nail (engineering)

Information about nail (engineering)

This article is about the object used in construction. For other uses, see Nail.


Enlarge picture
A pile of nails.


Enlarge picture
Nails can be hammered or shot into materials such as wood.


In engineering, woodworking and construction, a nail is a pin-shaped, sharp object of hard metal, typically steel, used as a fastener. Nails for specialised purposes may also be made of stainless steel, brass or aluminium.

Nails are typically driven into the workpiece by a hammer or by a nail gun driven by compressed air or a small explosive charge. A nail holds materials together by friction in the vertical direction and shear strength in lateral directions. The point of the nail is also sometimes bent over or clinched to prevent it from pulling out.

Nails are made in a great variety of forms for specialized purposes; the common everyday kind of nail is sometimes called a "wire nail" to distinguish it from nails in general. Some kinds of nails are referred to by other words, for example "pins", "tacks" or "brads". Very long (and thicker) nails are known as "spikes" and have been used in various weapons such as a mace to torture devices like the iron maiden.

History

Nails go back at least to the Ancient Roman period. Until the end of the 18th century, they were always made by hand, a nailer providing them with a head and point. Until the early 17th century there were workmen called slitters who cut up iron bars to a suitable size for nailers to work on, but in 1590 the slitting mill was introduced to England, providing a mechanical means of producing rods of uniform cross-section. In the 19th century, after the invention of machines to make "cut nails", some nails continued to be made by hand, but the handmade nail industry gradually declined and was largely extinct by the end of that century.

Manufactured cut nails were first introduced in America at the end of the 18th century. Cut nails are machine-cut from flat sheets of steel (originally iron). They are also called square nails because of their roughly rectangular cross section. Though still used for historical renovations, and for heavy-duty applications, such as attaching boards to masonry walls, cut nails are much less common today than wire nails.

Types

Enlarge picture
Different types of nails


Types of nail include:
  • brass tack
  • bullethead nail
  • carpet tack
  • casing - similar to finish nails but on a larger scale
  • clout
  • corrugated
  • Dheadnails
  • double-ended
  • fiber cement
  • finish
  • horseshoe
  • HurriQuake
  • lost-head
  • masonry - fluted nail for use in concrete
  • oval brad
  • panel pin
  • plastic strip
  • gutter spikes
  • roofing tack
  • shake - small headed nails to use for nailing sidewall shakes
  • square
  • T
  • Teco - 1-1/2 x .148 shanks nails used in metal connectors
  • veneer pin
  • wire
  • wire-weld collated

Sizes

Most countries, except the United States and Canada, use a metric system for describing nail sizes. A "50 x 3.0" indicates a nail 50 mm long (not including the head) and 3 mm in diameter. Lengths are rounded to the nearest millimeter.

Canada uses a similar system except nail lengths are given in inches.

United States penny sizes

Nails are usually sold by weight (either in bulk or in boxes). In the US, the length of a nail is designated by its penny size. It is commonly believed that the origin of the term "penny" in relation to nail size is based on the old custom in England of selling nails by the hundred. A hundred nails that sold for six pence were "six penny" nails. The larger the nail, the more a hundred nails would cost. Thus the larger nails have a larger number for its penny size. This classification system was still used in England in the 18th century, but is obsolete there.

The penny size is written with a number and the abbreviation d for penny (e.g. - 10d). D is an abbreviation for denarius, a Roman coin similar to a penny; this was the abbreviation for a penny in the UK before decimalisation. A smaller number indicates a shorter nail and a larger number indicates a longer nail. Nails under 1¼ in., often called brads, are sold mostly in small packages with only a length designation (e.g. ½" (12 mm), 11⁄8" (28 mm), etc.). In boxes of nails that are packaged for pneumatics nails are called 8 penny nails but have a length of 2-3/8. Some 16d nails are called 16d short and measure 3-1/4". Penny size is not always directly correlated to length because nails with larger shanks and shorter lengths will be the same weight as the standard penny designation.

