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Pulling Nails

5K views 22 replies 11 participants last post by  BigJim 
#1 ·
Hi;
I need to cut some floorboards in the attic with a circular saw. I want to cut right on the center of the joist, but there are nails below the surface of the boards.
The last time I did this, I just cut the board, nails and all, and the saw didn't really complain, but I am afraid that I might shatter or just dull the blade if I cut too many nails.

What is the best way to pull nails that are below the surface of the board?

When I wanted to pull the entire floorboard, I was able to wedge a crowbar or large screwdriver and pry up the board enough to pull the nails partially out, and grab them with the claw hammer. But this time, I don't want to pull up the entire floorboard. I just need to cut out a section between two joists to access wiring.

Thanks

Fw
 
#3 ·
Won't the claw on my hammer do the same thing?

The nails are buried (blind), so I need to first get the heads above the surface to pull them.

I was thinking there might be some sort of tool that would dig through the wood to expose the nail. I guess I could use a drill, or just use the circular saw and let it cut through the nails.

FW
 
#6 ·
No the claw of your hammer won't digg into the wood like the tools shown in that link. Like jl said it won't be pretty but the tools in that link are designed to be driven into the wood under the nail head and pull it just above the surface to be pulled with your hammer.
 
#4 ·
I need to first get the heads above the surface to pull them.
the cat's paw at Amazon (or a local tool supplier) is for digging out those nails.
There will be no extra points for 'pretty', but it works great.
 
#10 ·
that's what I did for a previous job, but I was trying to avoid that. I guess in the end, it's easier than having to purchase a new tool, and then do the extra work of digging the nails out. But I'll take a look at the "cat's paw", because it will come in handy for other work I need to do in the attic, and elsewhere.

FW
 
#7 ·
Here's what I would do. I take a 4 1/2 ich grinder with a metal cutting resin blade and go over each nail in the direction of the saw cut. Then once the nail is ground down I'd take my circular saw and set the depth to the thickness of the floorboard (no deeper) and make my cut. Use eye protection and a dust mask and don't be surprised if some smoke is formed when the metal cutting blade cuts wood.
 
#17 ·
That's a lot of windows and glass! You should make that space for living (habitable space), plug the ventilation inlets and exhaust required for attics and move the furniture in!

Gary
 
#18 ·
Hey gents, just found this website yesterday, wow, great stuff! Just thought I'd throw my two cents in. I bought a "Nail Jack" off Amazon the last time I had to do a lot of nail pulling, if it would have lasted that one job it would have been well worth the $30. You can dig with it like a cat's paw, although not quite as effective as that's not it's sole purpose, but you get a little more versatility with it. It's also much more effective for pulling them once you get any part of the nail exposed. You can bite down into the wood towards the nail and if you can catch just about any part of the nail you can grab it and yank it out. I highly recommend it and have loaned it out to several friends/family when the need arose. My pops was the only one that complained, as he's "old school" and "they never needed fancy contraptions like this back in the day." I guess he'd rather just pull them out with his teeth, "old school style".:) He cracks me up sometimes!!
 
#19 · (Edited)
I bought a "ProClaw" by Eastwing at my local HD. It's made in Japan, not the USA, but at least not China.
It does the job, and has a right angle head at one end, so it can get into restricted spaces. It's only 9" long, but that is all I needed.
Looking at the right angle head with its flat top, I was thinking that maybe it was designed to be hit with a hammer if you needed the claw to dig harder into the wood, but have serious doubts that this tool is designed to be impacted. I would probably use a chisel for that kind of work.

Ironically, there weren't any nails in the board where I needed to cut, but I used the tool to grab a nail that was left in the joist at another location where I removed a board, and it was very useful in prying up the floorboard once it was cut. Kind of like a mini crowbar, but I wouldn't expect it to lift anything heavy.

I paid only about $11 for it, so if it doesn't last, I'll buy the more expensive brand next time.

Thanks for your help.

FW
 
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