Nail Header

[@micke1906]

Cool video! Thanks for making videos again. This is like therapy for me.

[@hexusziggurat]

When you make the nail header, make the smaller part of the taper from the drift as the top of the tool, not the bottom. The stock size, that makes the head of the nail, material is supposed to get "jammed" into the tool as your hammer get rdy to set the head (the narrow part of the drifted section facing up). The nail is not supposed to read/match the taper inside the tool....it is reversed. To explain this, the narrow section of the nail header (face up when in use) is supposed to catch the larger section of the nail. When the material size is caught on that top sharp edge it will become entrenched into the tool. When it jams up in the header as you hammer, the head is quickly made but leaves only a very small amount of material actually engaged in the tool (the very top lip). Don't be concerned about a nail head that isn't square over the shank....no nailsmith ever was economically-speaking...nailamking was tedious and rather boring in the smithing world...such why it was apprentice work to increase their speed. Common practice was to have an apprentice master making 1000 nails in a single day or they would not move onto the other smithing...this ensured the apprentice had incentive to speed up their work or otherwise be stuck making nails, which after 100 is extremely boring. Essentially how it works 1) forge shank of nail first part of the heat, 2) cut almost all the way through with hot cut, 3) insert into header and break off 4) move it over the pritchel hole and forge nail head quickly 5) quench (this will not harden the nail as it has dropped in heat and is essentially mild steel with not enough carbon). This quenching will allow just enough heat to drop out of the material so it "shrinks", thus freeing itself from the tool. With practice each nail should only take about 20-30 seconds, 1 heat only for nails under 2 1/2 inches. Fast smiths can manage 3 inch in 1 heat (3 inch being a common construction nail for most buildings). I've made thousands of common construction nails in my 12 years of blacksmithing. Hope this helps.

[@hotrod4126]

Hexus Ziggurat do you have a video recommendation as a visual? I'm highly interested in this process!!

[@johnjude2677]

Good.job Thanks Gary

[@onebadboy2]

Thanks Gary. Great little tool for the box.

[@garywhiteman2585]

Thanks Gary for your version of the nail header, I like it. Some blacksmith clubs here in the States have some competition nail making at some meetings. Thanks from Gary in Oklahoma.

[@Jarastlad]

Thanks for the vid Gary. As an archaeologist, it is always interesting to see a blacksmith work with ancien technology. Keep the good work, every video is more interesting than the previous one !

[@anthonycook9764]

love your work always like to see what your up to thankyou for sharing

[@NSTRAPPERHUNTER]

Good project and thanks for sharing.

[@buckzillakiller]

Thank you Gary for the videos please keep them coming. I wish you and yours a happy New Year

[@bigoldgrizzly]

When I was a lad, I used to make thousands of nails in a similar header, using horse shoe nails as a starting point. Very quick and easy to do and a good source of pocket money. When Gary punched with the pritchel, I thought this was his plan, being he's a farrier

[@markfryer9880]

I work in Maintenance at a Melbourne Private School, and the main Quadrangle building dates from the 1870s so we often pull out hand made 2, 3, and sometimes 4 inch nails from the floor and structural timbers. In one room I found newspaper from The Argus dated 1876 classified ads. One advert was from Victorian Railways inviting people to tender on used coal bags and used grease.

[@RedBlade2021]

Great vid as always!

[@MarianoMiguel]

Great job!

[@codyironworks307]

I made mine out of a heavy piece of truck spring ( flat) and back punched the bottom out a little to help keep the nails from hanging up I also like making nails from 5/16 round

[@kbbacon]

Another project for my forge! Cooler weather Thursday. (finally!) We've been hanging near 100F for quite some time. Too hot to hammer! Nice job!

[@xzekkx]

Thanks man, keep up the good work!

[@garyhuston]

Thanks, i'll see if I get time!

[@MrJsowa]

great to hear from ya gary,hope you continue with the vids!

[@izaacreedrules]

Nice to see you making vids again nice one

[@garyhuston]

Good luck!

[@garyhuston]

Wow! that's hot! We had 34c the other day and it nearly killed me working in the mid day sun! Trouble is we're not used to it, we don't have it long enough to get acclimatized. It's now dropped to about 10c and I was glad to be in the forge!

[@Wanderer_of_Sol]

I've been planning on making one of these for a while now, just for the sake of making one and trying it. I've heard that a couple hundred years ago smith's apprentices would spend all day making nails when they first started out. They would make nails like this until they got good enough at it to make between 30 to 60 an hour. The idea of a nail per minute blows my mind, yet I've seen a older gentleman make a nail in about a minute at a local county fair.

[@jonkwilloughby]

Thanks! Informative! :)

[@garyhuston]

You're welcome!

