails :) great video, very educational and well made! thank you for doing this :)

[@CalumRaasay]

There are dozens of us- dozens!

[@DarthAwar]

Fun fact wooden pegs use to be used before nails (The pantheon to hold parts together rather then rely on just friction, Norse Structures used wooden pegs instead of iron even though they had iron weapons is snow and rain over time would leak into building and corrode the iron and as such timber would split and crack over time also wooden pegs where cheaper to make!) and even a fair while after as iron nails would cause wood to split and crack as they rusted and sometimes even just pop out due to friction from the timber as it swelled and shrunk over time due to weather and moisture content or from vibrations of people (also animals and carts!) walking around inside or outside near the building this was especially bad in multi-level building as people walked on the floors above even in Japan today Temples have to use Wooden Pegs instead of Steel or Iron Nails if they are being built or more likely repaired as to keep the look and feel that is not to say no Temples or Castles/Forts used Iron or Steel Nails but that Wooden Pegs where seen to be more reliable and aesthetically pleasing of course many of today's modern houses and other building use Metal Nails as most of the support-structures (Beams, Posts, Door Frames!) are hidden by walls, ceilings, carpet, Moldings, Skirting, Coloured Putty/Clay/Plastic Caps as well as Paint!

[@DarthAwar]

Another Fun Fact apart from being less likely to split or crack timber due to rust wooden pegs as long as it is made from the same type of wood or harder then the stuff it is being used on handles earthquakes much better as they are far less likely to snap become bent or pop out due to the extreme violent shaking making buildings much safer in many storms and earthquakes (except in the case of fire of course).

[@DarthAwar]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bWiTaXhnl9KirsU

[@antonievandermeer34]

You nailed the video mate.

[@CalumRaasay]

Mate I think I did

[@rubenskiii]

And you nailed this comment, seeing this 2 year later and still made me chuckle.

[@manoflego123]

I just want you to know that literally every video of yours explaining the history or story of something is extremely rewatchable as a result of your presentation style and editing. Even knowing the full story I want to keep watching over and over again.

[@thomasnaas2813]

German immigrants to the part of the US where I live built barns from the local hardwoods that were assembled with mortise and tenon held together with dowels, wedges, and in some sections (floor planks) they used smith wrought nails. I have obtained rough cut beams of pecan wood that were so hard 16p nails could only be driven with great difficulty, but when I cut some small pieces to turn on a lathe it was as tough and flexible as any dried wood I've ever worked. Some even used black walnut to frame with, but most of that got used in home construction or sold.

[@NationOfBacon]

Really enjoyed your talk on this, great quality video as always.

[@CalumRaasay]

Thank you! been fun making videos when the mood takes me, glad you enjoy them!

[@johnwhitley2898]

Nails are very important. My Dad taught me at a very young age how to pull "nails" and straighten them out. It's a bit tedious but with patience persistence can be done. This was for just "normal" wire nails and not those factory spiral or ringed nails. Even today, sixty years later, I gently pull boards apart and toss the nails that can be reused into my nail can, and the crappy nails into the trash. I'll straighten them out and sort them if I don't have any "Honeydo's" just get out in the shop. They have surely saved me several times on a late Sunday afternoon when all the stores are closed! Forgotten skills from scarcity. "For the want of a nail,....." Great work!! Thanks for sharing!

[@Gojoe107]

Whoh, so much work into a video about nails. Can't wait to learn more!

[@spvillano]

Just think about what went into developing the hammer!

[@preonmodel9906]

When I renovated my house in the Vendée, the most satisfying part was nailing the boards onto the roof beams…. When I was hammering them in, I thought ‘I hope that the neighbours don’t get annoyed’ but he came out to look and said that I was ‘doing it the right way without those modern machines ‘ I think he appreciated the old sound, hammer on nail, even if it went on for two days… great video thanks 🙏

[@jonathankipp4973]

Thank you, Calum! I think you really "nailed" it with this video. So ubiquitous and long-standing is the nail. Especially with modern innovations the nail continues to be an essential fastener. Indeed the various modern wood screws have superseded the nail in certain fastening applications. For myself I find both useful for my own projects. I can only imagine what those Romans who buried those nails so long ago would think of the modern nail gun.

[@jonathankipp4973]

I've observed how nails continue to be particularly useful in the construction of wooden shipping pallets. The pallets I've seen are quickly assembled with nail guns. When it's time to scrap the pallets they can easily be disassembled with a claw hammer and crowbar. I've done at least one project repurposing the wood from an old shipping pallet.

