Methods for making Treenails

[sephirem]

Alot of usefull information here. Thanks Garward.

[JPett]

Ahoy MSW

 

Thank you. Your posts have been most helpful

 

I always wanted to do treenails but they were just too much work. I was trying to manually push the wood through the drawplate. Working down to the needed size. Kick me, I follow instructions. I gave up after I did the math, 50 hours just to make the treenails for my build.

 

After reading your tips I took a toothpick, stuck in in my dremel (I have the flex shaft), pushed it into the drawplate and can now make them in seconds. 

Edited April 4, 2013 by JPett

[Adrieke]

Tony

 

i am sure Garward will answer but i think after yuo drilled as many nails as you can you just cut off the top of the wood at the depth you drilled too then they wil automaticaly come out or you push them out leaving the piece of wood will all th holes in it

[tkay11]

Thanks, Adrieke. Sounds reasonable!

 

Tony

[Pete38]

Tony

 

If you look back to page 3 part way down it show where he drilled multiple nail with needle then cut the end off letting the nail fall out.....neat 

[tkay11]

Aaaah! Missed it! Thanks for pointing that out!

 

Tony

[Garward]

Dear colleagues, thanks for an assessment of information and discussion. I am always ready to answer your questions on the given technologies of imitation of nails of a deck flooring. As far as I know, besides given here exists also other technologies, it would be interesting to look at them and to discuss.

[themadchemist]

Very interesting thread, Ive read through it several time.

Garward, On the syringe needles, do you know what gauge needle is used for the treenails? I have some 19g that Tammy gets from the OR which look like they might work.

[Garward]

Very interesting thread, Ive read through it several time.

Garward, On the syringe needles, do you know what gauge needle is used for the treenails? I have some 19g that Tammy gets from the OR which look like they might work.

 

Many needles can be suitable for these purposes, usually the needle is selected experimentally, depending on diameter of an imitated stopper.

[Garward]

I reckon you guys are missing the fun of drawing bamboo through a drawplate.  Its quite satisfying making treenails that way. 

 

To whom that is pleasant! 

[PopJack]

First, thanks for sharing the information.

 

I have purchased and sharpened a couple of 18 ga needles and placed them in my drill press.  Unfortunately, the nails always break off inside the needle.  There, they turn to dust and are not useful.

 

I tried pine and maple woods, end grain and side grain.

 

Is there some special wood I should use or do I need to use a high speed drill?

 

спасибо

(Thank you)

[Garward]

First, thanks for sharing the information.

 

I have purchased and sharpened a couple of 18 ga needles and placed them in my drill press.  Unfortunately, the nails always break off inside the needle.  There, they turn to dust and are not useful.

 

I tried pine and maple woods, end grain and side grain.

 

Is there some special wood I should use or do I need to use a high speed drill?

 

спасибо

(Thank you)

 

For production of nails it is desirable to use the same wood of which the deck flooring is made.  It is possible to try soft wood a linden.  As for the boring machine, here it is necessary to pick up correctly turns, usually it becomes experimentally, taking into account a type of wood and type needles.

[PopJack]

Thank you. I  will experiment with some soft woods.

[PSF]

My method of making  treenail

 

 

pushpin to be installed in the machine chuck

 

 

 

 

 

installation of the workpiece

 

 

Edited May 10, 2013 by PSF

[PSF]

extension

 

[PSF]

brass treenail 

 

 

apparatus for setting a brass treenail 

 

apparatus for setting a brass treenail 

[PopJack]

Great results.  Is that a regular die (like you use to thread metal) that you've chucked in the lathe or is it something special?

[Modeler12]

 

 

 

[hornet]

Hi, my first post. I have completed a number of builds over the years but only recently attempted treenailing. My method was as follows:

 

Take a cotterpin/splitpin about 40mm long. File the top of the pin so it is a flat surface. Drill an appropriate sized hole in the flattened surface. I have a Proxxon Drill press and have used 0.5, 0.8 and 1.0mm bits. Mount the cotter pin in a Dremel Multitool and then mount the dremel onto the workbench so the cotter pin faces upwards. I use bamboo skewers as my treenails. I split them longways into four sections and roughly sharpen the end so it can be guided into the hole that I have drilled in the end of the cotter pin. Switching the Dremel to a relativey high speed allows  the bamboo to be forced through the hole and the appropriately sized treenail is extruded through the bottom - each treenail is about 0.5 - 0.8mm long (but long enough to do the job). The hole in the cotter pin usually stays sharp enough to get a hundred or so treenails cut. I'm going to experiment using a stainless cotterpin next time as this may have a longer lifespan.

[allanyed]

Hornet, I am having a really hard time picturing this.  The cotter pin has me baffled.  Can you post a photo or two?

Thanks

Allan

[hornet]

 

These photos probably aren't in the right order (bit of a techno-cretin) Hope they give the general idea

 

Since I posted this, I have invested in a Byrnes Draw Plate. One of my best investments yet. Beats all other methods of making tree nails hands down (in my humble opinion)

Edited July 31, 2014 by hornet

[klimi]

Garward, very effective and fast working method, yesterday i improved deck by this method. It looks better and naturaly. 

Thank you for upload 

[Ulises Victoria]

I drill or punch the holes. Cut a bunch of round toothpicks in half. Wet a half toothpick in wood glue. Insert in hole. Wait to dry overnight. Trim tooth picks with toenail clipper. Sand. Very simple

(Instead of that dental pick, I now use a jig made with 4 nails in a piece of wood, to make 4 equally spaced holes at a time )

Edited June 4, 2013 by Ulises Victoria

[S.Coleman]

Looks real nice! I must experiment on this as I have never done this on any previous builds. Thanks for the detailed pictures

[SawdustDave]

Like vths, I find regular toothpicks to be great tree nails. I actually get 4 nails from each toothpick by using a small file and sanding board to create the sharp pointed spike needed to get a deep enough penetration to insure the nail doesn't back out during the sanding process. No glue necessary....each nail is pressure fitted, as the wipe on poly finish applied to the hull will seal the nails permanently.

I also wait until after I sand the nail flush before applying a stain.

Dave