Cut nails

[BananaSlug]

Well, now that the blizzard of '08 is over and things are back to normal, I was able to finally tackle this problem. First of all, a big THANKS to HeavyG for a wonderful Christmas present of 5 real pachinko nails! Without his help, this project never would have happened, as all of the brass nails/escutcheon pins that you can order are too small in diameter to work properly. The closest that I could find was a 1.6mm by 25.4mm, that is too small diameter-wise, but good on head size. Any larger, and the head becomes too large. Also, there are no threads on the end of the nail to prevent backing out.

Tools for this procedure were a dremel tool with micro drill bit and grinder, a modified punch, a set of pliers, and a normal drill and bit. First, I cut the nail body flat and then using the micro bit, I drilled a small hole into the nail. Once this was done, I took a small steel punch which I had sharpened the tip of with a file, and used it to punch the nail thru to the back of the field. After the nail dimpled the wood in back (the first nail caused a small crack) I then drilled a small hole in the wood to prevent any more cracking. Then, I simply punched the rest of the nail thru and tada!! I now have a hole ready to be filled!!

Before I tap in a "new nail", I thought I should ask everyone if I need a brass hammer, or would a normal hammer suffice?

Thanks all, and I'll keep ya posted with the finishing touches after I hear on the hammer issue. Here are some pics of the before and after.

Adam