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I'm not feeling the love today. After the bombing in Boston yesterday, I'm feeling like me writing a blog post about a woodworking tool that starts with "N" is as stupidly self-absorbed as things get. The only reason I went ahead with this is that it was pointed out to me that the flow of good which most people pour into the world must never be choked off by the evil that some people force into existence. Keep calm and carry on. Therefore: nippers.
The proper use for these curved-edge cutters is to nibble away at material. I've done that, nipping off ends of dowels and wires, trimming various bits. Really, though, I use them mostly for pulling nails. As these are sometimes referred to as "nail pullers", they still work for "N". The curved edge lets you bite into a protruding eighth of a nail head; the long handles let you rock the nail out backwards. Working the bite forward a bit each time, you can persuade even a rusty and bent nail to come out backwards without a lot of awkward and indelicate pounding on the point.
If you never want to recycle wood, you can leave old nails in place. Discard the wood, burn it, trash it, whatever... a few old nails don't matter. However, if you prefer to reclaim wood so it can be reused in new projects, that means pulling the nails. On a DIY construction site, it's a matter of safety, too.
I once stepped on a nail-studded board that some jerk had just cast aside after a minor demolition. The nail went through the bottom of my shoe and into the bottom of my left foor, in the soft spot along the center line just forward of the arch. In the process of hopping backwards trying to pull the nail free from my foot, I was terrified that I'd step on another board and sustain another injury.
Confronting the jerk in question, I expressed my dissatisfaction with all the eloquence at my command. As I recall, my remonstrations grew so vigorous that some of the other guys had to intervene before the verbal became the violent.
But enough Marcel Prousting. Suffice to say that although it was a long time ago, I am still vigilant about nail-studded boards left lying around the workshop.
Also, nippers are ideal tools to give to young people so they can help with woodworking projects. There's a saying that has a deceptive amount of truth: "every good carpenter started out as a kid pulling nails from old wood." Pulling nails helps to teach you how wood behaves, what it will stand and what will destroy it. It's a good place to start.
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N is for Nippers
I'm not feeling the love today. After the bombing in Boston yesterday, I'm feeling like me writing a blog post about a woodworking tool that starts with "N" is as stupidly self-absorbed as things get. The only reason I went ahead with this is that it was pointed out to me that the flow of good which most people pour into the world must never be choked off by the evil that some people force into existence. Keep calm and carry on. Therefore: nippers.
The proper use for these curved-edge cutters is to nibble away at material. I've done that, nipping off ends of dowels and wires, trimming various bits. Really, though, I use them mostly for pulling nails. As these are sometimes referred to as "nail pullers", they still work for "N". The curved edge lets you bite into a protruding eighth of a nail head; the long handles let you rock the nail out backwards. Working the bite forward a bit each time, you can persuade even a rusty and bent nail to come out backwards without a lot of awkward and indelicate pounding on the point.If you never want to recycle wood, you can leave old nails in place. Discard the wood, burn it, trash it, whatever... a few old nails don't matter. However, if you prefer to reclaim wood so it can be reused in new projects, that means pulling the nails. On a DIY construction site, it's a matter of safety, too.
I once stepped on a nail-studded board that some jerk had just cast aside after a minor demolition. The nail went through the bottom of my shoe and into the bottom of my left foor, in the soft spot along the center line just forward of the arch. In the process of hopping backwards trying to pull the nail free from my foot, I was terrified that I'd step on another board and sustain another injury.
Confronting the jerk in question, I expressed my dissatisfaction with all the eloquence at my command. As I recall, my remonstrations grew so vigorous that some of the other guys had to intervene before the verbal became the violent.
But enough Marcel Prousting. Suffice to say that although it was a long time ago, I am still vigilant about nail-studded boards left lying around the workshop.
Also, nippers are ideal tools to give to young people so they can help with woodworking projects. There's a saying that has a deceptive amount of truth: "every good carpenter started out as a kid pulling nails from old wood." Pulling nails helps to teach you how wood behaves, what it will stand and what will destroy it. It's a good place to start.
............................
||| Comments are welcome |||
Help keep the words flowing.
Good motivation to post, BTW! I'll have to remember to keep a pair of those around when Mason is ready to get involved.
ReplyDeleteI remember the time my dad stepped on a nail. It wasn't a construction site, but the aftermath of the tornado that nailed my grandparents' house. The string of curses he uttered is still fresh in my mind after 45 years or so. And ever since then, I've always been careful of where I put my feet while in a construction site. (I've always preferred learning from other people's mistakes to making my own.)
It's horribly painful, especially when the nail goes in deep.
DeleteAs a child I ran around barefoot a lot of the time and stepped on a nail or two in my time, yikes. As a runner (and a human being) I am horrified at the bombings in Boston. They were running to raise money for charity for Heaven's sake....
ReplyDeleteI also ran around barefoot as a kid. My cuts were broken glass. That nail, though... that was something else.
DeleteYeah, I can hardly imagine the scene. Or the aftermath.
And here I was hoping Proust messed around with woodworking...
ReplyDeleteI use wheeled mosaic nippers to cut glass. I didn't realize woodworkers used nippers.
ReplyDelete