[@skyislands8887]

Nailed it's!!! 10 minutes that explained beautifully what 45 minute doco I watched didn't. From late 1800s to pre ww2, often houses were built in rural Australia with out or minimal use of nails. Abundant timber and cheap labour ment that joinery (Groove / wedge / mortise) techniques were used. It was also not unusual for fencing wire to be used to tie timber together. I fixed up a partly collapsed circa 1905 dairy shed to live in 15 odd years ago. Surprisingly there were more bolts, dowels, wedges and mortices used in the frame construction than and some hand formed nails. The weatherboard, asbestos cladding and tin roof was the only places that extensively used nails, and from the dates on the tin and asbestos both were from the very late 1940s early 50's.

[@moontravellerjul]

what an incredibly interesting video this was! you said at the end “not the most fascinating or interesting subject, but very important”, but it is the importance of the evolution of nails that makes it so interesting! i came across your channel about a week ago and i’ve been thoroughly enjoying your videos. keep up the good work :)

[@bobpoor6348]

Have disassembled quite a few late 1800's barns in VT. USA in order to salvage the usable weathered siding and beams. The square cut nails were removed so I have seen my fair share of them but quite frankly had never given any thought to how they were made and you video filled in that for me. A tip for anyone that has to remove square cut nails is to use a "Yankee Puller" which was actually designed for doing just that years ago whereas now people use what is known as a "Cat's Paw" for wire nails due to the round vs. square heads.

[@brentreeve7554]

I've used all of those (don't recall the name "Yankee Puller", but then I used em in Michigan). Nonetheless, very handy tools indeed.

[@scottybrucescott2155]

Thank you for such an interesting piece of history. You are an easy listen. Your Scottish background is easy on the ear. BWScott Fort Worth Texas

[@TheSquidPro]

I think you really nailed this one Calum.

[@andreasheld2362]

Before stumbling onto your video I didn't know that I wanted to know anything about nails. Now I do. And I'm better for it! Cheers, mate!

[@CalumRaasay]

I'm so glad!

[@jensenanderson6872]

Once again I'm hooked on a topic as simple as nails, your thorough research and linking it to real world history makes for content that sparks genuine interest. Thanks for making this.

[@kevinbarber2795]

Thank you for being pretty much the only person I could find about the history of the nail!

[@mjallenuk]

Very interesting ... I've helped extract a few old nails at our local restored water powered mill... fascinating to see the makers mark on them. Also you need to restore that Navy Issue Jack Knife... amazing tool that has almost as much history as those nails.

[@gafrers]

Missed this one. Glad it was suggested so i could enjoy it like your other videos. Quality 👍👍

[@alfo6085]

Really enjoyed this video. A great story, well told. Thanks.

[@CalumRaasay]

Thank you! One of my most favourite videos that I've made

[@paulmurray280]

Have some here in Germany taken from 200 year old floor boards ( I think) and the head is formed in such a way that the wood would heal partially over the the top of the head making it anchor better ( or so I was told). Anyway, very interesting well presented video

[@1972hermanoben]

What a fascinating video essay - loved this - thanks for posting, and more please!

[@rory4484]

So freaking cool...made me chuckle a little with your display peace...loved it. Very interesting.

[@wwg1wga622]

Great channel. Just came across it today, interesting subjects. Keep up the good work.

[@hvacbear8]

Great info. The bench vise caught my eye, very nice.

[@CalumRaasay]

Thanks! You can actually find my restoration video on the vise on my channel!

[@BrassLock]

Cut Tacks are still available these days, but sadly I fear that very sharp stainless steel staples have taken over their job in upholstery. Tacks were the cause of many bloody fingers and "black nails" due to over-enthusiastic hammering to get the job done. Cobblers were also known to use pounds of tacks per week, hence their black lips, where they "parked" their tacks (which would then spend a lifetime holding a worker's boot together).

[@thomasnaas2813]

Yeah, upholstery tacks are as sharp as needles, old carpet tacks too. Back in the 60's my parents re- upholstered their old living room furniture. They used upholsterers hammers to avoid the punctures you told of. It had two heads, one was magnetic so you could start the tack freehand, then drive it with the other, non-magnetic head.

[@mwa1254]

It’s lovely to see how enhammered you are when it comes to this topics!

[@pikachu.922]

man, I wound up here from your Kharkovchanka video, all of your videos I've watched have been great. seriously underappreciated channel.

[@yyfreak1637]

My new favorite youtuber for sure

[@coscorrodrift]

Hahaha awesome video. A few months back I was playing Valheim a lot, and the different ships more or less unlock the stages in the game, and I found it funny how a key component for the ship was a different kind of nail (bronze, then iron, etc). Now I appreciate that detail more.

