Nail (engineering)

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This article is about nails as used in engineering. See Nail for other uses of the word.

In engineering, woodworking and construction, a nail is a pin-shaped, sharp object of hard metal, typically steel, used as a fastener.

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".

1 History
2 Types of nail
3 Nail sizes
- 3.1 US penny sizes
4 Nail terminology
5 External links

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History

Manufactured cut nails were first introduced in the late 1700s. Before that time, nails were hand-forged. Cut nails are machine-cut from flat sheets of steel. 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.

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Types of nail

Types of nail include:

veneer pin
panel pin
wire nail
oval brad
masonry nail
carpet tack
brass tack
roofing tack
corrugated nail
lost-head nail
double-ended nail
square nail
clout
gutter spikes
finish
horseshoe nail
T-nails
Dheadnails
Wire-weld collated nails
Plastic Strip nails

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Nail sizes

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

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

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US 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.

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 1-1/4 in., often called brads, are sold mostly in small packages with only a length designation (e.g. 1/2" (12 mm), 1-1/8" (28 mm), etc.).

3d - 1-1/4" (~30 mm)
4d - 1-1/2 (~40 mm)
6d - 2" (~50 mm)
8d - 2-1/2" (~65 mm)
10d - 3" (~75 mm)
12d - 3-1/4" (~80 mm)
16d - 3-1/2" (~90 mm)
20d - 4" (~100 mm)
40d - 5" (~125 mm)
60d - 6" (~150 mm)

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Nail terminology

Box - a wire nail with a head; box nails are smaller in diameter than common nails
Bright - normal surface finish; not recommended for weather exposure
Casing - a wire nail with a slightly larger head than finish nails; often used for flooring
CC - "cement coated"; nail coated with adhesive for greater holding power
Common - a common construction wire nail with a head: common nails are larger in diameter than box nails
Finish - a wire nail that does not have a "head"; can be easily concealed
Galvanized - treated for resistance to corrosion and/or weather exposure
Head - round flat metal piece affixed to the top of the nail; for increased holding power
Length - distance from the head to the point of a nail
Point - sharpened end opposite the "head"; for greater ease in driving
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
Spikes - large nails (usually over 4" - 100 mm) are called spikes