Removing nails

[megadyptes]

So, I've made the rookie mistake of dry assembling the mesh floor and entrance part of a new hive and then must have got turned around when banging the nails in and am now the proud owner of a bee hive base that could double as the foundations of the leaning tower of pisa!

Is there a knack to removing nails without gouging the wood to kingdom come or is a case of get them out any way you can and then make do and mend (and reassemble using screws next time!)

 

[oliver90owner]

Don't know about what you have, but in future you may find it better to not drive nails fully home until you are sure everything is tickety-boo, particularly lost head nails. But like you are suggesting for the future, screws (while being more expensive and slower to install) are my favoured fixing.

Another, intermediate, improvement for building with nails is to only install enough to hold it together before fully nailing it. Might depend on the current construction how it is best to proceed.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

So, I've made the rookie mistake of dry assembling the mesh floor and entrance part of a new hive and then must have got turned around when banging the nails in and am now the proud owner of a bee hive base that could double as the foundations of the leaning tower of pisa!

Is there a knack to removing nails without gouging the wood to kingdom come or is a case of get them out any way you can and then make do and mend (and reassemble using screws next time!)

I've got a packing case nail extractor but it digs a hole around the head of the nail so not suitable for anything which is going to be on view. As you say, screws are much better and apart from gimp pins in frames all my beekeeping kit is assembled using screws.

 

[pargyle]

Better to try and prise the wood apart initially with by tapping a thin blade down through the joint line .. easing the two sections of timber apart enough to try and get the nails pulled out a little, you can then push the timber down around the nail head and use a pair of pincers on the nail head to pull the nail out - you can put a thin piece of sacrificial timber or even a piece of cardboard under the pincers to stop damage to the surrounding wood.

However, if you have nailed either at an angle or with two nails at 90 degrees to the joint you have a problem. If you have glued the joints as well ... an even bigger problem !

 

[wessexmario]

a couple of ways to do it:

Use a punch, and drive the nails right in past the top piece of wood and just leave them embedded in the lower piece when reassembling.

Hit the side of the box from the inside of the box with a mallet.
This will separate the two pieces of wood, the head of the nails remaining in the upper piece and pulling out of the lower piece.
then remove the nails from the upper piece by hammering the "wrong way".

 

[wessexmario]

One other possible way to resolve it if it's well secure but wonky, is to glue an extra strip along the top and/or bottom edges, and plane it back to be perfectly level.

but remember: "measure twice, cut once".

 

[dn170221]

Does it flatten out if you put a brood box and roof on top?
Otherwise try wedging them apart. (have made this mistake myself and forcing apart worked)

 

[megadyptes]

Thanks for all the suggestions - will have a closer look at it over the weekend and see what might work.