How To Remove Sunken Nails From Wood (3 Ways To Do It!)

Numerous home improvement projects involve working with a hammer and nails. They are among the most ubiquitous tools across worksites and learning how to use them properly is essential.

Removing nails properly is a particular skill you should develop. It will be helpful in situations where you used the wrong-sized nails or if you want to reuse an old item.

The simplest way to remove a nail from a piece of wood involves using the claw end of the hammer. Stick the claw end of the hammer under the nail head and place a block under the hammer’s handle. Continue moving the hammer from side to side and leverage the object underneath the handle to increase your pulling power.

There are different ways to tackle the problem of old nails stuck in a piece of wood. Find out more about those different methods in this article.

Before you work on removing the nail, you can prep the wooden surface for the process.

Take some cloth or an old sponge and cut off a small piece. Soak that piece of cloth or sponge in some water and then place that over the nail. Leave that wet cloth or sponge to soak into the wood for at least an hour. That should help soften up the wood and make it easier for you to extract the nail.

The water could have an effect on the wood finish though. You may want to skip this preparatory step if you want to avoid altering the appearance of the wood.

With everything in the right spot, you can now start pulling on the nail. Move the hammer from side to side in order to loosen up the nail. Remember to lean on the lever you’ve made to pry out the nail faster.

Don’t pull on the nail too forcefully or else you could deal significant damage to the wooden surface. Rely on the lever and the momentum to pull out the nail instead.

If you’re seeing that some parts of the wooden surface are getting scratched up, consider covering them up with some plywood.

Once again, you’ll need two tools to get the job done, but you’re swapping out the block for a pry bar. Before we proceed any further though, you should know that a cat’s paw pry bar will damage the wooden surface.

If you’re looking to preserve the quality of the wooden surface, this pry bar is not for you. It will inevitably dig into the wooden surface as it works and cause permanent damage.

On the other hand, pry bars are great for removing bent and galvanized nails. You probably won’t be able to take those out just by using a hammer.

Now that the headless nail has been exposed, you can switch to using the diagonal-cutting pliers. Don’t grab on to the nail too forcefully or else you might end up cutting it. Just grab on to it in such a way that the pliers can move it around.

At this point, you can repeat the same motions you were making with the needle-nosed pliers earlier. Move the nail from side to side, and pull it out from above slowly. Throughout this time, remember to moderate the force you’re applying to avoid cutting the nail.

Once most of the nail has been extracted from the wood, you can just grab it and pull it out.

Related Questions

What Are Other Tools That Can Be Used to Remove Nails?

Removing nails from wood is possible even if you don’t have hammers or pliers available. The tool you’ll use instead is a reciprocating saw.Reciprocating saws are great because they allow you to cut with precision and power. Their blades allow you to get close to the nail while their power makes it possible to cut through the metal.It’s not a good idea to use a reciprocating saw to cut out nails if you’re not familiar with them, however. If you don’t know how to use the saw properly, you can do irreparable damage to the wooden surface.To make cutting through the nails easier, look for the reciprocating saws with 10-teeth-per-inch blades. They are the ones that excel at cutting through nails.

Should You Use a Nail Puller?

The nail puller is a specialized tool tasked with the specific job of removing stubborn nails from wooden objects. According to Wonkee Donkee Tools, the traditional nail pullers feature hinged jaws that can be plunged into the wood. You can bury those jaws into the wood using just the tool itself or by enlisting the help of a hammer.So, should you consider using a nail puller? The truth is that nail pullers aren’t any better at removing nails than hammers, pry bars, and pliers.You also cannot guarantee that the wood will be free of damage even if you use a nail puller. If you already have a hammer or a pry bar at home, there’s no need to get a nail puller.

How Do You Fill in the Nail Holes?

Even though the nail holes are quite small, they can still affect the appearance of the wooden surface. Consider filling them in using some spackle.Use a putty knife to get a small amount of spackle and press it into the nail hole. Smooth out the spackle and allow that to dry for a couple of hours. Once the spackle is dry, sand it down and paint over it so it matches the rest of the surface.