The nail jail is an interesting, well built tool. I believe it may work well on new wood.
In business we work with reclaimed lumber frequently for the past several years. Most of our materials are 100+ years old from old barns. Sometimes Douglas Fir and pine but more often with northern hardwoods such as red and white oak and hard maple. In general reclaimed lumber gets very, very hard and pulling nails from it is a difficult, time consuming, frustrating job. We have tried every tool we can think of -- cat's paws, nail pullers, chisels, etc. All are slow, labor intensive and many scare the wood.
We have tried the 11-inch nail jack on a variety of reclaimed materials. On the hardest material such as white oak it was a failure both in thick stock (4" and greater) as well as thin stock (<= 1"). We tried in older square iron nails and newer steel ones. We also tried both nails 100% buried as well as partially expose. After lots of trying on the hardest materials we gave up. We damaged the front pincher a little as well. To be fair, we have not found any other hand tool that works better. It is a hard job. BTW, the best technique we have found is a pneumatic punch for thin stock and the old style nail puller for the timbers.
We also tried the nail jack on softer material: reclaimed doug fir, reclaimed redwood, and reclaimed hemlock.
The process went slightly better but not significantly. It was still slow, labor intensive and frequently the nail would still break.
If you are de-nailing older reclaimed lumber, I would keep looking for something else. Nail Jack Tools 11NJ Nail Puller, 11-Inch
This is a very well designed tool. Works very well and is far better than anything out there. Fast shipping. A little pricey but worth every penny. A great deal of design attention has gone into this tool and as such is a real time saver. Does far less surface damage than a pry bar (etc).
I bought the Nail Jack about 6 months ago and recently used it on a bathroom remodel project. I found that it worked great for pulling all the various kinds of nails I had to deal with. The leverage is great and the ability to "re-grip" at various spots along the length of the nail eliminates the need for a block to remove the nail completely. Because of its flexibility on how and where it grips the nail I find it is the first tool I reach for when I have nails that need to be removed
Bought myself one and since it was a good price I got another for my future son-in-law...he really liked it and so do I. It is one of those tools you don't need or use every day BUT when you do need it you are so glad you have one. Works great!!
I was worried about whether this tool would work as described. I have to say that after a few hours pulling nails with it that it is a beautifully designed tool that works exactly as described. You aren't going to pull any nails without effort. My forearms were worn out after a few hours but you get a lot accomplished. Your effort is rewarded with a dislodged nail when you use this tool unlike what sometimes happens with the customary hammer and pry-bar. I was really amazed at how easy it was to dislodge the nails holding a piece of plywood down. Usually you have to hammer in your pry-bar and then pry up on a part of the board near a nail to get the head of the nail above the surface of the wood so that your crowbar or hammer claw can get a grip on it which causes damage to the wood. Not to mention having to repeat this process for almost every nail. Using the hammer tap on the back of the Nail Jack as described in the You-Tube video made it a breeze. Once I got the feel of this tool it was a snap. I was able to remove all the nails and simply lift off the plywood after I was done. No pry-bar necessary and no noticeable damage to the wood because you are only digging the tip of the tool in enough to get to the head of the nail which has already "damaged" that part of the wood.
Ever had to pull an old nail out only to have the head on the nail fail? With conventional methods this would exponentially increase the difficulty of getting the nail out. Not if you are using the Nail Jack!
The other advantage was the awkward positions you could be in and still pull a nail. Need to pull a nail without having lots of room to pry? No problem. Just grab, pry, release, grab, pry, release until the nail is out. Once you use it you will understand. It took a little getting used to at first. It would also be helpful to have big hands because of how wide the handles are at times when you are pulling but, if you ever have to pull nails, buy it!
This tool is most interesting because it is a brand new idea. It is an idea by an American guy that wants to save wood. It is made by a small company that is just trying to bring time and money saving tools to the country. I like it.
I REMOVED A THOUSAND SQUARE FT. OF HARDWOOD FLOORING AND HAD TO REMOVE THE NAILS THAT WERE LEFT IN THE BOARDS. THE NAIL PULLER DID THE JOB I NEEDED. WITHOUT THIS TOOL THIS JOB WOULD HAVE BEEN ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE. I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND PURCHASING THIS PRODUCT.
Great product! I work in the Preservation/Conservation of Historic Structures field. Removing nails and fastners with as little damage to material as possible is sometimes a a serious issue. Though not perfect, this tool helps to do just that. My guys are each getting one of these for their tool chest.
Nice tool. Allows great leverage to get nails pulled. I agree with other reviews that criticized the wide design of the handles. With my large hands (I am 6'5") I still find the handles to be too wide to be comfortable. - Nail Pullers - Nails - Nail Puller - Tools'
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