I need to remove some exterior corner boards that are attached with spiral shank nails. I’ve got a cats paw which I have been using. It’s a 2 story house and it’s time consuming having to reposition myself on the ladder for leverage. Can anybody recommend a nail puller that will work better for this situation?
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Replies
Punch them through. A varity of straight punches are handy.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
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They've got heads on them. Wouldn't that take longer than pulling them?
about the same time for me, I smack em hard. LOL
yanking a cats paw while on a ladder is a helluva way to find the ground real fast. Either the nail lets loose suddenly or you can pry yourself away from the corner..too many variable forces at play.
I've had to get the punch out with a wonder bar, but the added length = more leverage, less grunt.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
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Just don't tell my wife. She thinks I know what I'm doing. I do switch over to the wonder bar once the paw has started the nail and I push up instead of pulling down....and did I mention the parachute?
Thank you
Oh yeah, remove the pictures on the wall inside before ya commence to thumping.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
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I will.
Thank You.
Hey, if you lived closer I could hire you to do the work.
If you can get the head onto the nail, just keep whacking. It takes about three whacks and the nail is "pulled" out. I've "pulled" thousands of spikes like this.
The complication is the head popping off. Some nails can't be driven out using my technique.
Do you mean the head of the cat's paw? These are galvainzed spiral shanked and they are hard. I haven't had a head pop off yet. Also, on the ladder there isn't a lot of leverage to take a good swing.
Hey, you can also add a "cheater" a foot long hunk of pipe over the cat's paw end.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
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1-1/2 foot cheater is even better. Duct tape it to the catspaw!---mike...
Screwshanked galvies are a tough one to extract. It might take me four whacks. I gotta laugh a bit about your comment "...there ain't a lot of leverage up there...". I'm picturing a very tight exhaust hole and trembling legs.
Add trembling cramped hands from holding the hammer and paw to the picture!!!
The house has 6 17+ ft corners. I've already done 4. 2 more to go.
Each one has 2 sections. The builder didn't bother to use scarf joints which was probably the reason they rotted. He probably felt bad about that so he gave me a really good nailing job
A catspaw would be my weapon of choice. An improvement over the ladder might be a scaffolding or temporary structure built to facilitate access.
Many times I have worked off of scaffolding. It greatly improves access, which in turn improves speed and safety.
Regular or Japanese catspaw?
I can use both with good results, probably japanese is better for leaving less damage to wood.
The only piece I would like to save is the return at the and of the rake. The corner boards themselves have some rot and will be dumped and replaced with AZEK.
Spiral shanks are the worst, they use them on pallets to keep em together. Get a small right angle grinder (4 1/2 " type ) and cut with a thin cutoff wheel.
Here's my weapon of choice:
http://www.nailextractor.com/
Though I'm not normally on top of a ladder while doing it.
In FHB too!https://www.finehomebuilding.com/toolguide/product-finder/jefferson-tool-extractor-extracting-pliers.aspx?nterms=65448
Tu stultus esRebuilding my home in Cypress, CAAlso a CRX fanatic!
Look, just send me to my drawer. This whole talking-to-you thing is like double punishment.
The Nail Extractor is an awesome tool. A local Charleston guy invented it and it was carried by all the local lumberyards. I got mine years ago before he went national.Constructing in metric...
every inch of the way.
First thing I'd do is figure out some way to tie off the ladder.
Japanese cat's paw... and pucker up buttercup<G>http://www.tvwsolar.com
We'll have a kid
Or maybe we'll rent one
He's got to be straight
We don't want a bent one
He'll drink his baby brew
From a big brass cup
Someday he may be president
If things loosen up
I'm at the corner of the house with nothing to tie the ladder to. I'm using a corner stabilizer and I position myself so that I can push up on the catspaw or wonderbar and not pull down. 4 corners done and 2 to go.
I've been known to drive a screw eye into the siding. Covers up with a dab of caulk afterwards.
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
Now that is a good idea.
Thank You
Especially easy if you're doing demo anyway -- just be sure to move to another tie-off before you remove the piece you're anchored to.