[@cameronmcarthur9951]

Thank you so much for this video. I am a furniture maker by trade and worked for most of my life as a joiner. Nails have been a wonder to me. Now I have a bit more less to wonder about.

[@CalumRaasay]

Glad it was helpful! It was only a quick video, should have gone more into detail!

[@whatisbestinlife8112]

Beautiful little monument to the nail you made there.

[@CalumRaasay]

Thank you! Had a lot of fun making this video :)

[@rdb9936]

Not sure how the algorithm led me here, but I stayed. Fascinating!

[@dbaider9467]

Very interesting. I lived in Canada for a while and had to disassemble an object fastened together with wire nails, that were square section and spiral. Spiral shank nails are impossible to remove with a claw hammer and must represent the apex of nail development. They are basically a screw that you hammer in.

[@CalumRaasay]

ugh shank nails, I've had experience with those in the past. Funny you should mention Canada actually because it was in researching this that I realised almost all screws used in Canada are Robertson square-drive screws rather than the philips-head we use here. An odd yet interesting regional difference!

[@dbaider9467]

@@CalumRaasay Robertson invented a really neat and easy to produce screw head and patented it. Nobody (US) wanted to pay the royalties so it's really only found in Canada. Electricians and the like love them as the driver head will hold the screw as the screw is offered up into dark crevices where two hands wont fit. A pity. probably the best screw-head invention ever. (Also the paint-roller was a Canadian invention. The guy thought nothing of it and didn't patent it. Lessons learned, I suppose.)

[@CalumRaasay]

@@dbaider9467 Fascinating! Perhaps worthy of a video at some point too... It was quite a revelation when I saw them because it's such a simple idea but I can imagine it being such a sturdier and more reliable screw head. I'll need to order some for my next project, just so when people look at the screws they go "what on earth are THOSE?"

[@dbaider9467]

@@CalumRaasay I moved back to Ireland from Canada years ago and remember the #8 head as being the most common and handy size. They go all the way down to tiny, tiny and all the way up to #12, I think, which was a monster requiring an impact driver or such. Google it. :)

[@VirtualJMills]

@@dbaider9467 Robertson drive screwed were really popular in the RV industry for a while. Philips head are yield-at-torque (literally ejects the driver at high enough torque) so they're iffy for automated / torque-spec'd applications.

[@gord2358]

I remember seeing a barn that had been built without the use of any nails. Instead, wooden pegs were used.

[@fredio54]

Nice paramo vice, and well narrated history of the nail - thanks :-)

[@CalumRaasay]

Thank you! There’s actually a (worldless) video I made earlier of restoring said vice!

[@fredio54]

@@CalumRaasay Saw it in the recommends, might check it out, working on a few vice restore vids of my own :-)

[@moaningpheromones]

I founds drugs in mine - it was a miami vice.

[@deepbludude4697]

Good one! nowadays I often think of how the ones who did tasks in the olderer days did things. I recently refurbished a bunch of hand tools I found on a old property I purchased here in the states, old brace n bits, files, hammers and nails tons of nails usually found in my tiress or tyres as you would know them,,,,

[@randycox9238]

One of the interesting parts of Theatre History was that you always wanted your local Blacksmith as a patron. Had to have a good supply of NAILS to build sets. Part of the history of the square cut clout nails.

[@TREEKO978]

One of my ancestors owned a nail factory in Germany in the 1800's. history can be nice.

[@solarnaut]

2:00 topic of nails pops through ! Nailed It ! B-)

[@lostpony4885]

This is great info. In our time ive enjoyed how much more things we can do because of increasing designs and capabilities of screws.

[@herzogsbuick]

#1: great video. #2: awesome topic. #3: keep it up good sir

[@zeev]

this should have millions of views. it will go viral perhaps one day. EXCELLENTLY done.

[@paulhaynes8045]

Another excellent (and unexpected!) video - thanks. Our house is about 130 years old and I was taking up some floorboards just the other day. Obviously, the nails are also 130 years old, but it never occured to me to give this a second thought! One thing that does puzzle me about our floorboards though, is that there are gaps between them - were they laid like this deliberately (if so, why?!), or has the wood just shrunk over the years? If anyone knows the answer to this, I'd love to know.

[@DjigitDaniel]

Outstanding video. Bravo. Also... dat look. LOL 👏🏻

[@robertforrester578]

Good work.

[@grimreboot]

Very well made video thank you.

[@CalumRaasay]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed :D

[@TheFiown]

Growing up I had a school friend who spent his pocket money on nails and would spend his week ends hammering them into the side of his fathers shed ! He had anger issues and I suppose it was a form of therapy. I watch a mudlarker here called Tidelineart and I often see her find really old mand made nails, if I was a mudlarker I would be picking them all up! Love nails.

