How-to Hold and Hammer Small Nails: 4 Ways to Save your Fingers
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by Mike on 10 July 2009
Whenever I'm holding the hammer, tiny nails inevitably lead to bruised fingers. Fortunately, this doesn't have to be the case. These are some of my favorite tips for hammering small nails... tips that will keep your fingers safe and hopefully make your projects less painful.
1Pliers
Hold the nail with a pair of needle-nosed pliers in one hand and hammer away with the other. You'll need some hand-eye coordination for this (holding both hammer and pliers can be a bit awkward) but if you miss the nail it's the pliers that take a beating and not your fingers.
2Cardboard
Push a nail through one end of a small rectangle of cardboard, then hold the opposite end and hammer the nail in. You can rip the cardboard away from the nail once it's started or just hammer the nail through.
No cardboard handy? Cardstock, or even a folded sheet of paper, can be used in lieu of cardboard.
3Comb
It's probably not the first thing you'd reach for when hammering, but an inexpensive comb really does make a great nail holder. Slide a nail between the teeth of a comb to hold it in place, hammer the nail partway in, then simply slide the comb aside and finish the job.
4Pencil Eraser
This is my favorite trick. Use a utility knife to cut a slit down the center of a pencil eraser (from the top towards the metal ring). The slit holds the nail while you hammer and slides away easily once the nail is set.
Bonus: the pencil method works great if you need to stretch your reach by a few inches.
Well, those are some of my best tips... but what about yours? Do you have any clever tips for hammering tiny nails? Let me know!
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Comments
Jdog on 14 July 2009
Great List!
One addition though: Poster putty works great for this too. Press a little blob where you want the nail to be, stick the nail in it, and then hammer it in. The putty doesn't stick much since it's not on there very long. I like it because you can stick the nail to the wall or ceiling or wherever and can keep one hand free while hammering.
kathyswank on 14 July 2009
A bobby pin also works well... but I can see why that wouldn't be on your list! ;)
Galashisha on 23 August 2009
Oh, why didn't I see this before I had half of my nails blue when I was working on those picture frame moldings?