Shopsmith Forums

I recently had some brad nail that decided to stay in the base piece and pull through the trim piece. Nailers use a nail that is much softer then the ones you put in with a hammer and if you are not careful they brake off rather then pull out. Also some are headless or almost headless so tools that grab the head have nothing to grab. As I age doing a vertical pull has become more difficult so I use the twisting method which is another reason stuff doesn't go as well as expected.

So when I came across this tool and the price wasn't going to brake the bank I ordered it off Amazon. It was a little larger then I expected but added leverage might be useful at some point. It appears to be will made and works well for that I wanted it for. I have not tried to remove larger nails but then I have other tools for that. I do wish they had a 3/4 size model for sale but hey you can't have everything you want.
For reference the tool is on an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of paper.

Ed

From the picture, not sure how this tool operates, or where it grabs, except as a plier.

One of my all-time most useful tools is a Channel-Lock #357. They call it an "end-cutting plier". This tool will get under or pullout most any size nail or brad as long as there is anything it can grab on to, including headless nails. I use it with a steel plate under it to avoid marring surfaces when pulling.

I shot a couple of pictures in case people are having trouble figuring out how this tool works. It uses the same principal as a standard hammer with the curved claw.
I have a tool similar to the one shown above and here is a shot of the two of them to reflect the differences:
This is the one I have problems with with softer nails. The tighter you grip the more likely you are to just snip the nail off. Maybe I just don't have the control I need but I don't see this improving anytime ever. The jaws have a sharp edge as seen here:
Ed

I have had good success with channel lock pliers. Very much similar to yer new one.

Using the right tool for the job makes a huge difference . having the right tool for the job ? ,,,, priceless .

JPG wrote: ↑Sun Mar 05, 2023 12:34 am I have had good success with channel lock pliers. Very much similar to yer new one.

Same here, but most of the time I start with my Lineman's pliers (Electrician tool). These work great on most any brad/finish nail. Larger nails are usually removed via hammer claw and difficult ones, like when the head is malformed or pops off are channel lock pliers. In the worst case, vise grips...

P.S. The head of Lineman's pliers are large enough to serve the same function of getting leverage by gripping the nail and pulling over to the side as the "nail puller" pliers shown above. Of course the cam type action of the "nail puller" pliers are more efficient, but just pointing out that if you already have Lineman's pliers in your tool chest they work very well for this IMHO.

Yep. No point in killing chickens with a steam shovel.

JPG wrote: ↑Sun Mar 05, 2023 12:57 pm Yep. No point in killing chickens with a steam shovel.

Or as I've heard it "swatting a fly with a Buick"

I'm a bit surprised at the negative feed back on this tool. I guess you are all way more skilled then I thought.

Anyway I'm doubling down and ordering another one, just put the order in and it should be arriving on March 10.

Ed

reible wrote: ↑Sun Mar 05, 2023 11:18 pm I'm a bit surprised at the negative feed back on this tool. I guess you are all way more skilled then I thought.

Anyway I'm doubling down and ordering another one, just put the order in and it should be arriving on March 10.

Ed

Ed,

Sorry, I didn't think I gave negative feedback. I was just sharing how I remove nails with other tools. As I pointed out, I am sure the large cam head on the nail puller pliers you purchased should be much more efficient at removing nails. With my method using Lineman's pliers it does a similar function but is perhaps harder to remove the nail and/or requires more force for removal in comparison. There are A LOT of specialty hand tools on the market, so I just wanted to share other methods for removal in case someone who reads the post already has one of the tools I mentioned in their tool box. I am sure the nail puller pliers you purchased work effortlessly since it is a specialty hand tool and that is their function, i.e. to make a particular task much easier.