penny size length
(inches)		 length
(nearest mm)
2d125
3d1¼32
4d1½38
6d251
7d2¼57
8d2½65
9d2¾70
10d376
12d3¼83
16d3½89
20d4102
30d4½115
40d5127
50d5½140
60d6152

Terminology

  • Box - a wire nail with a head; box nails have a smaller shank than common nails of the same size
  • Bright - no surface coating; not recommended for weather exposure or acidic or treated lumber
  • Casing - a wire nail with a slightly larger head than finish nails; often used for flooring
  • CC or Coated - "cement coated"; nail coated with adhesive (cement) for greater holding power; also resin- or vinyl-coated; coating melts from friction when driven to help lubricate then hardens when cool; color varies by manufacturer (tan, pink, are common)
  • Common - a common construction wire nail with a head: common nails have larger shanks than box nails of the same size
  • Duplex - a common nail with a second head, allowing for easy extraction
  • Finish - a wire nail that does not have a "head"; can be easily concealed
  • Galvanized - treated for resistance to corrosion and/or weather exposure
*Electrogalvanized - provides a smooth finish with some corrosion resistance
*Mechanically galvanized - deposits more zinc than electrogalvanizing for increased corrosion resistance
*Hot-dip galvanized - provides a rough finish that deposits more zinc than other methods, resulting in very high corrosion resistance that is suitable for some acidic and treated lumber; often easier to bend than other types of nails
  • Head - round flat metal piece affixed to the top of the nail; for increased holding power
  • Helix - the nail has a square shank that has been twisted this makes the nail very difficult to pull out often used in decking
  • Length - distance from the head to the point of a nail
  • Phosphate-coated - a dark grey to black finish providing a surface that binds well with paint and joint compound and minimal corrosion resistance
  • Point - sharpened end opposite the "head" for greater ease in driving
  • Ring Shank - small rings on the shank to prevent the nail from being worked back out often used in flooring
  • Shank - the body the length of the nail between the head and the point; may be smooth, or may have rings or spirals for greater holding power
  • Sinker - Same thin diameter as a box nail, cement coated (see above), the funnel shaped head is easier to nail flat and the head has a grid on the strike surface to keep the hammer strike from slipping; these are the most common nails used in framing today
  • Spike - a large nail (usually over 4" - 100 mm)

External links

Nail may refer to:
  • Nail (anatomy), toughened keratin at the end of an animal digit
  • Nail (fastener), the pin-shaped fastener used in carpentry
  • Nail (relic), used in the crucifixion of Christ

..... Click the link for more information.
Engineering is the applied science of acquiring and applying knowledge to design, analysis, and/or construction of works for practical purposes. The American Engineers' Council for Professional Development, also known as ECPD,[1] (later ABET [2]
..... Click the link for more information.
Woodworking is the process of building, making or carving something using wood.

History

Along with stone, mud, and animal parts, wood was certainly one of the first materials worked by primitive human beings.
..... Click the link for more information.
construction is the building or assembly of any infrastructure on a site or sites. Although this may not be thought of as a single activity, in fact construction is a feat of multitasking.
..... Click the link for more information.
pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together. It is usually made of steel, and is formed by drawing out a thin wire, sharpening the tip, and adding a head.
..... Click the link for more information.
The Macro Expansion Template Attribute Language complements TAL, providing macros which allow the reuse of code across template files. Both were created for Zope but are used in other Python projects as well.
..... Click the link for more information.
Steel is an alloy consisting mostly of iron, with a carbon content between 0.02% and 1.7 or 2.04% by weight (C:1000–10,8.67Fe), depending on grade. Carbon is the most cost-effective alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used such as manganese and
..... Click the link for more information.
A fastener is a hardware device that mechanically joins or affixes two or more objects together.

