Nailing a Box Together

Here an individual will learn how do nail a box together. Some future day he will make a box with much neater ints at the corners. It is very easy, but by no means necessary, for him to split the wood of his box when he knocks the nails; it will therefore save him time and trouble if he begins by learning how a nail should be put in. There is an infinite variety of nails; they are made of every imaginable size and shape, so as to be suitable for all kinds f work; but the amateur will only inquire for general a few kinds; probably some French and cut nails of assorted lengths will suffice. He should also have a few tacks. French nails are pieces of round ire, cut into lengths of which one end is flattened to form the head, and the other end has a rather blunt, square point.

The thickness varies roughly in proportion to their length, but, fortunately, different makers have different ideas on this subject, so it is possible to obtain either thick or thin nails of each length; some are made as thin as a very small pin, others are inch diameter. These nails hold very tight in the wood, but the objections to them are, first, the untidy head; and secondly, their liability to split the wood when driven in near the end of a board, which necessitates making a hole with a sprigbit before driving in the nail.

Cut nails are so called because they are cut from plates of sheet steel; these are the best for general purposes. They are made from inch to 6 inches, or more, long; they also vary in thickness, and a thick or a thin nail of every length can be selected from the nail box; this is often very convenient; also, they are not nearly so liable to split the wood if driven in the right way for the grain. It will be seen (Fig. I 8) that the side of the nail is wedge- shaped, but that on looking at the edge (Fig. ig) the sides are parallel; the nail must therefore be driven in such manner that the wedge part of the nail does not come across the grain of the wood. The heads also of these nails are not untidy, because they can be driven a little below the surface of the wood by means of a spring-punch.

The head of the French nail has been described as untidy; not only in appearance it is ugly, but if the nail be not driven quite home, or if it works back a little, the head will project above the wood, and will be liable to catch against the dress of a person passing, etc. In this respect the cut nail is better, because the head is driven below the surface of the wood, but this requires the additional work of punching it down. For rough work, and when time is more important than appearance, as in the case of rough flooring for a loft, etc., clout nails (Figs. 20-21) are very convenient. The body of these nails is square, the point is flat, so that it can be driven in without splitting the wood, and the head is like the ridge of a roof; when the nail is driven home, the head sinks into the board, and no sharp edges are left projecting to catch against anything.