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
There is a raised collar around the hole (opposite side shown) that you slip over the head, then whack the face; this creates a circular groove around the head. Put the business end at the edge of the head and whack it a few times to drive it under. Pull. The wood is trashed, but there you go. $75 bucks, but a sweet tool.
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"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Invictus, by Henley.
I have seen this tool but I can't find a retail store that carries it and I'll be doing the work this Friday. The rainy Summer killed my weekends. From your comment I'm assuming that you've used it and it works well. Thank you for the recommendation. I'll probably order one OnLine and use it on my next project.
I looked at one of those $75 Stiletto nail pullers, but opted for a $19 steel one when I noticed that the teeth on both ends of the Stiletto were so blunt that they would be difficult to get under a nail head.For that much money, you'd think they could have afforded to do a little machining.BruceT
Edited 9/24/2009 7:45 pm by brucet9
can you clip them off under the board or do you have to pull them?
"If you have enough energy you can solve a lot of other problems." - Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway.
We have an abundant supply of domestic natural gas. Let's get busy solving problems.
The clapboards butt up against the corner board and there is no easy way to get under the corner board without disturbing the clapboards. I was thinking of using a recip saw at the corner butt joint but I think that would be even harder working off a ladder.
Here is the one I like....
http://www.amazon.com/Dead-EX9-8-Inch-Exhumer-Puller/dp/B0000224VN/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1253753604&sr=8-2
Thats my destructor of choice too.
same here...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"
For pulling nails, I like this guy http://stilettotools.com/clawbar.php
http://picasaweb.google.com/TimothyUhler
This guy does a pretty good job too:
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As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
WTF is that? BTW is that a woman operator or just a guy who needs a bra? :-)
(ain't the internet great - no one can see what I look like :-0) Be living in glass houses... :-)
It's a guy -- he's just slouching a bit.
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
I forget the name of it but there is a pneumatic tool like a gun or palm nailer that is used in reclaiming barn wood, it drives the nail thru from the face.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
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Here is another option. I have never used it but it could be useful if there are a lot of nails to pull.
http://www.nailout.com/index.html?gclid=CIjQzcP125UCFQGVGgodYlEyYw
And a review.
http://www.toolsofthetrade.net/industry-news.asp?sectionID=0&articleID=954135
And then there the Nail Kicker that another poster mentioned.
http://www.toolsofthetrade.net/industry-news.asp?sectionID=0&articleID=961619
my choice for 30+ years
http://hammernet.com/vaughan/pages/products/professional-curved-claw-hammers/nailpullers.php I own 3-4 Japanese style pullers and always find them to have too narrow a "V" to grab a spike or 16 d. galv.
They are OK for smaller nails though.
Life is Good
I like these 'cause you can pretty much one-hand 'em if you gotta.
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Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Everything fits, until you put glue on it.
I figure if you could marry one of those with an air hammer, working in reverse, you'd have something.
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
Weld a Pr. of Visegrips to a slide dent puller?Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
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"if you could marry one of those with an air hammer"
I think that's illegal in pretty much every state except Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, Iowa and Maine.
What with the sanctity of tools and all. ;-)Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PAEverything fits, until you put glue on it.
Not legal in Texas, but I hear it's done all the time there.
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
and here I thought I was one about the only one that still used one of those...
are they even available???
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"
Sure. Online if nowhere else.
I'll use mine when I don't wanna completely trash the wood with a catspaw, or if the nail head's missing.Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PAEverything fits, until you put glue on it.
used ones then...
can't remember seeing one in a store in some time...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"
No, new, not used. I've seen 'em in a few stores over the last several years. I know you can still get 'em from online stores.
I like to pull it out every now & then just to watch the "WTF" faces on coworkers. ;-)Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PAEverything fits, until you put glue on it.
get the same WTF on this end too...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"
Yeah . . . then they all want one. ;-)Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PAEverything fits, until you put glue on it.
http://www.amazon.com/Cooper-Hand-Tools-56-Crescent/dp/B00002N7SD/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1253882423&sr=8-13
how about that...
so much for thinking you got the only one around...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"
Coastal tool has them too. I have an antique one, still works great.
I have my father's.. he may have gotten it from his father...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"