Caleb Foster
Cut nails are a type of nail with a rectangular square shape and a head. They are called cut nails because they are made by cutting a flat bar of steel with a machine. Before the late 18th century, cut nails were made by hand, but the process was revolutionised with the invention of machinery that could shear a large number of nails in a short period.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Material | Metal, Wood |
| Types | Aluminum, Box, Brads, Floor brad, Oval brad, Tacks, Common, Cut, Duplex, Drywall, Type A, Type B, Wrought, Wire, Roman, Rose-headed copper |
| Manufacturing Process | Hand-wrought, Machinery |
| Machinery | Iron bar type guillotine, Mechanical nail heading machine, Slitting mill |
| Manufacturers | Tremont Nails, Tools for Working Wood |
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What You'll Learn
Cut nails are now machine-made
The process of making cut nails involved shearing an iron bar with a guillotine, using early machinery. This method was slightly altered until the 1820s when separate mechanical nail-heading machines were introduced to pound new heads on the nails' ends. In the 1810s, the process was refined further, with iron bars flipped over after each stroke while the cutter set was at an angle. This allowed for the automatic gripping of each nail, forming their heads as they were sheared off the taper.
The use of machinery revolutionized the nail-making process, and by 1892, steel wire nails had become the predominant type of nail produced, surpassing iron cut nails. Today, nails are typically made of steel and are often coated to prevent corrosion or improve adhesion.
While machine-made nails are now the norm, it is worth noting that traditional methods of nail-making, such as blacksmithing, still exist and are valued in certain applications, such as boatbuilding or fine woodwork.
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Pre-1800s nails were hand-wrought
Before the 1800s, nails were hand-wrought. The process of making nails by hand involved heating up iron ore and then hammering it into shape on an anvil. Blacksmiths would heat iron until it was glowing red-hot and then place it on the anvil to be hammered into the desired shape. This was a time-consuming and labour-intensive process.
The nail would be shaped by hammering the heated metal on an anvil, which was often made of stone or iron. The blacksmith would use a variety of hammers and other tools to shape the nail, including a ball-peen hammer, which has a rounded head, and a flat-faced hammer. The ball-peen hammer was used to shape the head of the nail, while the flat-faced hammer was used for driving nails into wood or other materials.
Nails were often made from iron, but other metals such as copper or bronze could also be used. Iron was the most common metal for nails due to its strength and durability. Iron nails were also inexpensive to produce, as iron ore was readily available in many parts of the world.
Hand-wrought nails were used for a variety of purposes, including construction, furniture making, and shoeing horses. They were an essential fastener for many trades and were often made by blacksmiths to order. The length and thickness of the nail would vary depending on its intended use. For example, nails used in construction would be longer and thicker than those used for furniture or shoeing horses.
The process of making nails by hand remained largely unchanged for centuries until the invention of the nail-making machine in the late 1700s and early 1800s. This machine revolutionized the way nails were made, making the process faster and more efficient. However, hand-wrought nails continued to be made even after the advent of machine-made nails, especially in rural areas or for specialized purposes. Today, hand-wrought nails are still used in some traditional building techniques and can be found in historic buildings and structures.
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Cut nails are rectangular squares
In the later 18th century, mechanics developed machinery that could shear a ton of nails in a short period of time. All that was required was a flat bar of steel and a machine that could cut the steel. This method was slightly altered until the 1820s when new heads on the nails' ends were pounded via a separate mechanical nail heading machine. Cut nails are now used for masonry and historical reproduction or restoration.
The most common type of nail today is the wire nail, typically made of steel. Nails are used in woodworking and construction and are generally driven into the workpiece by a hammer or nail gun. They are used to hold materials together by friction in the axial direction and shear strength laterally.
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Type A and B cut nails
Type A and Type B cut nails are both made using machines that cut iron bars into nails. The earliest machines sheared nails off the iron bar like a guillotine, creating Type A cut nails. The taper of the shank was produced by wiggling the bar from side to side with each stroke. Type A nails have burrs on diagonally opposite edges.
In the 1810s, a more effective design for a nail-making machine was developed, which created Type B nails. This machine flipped the iron bar over after each stroke, allowing the resulting nails to be oriented in the same direction. This meant that the same machine could automatically grip each nail and form a head in a continuous mechanical operation. Type B nails have both burrs on the same side.
Type B nails were the most common type of nail throughout most of the 19th century. They were used in the construction and maintenance of early campus buildings in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Type B nails are commonly used today for fastening hardwood flooring and for various other specialty uses.
During the 1880s, machines were developed to produce nails from inexpensive steel wire. This was the first time that nails began to have the round shafts that we are more accustomed to seeing today. By 1886, 10% of all nails were round-bodied steel wire, and by 1913, 90% of all nails were this type.
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Steel wire nails overtook iron cut nails in production by 1892
The production of nails has evolved over time, with different materials and methods being used. In the early days, nails were made by hand, with artisans known as nailers or nailors creating nails from wrought iron or bronze. This process continued well into the 19th century, but began to decline with the introduction of new methods and materials.
The first efforts to mechanize the nail-making process occurred between 1790 and 1820, with the invention of machines to automate and speed up production. This included the use of early machinery to shear nails from an iron bar, similar to a guillotine. This method was further refined in the 1810s and 1820s, with the introduction of separate mechanical nail heading machines to pound heads onto the nails.
However, the real shift in the market came with the introduction of cheap wire nails. Steel wire nails were first produced in significant quantities in the mid-1880s, and by 1886, they already made up 10% of the nails made in the United States. This marked a turning point, as by 1892, steel wire nails overtook iron cut nails in production, becoming the main type of nail being produced.
The decline in the use of wrought iron for nail-making was swift, and by 1913, 90% of manufactured nails were wire nails. Nails transformed from being a rare and precious commodity to a cheap and mass-produced good. Today, almost all nails are manufactured from wire, using modern rotary principle nail machines that allow for a continuous production process.
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Frequently asked questions
Cut nails are a type of nail that is rectangular in shape with a square shaft. They are usually made of steel or iron and have a head.
Before the 19th century, nails including cut nails were made by hand by artisans known as nailers or nailors. Workmen called slitters would cut iron bars into suitable sizes for nailers to work on. In the 1800s, machinery was developed to shear cut nails from a flat bar of steel.
Cut nails are now typically machine-made and used for masonry and historical reproduction or restoration.
Cut nails are used in woodworking and construction to fasten materials together. They can also be used as pegs to hang things or for decoration.
There are two types of cut nails: Type A and Type B. Type A cut nails were sheared from an iron bar using a guillotine-like machine. Type B cut nails were created using a similar method but with the addition of pounding the nail heads using a separate mechanical nail heading machine.