[@cigarcaptain]

cool stuff

[@arbonac]

That is a HUGE anvil. 153 KGS = 337.307 lbs. In the US (2015), that is a $2000 (+) piece of metal.

[@mcmillenjamie]

Hey hey hey....watch it, Brit! lol Enjoyed the video, as always. Like another poster said, a lot of nails like this are used in historic replicas, living history settings (ie; Civil War reenacting) and other such items that needs a little "authenticity". Nothing worse than seeing a great set up and kit in a "civil war" camp only to find that the soldier's foot locker has modern nails holding it together.

[@res1492]

artist!!!

[@h2o270]

Great video! I make nails for the historic reproductions. Everyone makes them a little different, but my headers have the small part of the taper on top so the nail does not get stuck. I form the shoulders for the head first by half on hammer blows and then taper the rest of the nail. Then I cut three sides of the nail above the shoulder and break it off in the header and for the head.

[@bigwaywardbill]

Just FYI wood workers use hand cut nails a lot in restorations and for a vintage looks . Nails made by a blacksmith fetch crazy prices .

[@hexusziggurat]

Yes! Usually about 50cents to 1 dollar per nail (depending on size).

[@macmoffe]

i use them all of the time.... i'm a blacksmith in a living museum in Denmark where we are living in the middelages

[@joeparkes828]

boy that brought back some memories, I think pop made his from something like en8 there was no 41 whatever then, and guess who used to make nails all day for 2 days sheeeeeeit

[@MysteryTom13]

Another great video. I like this one, as it shows with your knowledge that you can make just about anything, by logicaly working through the steps and making the tool to suit the job. Good old pragmatism! Any chance of a video on bevelled scrolls? Or penny end scrolls?

[@MrJsowa]

just a few vids of my new anvil/forge and a few projects,ive caught the damascus bug lately and have been doing a ton of forge welding.as far as a new shop i just need to build/purchase a heavy duty secure door to put on an out-building in my yard,then i will put up a "shop tour" vid....but its busy time here,and sounds like it is for you too!

[@garyhuston]

How you doing? Haven't heard from you for ages, how's your new shop, any vids?

[@garyhuston]

I think the idea of the taper is so you don't have to make a shoulder, if the taper is very slight, it won't get stuck and if it does you just cool the tip and it drops out! At least that's what I gather from a Google search!

[@garyhuston]

I would just use a piece of bar the size you need tapered slightly at one end, use a series of drifts increasing in size upto the one you want..

[@PietroMaker]

you cool ! thanks for sharing your konwhow

[@11h5p4]

Gary Doubt you ever read this comment since the Video is 5 years old, but I use to watch all of your videos, I haven’t seen a new one in quite a while!! As I remember you were having a great deal of trouble (injuries) to your hand/arm! I guess the surgery’s did not go well, miss your videos Good Luck

[@garyhuston]

Why don’t you subscribe, that way you will get all my new videos straight to your inbox. Take a look there are loads of new ones.

[@garyhuston]

Seconds if it's turned up full, longer if I turn it down!

[@pitcock11]

Nice one Gary! - 'Bostin'. :)

[@Joebunkyss1]

Well done....making your own tools is an essential art.....nails cant be made evry time and they rarely make custom steel varieties....mostly good for authentic restoration....essential really...details maketh the master....copper nails are needed for ceartain wood as iron bleeds rust.....and copper nails are like yours in size and shape.....and if they cant be got for love nor money....well.....you give us all hope.

[@markmoreno7295]

If you are still working, (this video was posted some time ago) I would like to know what those pliers/tongs are called, how to make them, and/or where to buy a pair. They look really good. They resemble Poz tongs with different nibs.

[@garyhuston]

Which ones are you talking about?

[@markmoreno7295]

@@garyhuston sorry, the tongs at the end with the serrations or teeth.

[@garyhuston]

No idea what they are, im guessing some sort of pipe wrench. I found them in a junk shop.

[@markmoreno7295]

@@garyhuston I thought so. My father was a plumber and nowadays all pipe wrenches are "bent" but the old ones were straight. I am going to copy them. Thanks.

[@Mattoutdoors123]

Cool next you should try making a rr spike tomahawk

[@casper1240]

My nails always seem to bend when i put the head on some turn out ok i did think about flattrning the head with a rivet header

[@tropifiori]

I make 18th century reproduction furniture as a hobby. I have made nails for them when called for just to be period correct. In colonial days(US) nails were so precious that when people changed houses they would actually burn down the old house to get the nails back. After making a few , I can understand that. Frank

[@emilwestgaardhenriksen1715]

Yeah forging nails like this takes forever -.-' I got the brilliant idea of forging every nail for my own forge and got hold of an old friend of the family who has a forge and tried making some. Aint really sure I will go forth with it after that but it would be nice to be able to say that you built your own forge dpwn to every nail in it xp

[@Joebunkyss1]

+Frank B australia's very first industry....(making nails.....not burning down houses)(i had to say it)

[@kennywoods8713]

Emil Westgaard Henriksen , I had a similar thought to yours, it’s only going to be a 3mx2m space but I wanted to make all the hardware too. Did you eventually do it? I may do frontage with forged nails and rear with modern screws and nails.

