Reply by rockindavan

I have used a bunch of oak barn beams, and none of the nails would come out..they are just too rusted. The best way I found to get the nails out is use a hole saw about 3/4” or the smallest you can get. Take the center drill bit out, or find one that you can take the drill bit out. Then you can use it as a plug cutter and drill out the nails. It can be hard to start sometimes (has a tendency to wander), but you can drill a hole through some scrap and use it to start the hole. Then just pop the plugs out until the nail is removed. Works better than anything I have tried, although it does leave a hole in the wood.