[@Statist0815]

Great video. Thanks !

[@CalumRaasay]

Thank you for watching!

[@davidbremner6164]

Nice. I am in Tasmania - did a couple of years of metal detecting and found a lot of old nails. Might see if I still have them!

[@CalumRaasay]

Metal detecting is something I need to get more into! Also, what a beautiful part of the world you live in. Thanks for watching!

[@davidbremner6164]

@@CalumRaasay It is an interesting hobby. You never know what you will find next. Scotland would be great.

[@randzopyr1038]

I just learned about these not that long ago from some traditional woodworkers when I was trying to figure out what people used before screws since wire nails are pretty shit long-term at holding some things together. Additional fact - traditional nails are also less likely to split wood.

[@herbertbell9438]

I never use nails, since I can easily drive them with an impact screw gun I use screws for everything because of their superior grip and how easy it is to just remove them if I make a mistake. I've noticed that modern cordless drills have made it easy to drill holes for wooden dowels as well and I will often use those.

[@imark7777777]

Beautiful short story you could say I was nailed to my chair....

[@alasdairhamilton1574]

Dat look🤨 “If only you would put as much love into your penknife as your nail”

[@maximada2003]

you know youre bored when your watching videos about nails

[@brentreeve7554]

Or just a dork who likes learning about random stuff. I'm a beast at Jeopardy.

[@neorvo5599]

Really interesting video. Now, I see nails everywhere. Thanks for enlightening me .

[@Phredd94]

Interesting stuff!

[@CalumRaasay]

Surprisingly!

[@eqlzr2]

For many decades, I worked at a medical clinic in a major city on the west coast of the US. We saw more than a hundred people everyday from every walk of life: ditch diggers, burger flippers, doctors, lawyers, down and outers, heads of countries, and major celebrities in entertainment. One day this little pudgy older guy walks in and, as I often did, I ask him what line of work he was in. He told me this story: "As a young guy, I was pretty worthless. I had no motivation, no sense of direction, no particular skills, and little means of acquiring any. I went to work for a fairly wealthy guy cleaning up horse stables. I kind of graduated from that to doing small carpentry and fix-it jobs for the guy. One day as I was cobbling together a small shed, it occurred to me that I was wasting a hell of a lot of time driving in one nail after another. After giving it a little thought, I came up with the idea of making a power tool that would drive nails--in other words, a nail "gun". I kept refining the tool little by little until one day a company called me and asked to see my little gun. I said, sure, and some representatives from the company came over and were quite impressed. They were so impressed that they offered to buy it from me. Ultimately, I received many millions of dollars for my little nail gun idea from the Hilti International Tool Company. This allowed me to quit my job shoveling horseshit." ;-) And then the little man gave me a sideways smile and said, "But do you know what I do now?? I hold the patent and produce the nails held together by plastic strips that are used in those nail guns. Every time anybody in the world shoots a nail into a board with a nail gun, my cash register rings. Makes the measly millions I received originally from Hilti look like chicken feed." And he concluded with a satisfied chuckle.

[@brentreeve7554]

And thus why capitalism is the best form of economy.

[@SUBARCTICPSYCHO]

I bet this totally happened.

[@williambeckham2616]

Amazing🙂

[@sagarkarvande]

Definitely something I would have not Google to research about but somehow I watched the full video and also took time to write this comment down... " Great video "

[@CalumRaasay]

Thank you very much Sagar! It’s fun to make a video on a niche subject and for people to enjoy it! Have a great day 👍

[@robertcastiglione5995]

Who the HELL could dislike a video about the history of fucking nails?! This is fantastic

[@CalumRaasay]

haha thos bloody nail haters. Thank you for watching though! Glad to hear you enjoyed it :)

[@darrenmclellan6712]

Thomas Jefferson was a nail maker in that he ran a nail manufactory at Monticello. It was actually run by his slaves he being an overseer at best. It was never profitable and he regularly complained of poor or no production if he was not there, which he wasn't very often in that period.

[@ZGryphon]

It's slightly amazing, given what reverence he's held in by a certain proportion of my fellow Americans, how many of Jefferson's schemes never amounted to anything, even with the luxury of slave labor to do the thing (whatever the thing may have been) for him. You write one poli-sci essay that happens to go viral and people give you a free pass for the next 250 years. :)

[@thestrays815]

I can't believe you made a video about Nails so interesting

[@ddubsvideos3433]

Thank you.

[@philipthomey7884]

'For the want of a nail , the shoe was lost"

[@veronicabalfourpaul2288]

Bang on!