[@dadegroot]

They're still used for people who need historical reproductions, or who are into historical re-enactment. I have someone who's interested in getting some nails from me at some point for just that purpose (and they want them in wrought iron too).

[@botapreta454]

muito bem irmão vc sabe como fazer aquele prego cabeça de cachorro é aquele também usado em trilho de trem

[@Nubby007]

11:50 What was dripping out of the metal?

[@garyhuston]

red hot ash

[@h2o270]

Yes

[@garyhuston]

Sorry, we don't have rr spikes in this country!

[@xzekkx]

Good work man, What thickness was that steel?

[@garyhuston]

5/8" round for the tool, 5/16" for the nail.

[@rickfrazier5284]

Nice video, I'll make one for the next time Im making replica furniture I can make the fasteners period correct as well instead of mocking up round nails to look period. Thank you

[@SPQRLegionVIII]

Hey how long does it take your forge to get it to working heat?

[@Joebunkyss1]

ltype in "latham stone carving chisels"....see if they look familiar

[@edwardcharles9764]

Assuming the green on your material was the ID colour code it would be high tensile 4340

[@garyhuston]

The green was the colour of the machine it came from! Nothing to do with an ID code..

[@kansasprairieforge2918]

I see this was quite a while ago, but didn't you taper that from the side you drift punched? If so then I think you might have a problem with the nail release in the header!

[@garyhuston]

Well I’ve never had a problem from then to now so go figure!

[@kansasprairieforge2918]

@@garyhuston well that's great Gary! Thanks for your videos! I've found them very helpful! And am looking forward to your next. I did purchase that knife sharpening kit you recommend and am totally pleased with it. It preforms great!

[@starforged]

Very nice demo. Thank you! The tongs you were using had grooves on the griping side. Did you get those by using splines on an axle? Looked like they worked very well.

[@garyhuston]

No, just a chisel

[@andrzejsledzinski6120]

Greetings

[@garyhuston]

Seems to me you make the nail before it gets anywhere near the tool! Just a hole to flatten the head on!

[@rlgroshans]

I know I am late to this video...but it looks like you tapered the surface of the wrong side. It looks like the larger hole is now on top.

[@watchthe1369]

I understand the apprentices made nails to learn consistency and repeat-ability since they did not have to look pretty. The smith could do the real work with the horseshoes and other complex stuff that had to look pretty.

[@thegamingsmithy1295]

That was galvanized steel, never burn that( it can be deadly if used too often)

[@garyhuston]

Rubbish! Do your research before posting.. "When zinc vapor mixes with the oxygen in the air, it reacts instantly to become zinc oxide. This is the same white powder that you see on some noses at the beach and the slopes. Zinc oxide is non-toxic and non carcinogenic. Extensive research1 into the effects of zinc oxide fumes has been done, and although breathing those fumes will cause welders to think that they have the flu in a bad way, there are no long-term health effects. Zinc oxide that is inhaled is simply absorbed and eliminated by the body without complications or chronic effects. Current research2 on zinc oxide fumes is concentrated in establishing the mechanism by which zinc oxide causes "metal fume fever," how its effects are self-limiting and why zinc oxide fume effects ameliorate after the first day of exposure even though the welder may continue to be exposed to zinc during subsequent days ("Monday-morning fever"). "

[@michaelmorris1802]

I do think the taper is the wrong way round... I've watched a bunch of people making these at this point, and this is the only one I've seen done this way. Certainly no expert... just an observation.

[@Joebunkyss1]

"trow and holden" make the toughest....they cost a fortune.

[@d24tdi]

that looks galvanized, shouldn't you burn it all off before working on it, because of the zink fumes?

[@garyhuston]

It's not galvanized, just painted, so no problem...

[@Joebunkyss1]

can you make a stonemasons chisel one day...?...firesharp...?

[@garyhuston]

+Scott Awaywithit what is a stonemasons chisel? How is it different from any other chisel?

[@Joebunkyss1]

+garyhuston when yo get a minute...thanx

[@garyhuston]

Just looked at your link, they are tungsten carbide, that is made by compressing the material together, not something that a blacksmith can do.

[@tricorder545]

I tried to make one without forging it...long story short, it doesn't do it's job