Sophia Delgado
Nails were an essential tool in Colonial America, used primarily for building. They were frequently used in woodworking construction to join two or more objects. Most nails were made of cast iron by blacksmiths, who created them individually from a square iron stock rod. The process of making nails began with the blacksmith heating the rod until it was red hot and malleable. The rod was then hammered on all four sides to create a point, and then cut to the desired length. The head of the nail could be formed into various shapes depending on its intended use and the time period. This process of hand-wrought nail-making was time-consuming, and it wasn't until the 19th century that the slitting mill was invented, allowing for the mass production of nails.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Nail-making process | Blacksmiths heated a rod until it was red hot and malleable, hammered it on all four sides to make a point, and then cut it to the desired length. The head of the nail could be formed into various shapes depending on its intended use and the time period. |
| Nail type | Wrought nails, which tapered on all four sides, were commonly produced by hand. |
| Nail material | Cast iron |
| Availability | Nails were typically imported from England into the colonies, as they were cheaper and more readily available than locally made nails. |
| Nail production | Nails were forged individually by blacksmiths due to the lack of large-scale operations in the colonies. |
| Nail importance | Nails were invaluable in the colonial economy, aiding in the construction of buildings and other structures. |
| Nail identification | Archaeologists can identify the time period of a wrought nail by its style, size, head shape, and tip shape. |
| Nail production innovation | In 1795, Jacob Perkins invented the cut-nail process, allowing companies to produce nails more quickly and efficiently by cutting them from sheets of raw iron. |
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What You'll Learn
Blacksmiths made nails from square iron stock rods
In Colonial America, nails were an invaluable tool in the colonial economy, used primarily for building. They were one of the most commonly found artefacts at historic sites. Nails were typically imported from England into the colonies, as factories there could produce standardised nails quickly and efficiently, and at a more affordable rate. However, before the 19th century, when the slitting mill was pioneered, nails were often made by blacksmiths from square iron stock rods.
To make a nail, the blacksmith would heat the rod until it was red-hot and malleable. The rod was then hammered on all four sides to create a point, and then cut to the desired length. The head of the nail could be formed into various shapes depending on its intended use and the time period in which it was produced. This process is called "drawing out" in blacksmith's terms. A shoulder is created on two sides of the bar by striking the metal with a hammer half-on and half-off the anvil. The blacksmith then turns the metal a quarter turn between hammer blows to create the shoulder on the other two sides. This shoulder acts as a stop when the head is formed and determines the length of the finished nail.
The resulting nail is tapered on all four sides, one of the defining characteristics of a wrought nail. Wrought nails were hand-made and were the primary type of nail used from their earliest use through the 18th century. In the late 1790s, machines were invented that cut nails from sheets of plate iron, doing away with the need for individual blacksmiths to forge each nail.
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The rods were heated and hammered into shape
In colonial America, nails were made by blacksmiths, who created them individually from square iron stock rods. The process began with the blacksmith heating the rod until it turned red and became malleable. This heating process allowed the metal to be hammered into shape.
The rod was then hammered on all four sides to create a point, and the blacksmith would continue hammering and shaping the metal until it formed a tapered point. This was a skilled process, as the blacksmith had to ensure the nail tapered on all four sides, a defining characteristic of a wrought nail. The head of the nail could be formed into various shapes, depending on its intended use and the time period. For instance, a "Colonial Rose Head Nail" would have been created using a "nail header" tool.
The blacksmith would also cut the rod to the desired length, determining the length of the finished nail by creating a shoulder on two sides of the bar. This was achieved by striking the metal with a hammer half-on and half-off the anvil, turning it a quarter turn between blows. The shoulder acted as a stop when forming the head of the nail.
The process of making nails by hand was time-consuming and laborious, requiring a lot of practice to master. It was not until the turn of the 19th century that the slitting mill was invented, enabling metalworkers to mass-produce nails without the need for nailers.
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Wrought nails taper on all four sides
In Colonial America, nails were an invaluable tool within the colonial economy, helping build the country's foundation. Nails were one of the most commonly found artifacts at historic sites and were usually made of cast iron by blacksmiths. These blacksmiths would heat a square iron stock rod until it was red-hot and malleable, and then hammer it on all four sides to make a point. The nail would then be cut to the desired length, and the head could be formed into any of a variety of different shapes depending on its intended use and the time period in which it was produced. These nails, known as wrought nails, tapered on all four sides, which is one of their defining characteristics.