[@CalumRaasay]

Thanks!

[@ianclarke6665]

Nice video

[@jadmurdoch1986]

Interesting! Well made vid good ser

[@CalumRaasay]

Thank you Mr Murdoch!

[@cortlandsmith-kerr3961]

I just read the wikipedia entry for nails, and he basically plagerized the entirety of it, from tone to tempo, seriously it's like word for word

[@KeyDachMan]

My favourite kind of Nails are of the Nine Inch variety.

[@CalumRaasay]

I tend to go for 20D (4 inches) if I'm really wanting that good all around nail, sometimes I'll treat myself to a cheeky cut variety over wire just for that extra grip in the wood- those cut bad boys retain 50% more hold after 48 hours that your standard wire-boy (what us nail enthusiasts or 'nailheads' call wire nails). That said for the classic, romantic hammer and nail situation your wire nails will always command respe- oh you're talking about the singer never mind.

[@brentreeve7554]

@@CalumRaasay haha got me. I was about to comment something like that joke flew over your head because you're not American. Glad I read until the end of yours.

[@natepinto444]

This is great.

[@CalumRaasay]

Thanks Nate (or Nathan)!

[@SomeYouTubeGuy]

Nailed it

[@simonrisley2177]

Really interesting. My only criticism is that the audio could be improved. Partly by clearer diction, but possibly also a better mic.

[@CalumRaasay]

I know, back then it was a cheap usb mic!

[@inconceivabledark]

Subbed

[@333whateverdude]

I know there is a guy in Uk who has been collecting nails over 3000 nails his name is Richard Johnson I want to find him to see his collection and I want to know more about nails I too am a collector but I collect picks like mining picks

[@chrisrosenkreuz23]

do one on buttons

[@Sparky-ov1ot]

Reminds me of the saying "on the nail" not what it means but what it actually was years ago, but I'll leave that for anyone interested to research! @ 26 seconds will give you a clue in this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/boXbZXmLqa97pK8

[@oakleyjack7600]

I bet when you were a kid, the adults had to retreat into hiding because of your curiosity and “Why’s” and “How Come’s” !!🤔😉

[@malcolmgibson6288]

100% brilliant.

[@CalumRaasay]

Thank you Malcolm!

[@gordybishop2375]

Being poor and frugal in the 60s and 70s as a kid my father would have us Boyz straiten out used nails to reuse.

[@robdude1969]

Quite interesting! Time to restore your pocket knife too.... is that a fid on it? Ah... google suggests it's a Sailors knife!

[@CalumRaasay]

You read my mind! Got a few knives in need of repair...

[@tacticalmanatee]

neat I need some cut nails...

[@taitheguy85]

What a gr8 video. Fukin aye

[@Chr.U.Cas2216]

👍👌👏

[@brentreeve7554]

Good video, but I'll be honest I was a little disappointed. I hoped you'd go into the different types and sizes more. Been forever since I've learned about the differences between pennies, why they're called that, and how the sizes/weights correlate. Oh well, maybe in a sequel some time.

[@jillatherton4660]

👍

[@Marcimio]

nice

[@hassiaschbi]

Great content, but the best by far was the "farthest northern roman fart" xD

[@passiton3801]

When I put up fences I don't use nails, to hold the parts. If I need to change a slat or part, I just unscrew it, an swap. Simples...

[@lestatangel]

I own a 1902 Victorian that I live in, Kansas, USA. It was entirely put together with cut nails of varying sizes, including the trim and lathes. I know this because it was a ruin when I found it, and through the course of bringing it back to life I learned a great deal.

[@lostpony4885]

Nailed it. Nobody else thought of this joke

[@nestoworks3402]

Imagine a roman like dont worry i guys i know a spot where we can hide this where no one will find it for like 2000 years

[@S.I.M.P.L.E.T.O.N]

Why would someone burn thier house down and dig though the ashes for old nails? Why wouldn't they just sell the house?

[@johngreco7171]

I had no idea nails were so interesting.

[@CalumRaasay]

Neither did I!

[@marvwatkins7029]

Jesus got firsthand experience with Roman nails.

[@TheSamuelCish]

If you wanna get really into it, the Romans' and their use of nails effectively started an entire religion.

[@erictaylor5462]

Well, this was cool. You got my sub. You could say you... well no, not going to do it!

[@2rustysporks]

Rad. TY for this.

[@markusjuenemann]

Did you nail this video or did you hit the nail on it's head? ;-)

[@DevinDTV]

The nails may have remained hidden for 2000 years, but it WAS Britons who found the stash and made use of it in some way, was it not? I'd call that a failure of a hiding job.