Need easier way to set nails for sanding

[larry757]

Hi, I am refinishing a large deck but need to set the nails below the surface of the boards before sanding. I started to do this with a regular nail set and hammer, but this is turning out to be a huge job. I'm hoping that someone knows of a tool that will make this job faster. Thanks in advance for helping to save my next 5 weekends!

[Stevenp]

Sorry Larry, but I think you are already doing it the only way I know of.
Maybe get some mates / Family to help out.
Cheers steven

[munruben]

Nail gun

[Tools]

I had a floor polisher once who used an air chisel withwhat must have been a home made punch on the end.

Tools

[Dan574]

i had the same problem, had a huge deck all up 60m x 2.4m (right around the house). started with the hammer and punch. The boards were down for nearly 12 months and had turned grey.

I then ended up hiring a pressure washer 3000psi, used for cleaning bricks. This thing brought the boards back to new without having to punch the nails. Came up looking awesome.

[OBBob]

The guys that have sanded my old floors had pnumatic nail punches but I'm not sure where from. Also you can get the palm nailers like in this video.

http://au.truveo.com/Ridgid-Palm-Nailer/id/3923068427

[Extracare]

4 mates, 3 slabs and a barbie full of food. Jobs done in an hour.

[Bloss]

What extracare said!

But really the trick if you have to punch nails down in large numbers such as in decks is to ensure that you use physics - the punch you use should be as heavy as you can comfortably manage.

I use a converted roofing punch that originally had a spike end (used in the days when one had to punch a hole through the metal first before nailing or screwing down the roofing.

I ground the end flat to about 4mm across then centre punched and drilled a shallow 3mm depression. I then ground gently to create a crude set on the end which helps stop slipping.

The important thing is to use a more solid punch than a regular sized nail punch, but as with all punches the tip needs to match the nail size.

[echnidna]

A modified roofing punch makes the job so much easier

[journeyman Mick]

Rather than modify a roofing punch, you could get yourself a flooring punch, which is like a big roofing punch, only shaped for punching nails.

Mick

[Extracare]

Here's another tip from a bloke who's whacked more knuckles than he cares to remember.

Use 100 grit paper to sand the strike end of your punch and the face of your hammer. Repeat as necessary to keep the shine off both faces.

This makes for a much "grippier" contact and less chance of the hammer glancing off the punch and into your hand.

[UteMad]

Hopefully these are just bullet head nails cause if they are titadecks you'll find after puching them if its a hardwood board they will pop up on you in a few months..
Get an air punch off someone like kennards or pressure wash the deck and save the bother to start with


cheers utemad

[Fuzzie]

When I did my floor I changed over from trying to use a claw hammer to a 3lb club hammer. Got through the punching down much faster. I went through a couple of ordinary nail punches because they all mushroomed fairly readily.

I also try to grip the punch masonry chisel style, i.e. fingers and thumb all wrapped around the same direction. Doing this seems to save my thumb from wayward blows.

[journeyman Mick]

Here's another tip from a bloke who's whacked more knuckles than he cares to remember.

Use 100 grit paper to sand the strike end of your punch and the face of your hammer. Repeat as necessary to keep the shine off both faces.

This makes for a much "grippier" contact and less chance of the hammer glancing off the punch and into your hand.

I usually just clean and rough up my hammer face on concrete.

Mick

[123]

There is air operated nail punches, best thing for that, in saying that extracare has a good idea.....