Showerthought: I read that a lot of old barns used square nails because they grip better over time

I was looking at a history page about building in the 1800s, and it said they used square cut nails in a lot of timber frames. The article claimed the square shape actually locks into the wood fibers better as the wood moves, instead of getting loose like a round nail can. That got me thinking about some of the repair jobs I've done on old sheds around here. You ever pull one of those old square nails out? They really do fight you. Makes you wonder if we're missing something by always using round wire nails for everything now. Has anyone ever used modern square cut nails for a project, like a timber frame or a heavy gate?

2 comments

2 Comments

cooper.spencer1d ago

Those old nails are a real pain to pull out, lol.

the_tessa1d ago

Yeah @cooper.spencer, it's the bent ones that get me every time. I spent an hour last week on a single nail that just kept twisting. Ended up using a pry bar and a whole lot of bad words.