Fasteners can also be used to close a container such as a bag, a box, or an envelope; or they may involve keeping together the sides of an opening of flexible material,
..... Click the link for more information.
stainless steel is defined as an iron-carbon alloy with a minimum of 10.5% chromium content.[1] The name originates from the fact that stainless steel does not stain, corrode or rust as easily as ordinary steel (note: it "stains less", but is not actually "stainless").
..... Click the link for more information.
Brass is any alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses, each of which has unique properties[1]. Note that in comparison bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin.[2].
..... Click the link for more information.
Aluminium (IPA: /ˌæljʊˈmɪniəm/, /ˌæljəˈmɪniəm/) or aluminum (IPA: /əˈluːmɪnəm/
..... Click the link for more information.
A hammer is a tool meant to deliver blows to an object. The most common uses are for driving nails, fitting parts, and breaking up objects. Hammers are often designed for a specific purpose, and vary widely in their shape and structure.
..... Click the link for more information.
A nail gun, nailgun or nailer is a type of tool used to drive nails into wood or some other kind of material. It is usually driven by electromagnetism, compressed air (pneumatic), highly flammable gases such as butane or propane, or, for powder-actuated tools, a
..... Click the link for more information.
<includeonly></includeonly>A gas compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume. Compression of a gas naturally increases its temperature.
..... Click the link for more information.
Earth's atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth and retained by the Earth's gravity. It contains roughly (by molar content/volume) 78% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.
..... Click the link for more information.
explosive material is a material that either is chemically or otherwise energetically unstable or produces a sudden expansion of the material usually accompanied by the production of heat and large changes in pressure (and typically also a flash and/or loud noise) upon initiation;
..... Click the link for more information.
Friction is the force of two surfaces in contact. It is not a fundamental force, as it is derived from electromagnetic forces between atoms. When contacting surfaces move relative to each other, the friction between the two objects converts kinetic energy into thermal energy, or
..... Click the link for more information.
Shear as a noun may refer to:
  • Bias (textile), in clothing design, fabric may be cut on the shear
  • Cosmic shear, an effect of distortion of image of distant galaxies due to deflection of light by matter, as predicted by general relativity (see also weak lensing and

..... Click the link for more information.
pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together. It is usually made of steel, and is formed by drawing out a thin wire, sharpening the tip, and adding a head.
..... Click the link for more information.
A thumbtack (known as a drawing-pin in the UK, India, Australia and New Zealand) is a short nail or pin with a large, slightly rounded head made of metal which is used to fasten documents to a background for public display and which can easily be inserted or removed by hand.
..... Click the link for more information.
Spike may refer to:

Media

Books and magazines

  • Spike Magazine
  • The Spike, a 1980 novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave
  • The Spike, a 1997 novel by Damien Broderick

Film

  • Spike of Bensonhurst


..... Click the link for more information.
A development of the club, a mace consists of a strong, heavy wooden, metal-reinforced, or metal shaft, with a head made of stone, copper, bronze, iron or steel. The mace was the first weapon made specifically for use against humans, rather than using hunting weapons to fight with.
..... Click the link for more information.
iron maiden is an iron cabinet built to torture or kill a person by piercing the body with sharp objects (such as knives, spikes, or nails), while he or she is forced to remain standing.
..... Click the link for more information.
Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea.
..... Click the link for more information.
The 18th Century lasted from 1701 through 1800 in the Gregorian calendar.

Historians sometimes specifically define the 18th Century otherwise for the purposes of their work.
..... Click the link for more information.
As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th Century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700 in the Gregorian calendar.

The 17th Century falls into the Early Modern period of Europe and was characterized by the Baroque cultural movement and the beginning of
..... Click the link for more information.
15th century - 16th century - 17th century
1560s  1570s  1580s  - 1590s -  1600s  1610s  1620s
1587 1588 1589 - 1590 - 1591 1592 1593

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
..... Click the link for more information.
The slitting mill was a watermill for slitting bars of iron into rods. The rods then were passed to nailers who made the rods into nails, by giving them a point and head.

The slitting mill was probably invented near Liège in what is now Belgium.
..... Click the link for more information.
For the periodical, see .
The 19th Century (also written XIX century) lasted from 1801 through 1900 in the Gregorian calendar. It is often referred to as the "1800s.
..... Click the link for more information.
The 18th Century lasted from 1701 through 1800 in the Gregorian calendar.

Historians sometimes specifically define the 18th Century otherwise for the purposes of their work.
..... Click the link for more information.

This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.