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Speaking of Cut Nails

Brian G. NY

Brian G. NY

Well-known Member
I once owned an old fatm house where cut nails were
used exclusively in its construction.
I did some renovations and saved a whole bunch of
the nails from small fininshing nails to spikes.
Some of them still have a nice blue color to them.
Ever notice that a lot of cut nails when bent during
removal will split right up the center?
 
That is because of both the way they are made and the kind of steel. When used on doors they are bent over, and usually can not be straightened. It is where the phrase DEADER THAN A DOORNAIL COMES FROM!!!!
 
Wondering the age of my home. Most all beams have saw marks , and rectangle nails ? I have also found some round 4 inch spikes too. Main beams are notched like you find in barns .
a120506.jpg

a120507.jpg
 
I don't know the age of your house but the one I owned was built in the 1880s or 1890s.
It had "rough-cut" framing lumber as well and, interestingly, the studs were full 2 X 5s on 16" centers; not what I've seen in other old houses around here in upstate NY.
 
The hardness and tight grain of this old lumber makes a new 2x4 look like paper. Sometimes i can't even get screws to go in them and nails forget it .. lol
 
Depends on the area, when mill ct lumber first began eing built.
Some keys, also, are the type of cut nail -how they are tapered, style of head,
How the house is framed, te type of lathe under the plaster, how the roof rafters are built - ridge beam or no?
Lots of bits that add up to answers.
Eric sloane is an author who explained some of this in his books long ago.
 
When de-constructing and rebuilding my home...
Built in stages from 1790 to 1890
The most curious part of the building methods was the use of nails in certain situations.
Example; 6 inch spikes used to hold exterior trim on he house...
Door frames and trim held by 75+ nails.
Hue spikes in interior trim.
But for framing, wall boards etc...much smaller nails.
We think the trim is what held the house up for so long.
 
We had no 2x5's, all sawn 2x4s in the middle aged part of the house...spacings were regularly irregular, anywhere from 14 to 18"
The newest part of the house 1890s used 2x4s on pretty regular 18" centers.

Floor joists alternated between sawn 3x9s and hand hewn 6x8s
Use what you have...

To determine house age it is like solving a mystery....combining lots of clues.

Don't drown today.
 
One of the things Thomas Jefferson invested in during his life was a watermill on his property to make nails.
Hand forged strips of steel and water power to punch them out.
It was never much of a money making proposition for him because they were expensive compared to wooden pegs and cheap labor. But he kept it going till his declining years because he knew it was the way of the future.
 
Good to see another Eric Sloan fan out there, I have about 20 of his books and have been to his tool museum in Kent, Conn.
 
Long time Eric Sloane fan here too. He turned me onto handcrafts and, in turn, guys like John Seymour.
 
I patched up on old hog house years ago. It was made from oak. I could not get any modern nails to go into it. I was able to salvage some of the old cut nails and they sure are hard and went into that oak !
 
Here are a couple cut nails that I have picked around an old hop house that used to be on the farm, before kids set it on fire. The barn had a huge press beam in the middle of it, and the wooden press screw had to be 10-12" inches in diamiter and at least 6' long. hard to believe how they made the threads in the beam and screw so that they worked easy and didn't bind, and didn't break.
a120566.jpg
 
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