Wrought nails were usually tapered for most of their length, terminating in a sharp point for general use. They could also be formed into a chisel point, created with one or two blows, for use near the end of a board or with splittable wood, driven at a right angle to the grain. Another type of point was the spear point, used for clenching on the back side of gates, door battens, and wagon braces, taking the form of the letter "J".
The head of a wrought nail could be formed into a variety of shapes, including the convex hammer-rounded "rose," made with four or five hammer blows, or the flat, side-hammered "T" shape, slightly cupping downward, for clasp or flooring nails, also known as planching or plancher nails, set below floor level. There was also the flat, side-hammered "L" shape, used for brads and larger sizes for interior trim, flooring, furniture, and cabinetry, usually set and puttied. Some nails simply had plain hammered square heads.
The process of making wrought nails by hand was time-consuming, and in the late 1790s, machines were invented that could cut nails from sheets of plate iron. These machine-cut nails, however, only tapered on two sides, while the other two sides remained a constant thickness, that of the iron sheet from which they were cut. This new method of production allowed for the mass production of nails, which became widespread in the United States by the early 1800s.
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Nails were also imported from England
Nails were essential to the colonial economy, primarily used for building. They were one of the most commonly found artefacts at historic sites, and their discovery helps archaeologists identify the time period when certain nails were made.
Nails were typically imported from England into the colonies. Great Britain had the factories and workers to produce standardised nails quickly, efficiently, and at a lower cost. Nails were made of cast iron and produced and sold by the dozen, but they were not cheap. Blacksmiths had to forge nails individually, and the colonies were not yet creating large-scale operations due to Britain's protective trade laws.
Nails were also produced in the colonies, but in smaller quantities. For example, Williamsburg's James Anderson made nails to fasten hardware forged in his shop. He rarely supplied more than a few dozen nails to a customer until the wartime economy and the loss of English imports shifted demand to local producers. During the war, the Commonwealth of Virginia was a large consumer of nails, and Anderson employed eight boys to produce 25,000 nails a week.
Colonial nails were usually more crudely fashioned, with less refined edges due to the tools used for production. They were also hand-wrought, which created a different shape from the machine-made nails from England. To make a nail, a blacksmith would heat an iron rod until it was red hot and malleable. They would then hammer the rod on all four sides to make a point and cut it to the desired length. The head of the nail could be formed into various shapes depending on its intended use and the time period.
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The American Revolution caused a nail shortage
Nails are a fundamental tool in woodworking and construction. They are used to join two or more objects, usually wood, by being driven into the workpiece by a hammer or nail gun. The sharp end of the nail is forced through the respective objects, and the objects become joined together.
In colonial America, nails were invaluable to the economy and were frequently traded. Most nails were manufactured and sold in England, which was the largest manufacturer of nails in the world at the time. England could produce standardised nails quickly and efficiently, and so nails were typically imported from England into the colonies, bringing in more product at a more affordable rate. Nails were expensive and difficult to obtain in the colonies, and so they were highly valued.
During the American Revolution, when the 13 American colonies declared independence from England, the supply of nails was cut off. This led to a widespread nail shortage throughout the country. Communities resorted to burning down old houses and buildings to recover nails from the ashes. In Virginia, a law was created to stop people from burning their houses down just to reclaim the nails. The nail shortage spurred American entrepreneurs to develop new nail-making technologies, and ultimately, domestic nail industries were established in the United States.
By the early 19th century, the U.S. had become a major producer of nails, thanks to innovations like the cut-nail process. Invented by American entrepreneur Jacob Perkins in 1795, the cut-nail process involves cutting nails from sheets of raw iron, rather than forging them individually. This allowed manufacturers to produce uniform nails in large quantities, and cut nails quickly gained popularity for their strength and holding power.
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Frequently asked questions
To make a nail, a blacksmith would heat an iron rod until it was red hot and malleable. Then, the blacksmith would hammer the heated rod on all four sides to make a point and cut it to the desired length. The nail's head could be formed into various shapes depending on its intended use and the time period in which it was produced.
In colonial America, most nails were made of cast iron and were hand-wrought. They were called "Rose Head Nails" and were made using a tool called a "nail header".
It took a lot of practice to make nails efficiently. Assuming it takes 1 minute to make a single nail, it would take nearly two months of working ten hours a day to make 1000 nails.
