Nails Research Paper

A nail, a short or a long piece of metal, brass or copper that gets hit on the head with a hammer, can be used for so many different purposes. Construction workers, a builder or even a handyman uses nails for building houses, building items such as a bird house or a shed, and even building furniture and making home repairs. I am someone who enjoys hands on activities and I absolutely love building things and a nail is my best friend because without a nail, what would hold a house together? A simple nail is often taken for granted, and does not get the credit it deserves, from its role in history, its many different uses and its role in ultimately helping to shape the world today.

A nail is a metal spike that is driven into wood using a hammer

Nails play a very important role in our everyday lives. Anywhere you go, nails are in use. From leaving a house in the morning to walking into work, every building employs the use of nails. Today, nails are more popular than screws and other types of joint holders because they are typically cheaper to use. Depending on the job requirements, screws often provide a stronger bond, but nails will usually suffice. During the pre-industrial era, nails were used along with different types of joints using pegs and dowels. Some of the most popular joints used during these times were the half lap, mitred half lap, cross lap, dovetail crossed lap, and the biscuit joint. Before nails, these joints were secured using glue made from animal hides, so nails created a more secured bond than glue. Nails are often classified by the term “penny” or “d”, originating back to medieval England. In Great Britain, the letter “d” was used to describe a penny, which carried over to nail classification as nails were priced by the 100’s. Nails range in sizes from 2d-60d, meaning that the

The nail we use today, in theory, is basically the same design used when they were first created. The purpose of the nail is still the same today, and plays many different roles. The only major change in the nail from then until now is how they are produced. When nails were first invented, nails were generally made of bronze or wrought-iron. Until the 1800’s nails were made by hand. Specially trained workers, known as nailers, would receive iron bars that were slit and would shape them into nails. The slitting mill, invented in 1590 at Dartford, Kent in England, changed the way nails were created. Nailers no longer had to rely on slitters to cut the bars to size in order for them to shape them. The inception of the slitting mill made it easier to produce nails more quickly. As mentioned above, during the American Revolution, it was difficult for American colonies to obtain nails. Many families would set up a nail manufacturing system in which they would create the nails they needed and would be able to sell or barter any leftovers. In 1795, the nail making process was advanced further with the cut-nail process. Cut nails were made from sheets of iron and remained the most popular process of nail making until the 1860’s when wire nails were discovered. Wire nails were similar to cut nails, however they were cut from wire rather than iron. Wire nails were made from coils of wire that were cut into rods before