If you ’re a hobby farmer who loves DIY projects , you in all probability own a hammer or two , plus a few boxes of random nails . Whether youbuild fence , repair outbuilding , modify wagonsor build custom items to fit your need , you plausibly reach for nails almost as often as your trustyelectric drill .
It ’s part of the DIY ethos to plunge in without many instructions , but you might be using nail in a less than optimum way . Whether you realize it or not , they come in a all-encompassing variety of figure and size of it , all designed for different project and purposes . There are a lot of factors to consider . Do you desire blade or atomic number 30 nails ? Should they be galvanize to prevent rust fungus ? Should the shank be smooth , or should it be ridged to ply greater property strength under pressure ?
The answer to these question depart depending on the project . But first , it ’s a good mind to learn the broad categories and name the type or type you need . Here are a few of the most widespread and utile nails .

Common Nail
When you think of a classic “ nail , ” this is probably what come to heed . ( It ’s the one on the left in the photo above . ) While these of course total in different size and gauges , common nails are typically thick and strong with narrow-minded , orotund head . They ’re perfect for world-wide farming twist projects .
Roofing Nail
Roofing nails have much larger head than common nail . They head up is designed to hold thin items in place by substance of press . For model , a regular nail with a smaller pass might have hassle maintain cap shingles in lieu ; the nail passes through a sparse paring of stuff and ca n’t bind in place the way it can in a thick piece of wood . The large heads of roofing nails , however , come up to this issue , by using the head rather than the shank to immobilise the shingles down in the personal manner of a pushpin or thumbtack .
Box Nail
A box nail is basically a smaller vulgar nail , designed for more finespun piece of wood that might split if large nail are applied .
Finishing Nail
A eat up nail is more graceful than a common nail . ( It ’s on the right in the photo above . ) Its little head is plan to be less detectable than the heads of other nails . This makes it ideal for preciseness “ finishing ” study on visible surfaces , where a clean appearance is idealistic .
Staple Nail
This is one of my favourite varieties . ( It ’s in the center in the exposure above . ) I always keep a supply of staple nails on bridge player . These arched nail are mold like staples and are stark for attaching fencing material ( such as welded conducting wire , individual strands of conducting wire , pliant meshing and so on ) to wooden fence posts . They ’re a little crafty to practice ( you pound two shanks rather of one that has a top dog attached ) , but their ability to take impenetrable materials in stead is unmatched by others .
There are several other type of design for specific projects — brad nail for tiptop - fine finishing work , masonry nails for work with concrete and brick — but the one mentioned above are the staple .
By extend your knowledge of different nail type , you may improve the quality of your DIY project and build up items that will last for year to get .
