# Nail Puller gets great reviews but I couldn't make it live up to expectations



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Elizabeth

This type of tools have been around for many many years. All of the times I tried using type this tool the results would vary and it was not fun to use. I still have one I've owned for years and have not used it in the last 40 years.


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## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

Nail pulling sucks .. especially the old cut nails. Soem times i use an old screwdriver to beat around the head of the nail and pry it out a bit and using a nail pulller (pry bar style) and a good dead blow mallet to pound the puller with. A tiring job no matter which way you do it.

I wonder if you could heat them up enough to unstiffen them a little???


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## lew (Feb 13, 2008)

Probably part of your frustration was the wood itself. Plywood is really hard due to its makeup/construction. The little jaws on the puller will penetrate "regular" wood a lot easier. Don't give up on the too, they do work.

I realize this may be extra work because it is a two step process, but these devices http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/set3hollowscrewextractors.aspx could be used to remove the wood around the head of the nail and then a Cat's Paw or Wonder Bar (or even your new puller) could be used to extract the nail.


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## Maggiepic (Aug 26, 2010)

As a1Jim said these are an older style nail remover. They were more common place 30 or more years ago and then seemed to fade away. I think some company (?) was started a remake of these the past few years and sounds like from your experience they are worse than they were years ago. They have never worked very well and would punch more holes in wood than nails removed. Try using a small cats paw/cats claw. Only drive it as deep as you need to minimize damage.


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## FlyingMLB (Oct 12, 2010)

These work well in softer, dimensional lumber. As stated earlier, they have never worked well in plywood, especially if its cured good and hard. I used one of these frequently when I was a kid. My dad was big on tearing down old buildings for the materials. Yep, guess who got to pull all the old nails…I have journeyman hours. I'm also pretty certain that any company starting to make these again after all these years is not putting the quality into them the same as those from the past. Regardless, the damage done to the wood as well as the nail holes always gives me the impression that just cutting off the nailed ends was the best solution. What you cut off isn't really "usable" anyway. That's just my opinion.


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## Pete_Jud (Feb 15, 2008)

I think that these were made to help the frameing crew to correct mistakes. I have one that I bought years ago, maybe 30 plus. I had to remove nails that had been driven into studs 80 years before. It takes its toll on both the wood and the user, and I also have a cats pawl that I have used with a hammer. Pulling nails is never fun.


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## treeman (Dec 15, 2008)

My experience is that an old fashioned cat's paw works best for digging out nails. You need to use it with a hammer but it will get under just about any nail head. It is designed with sharp digging points that will dig into the wood around the nail head.


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## reuser (Mar 12, 2009)

How about this drop forged steel tool from Paslode? http://cgi.ebay.com/219336-Eagle-Claw-Nail-Extractor-/400169156445#ht_2352wt_1118


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## boboswin (May 23, 2007)

I often use a reciprcating saw to cut the nails off flush with the board then drive them out with a nail set.
You should be able to pick them up with a set of END CUTTER PLIERS pliers from there.
I have one of those like you show and your are right- limited uses


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## gko (Jul 8, 2009)

Someone told me about Japanese nail pullers so I gave them a try and they are terrific. Seems to really grip nails and some have what looks like a square hammer opposite the puller which you can hit to help dig some nails out. Just put the puller about a 1/16" before the nail and hit the square faced hammer on the opposite side to dig it out. Demoed my back house and it made pulling all the nails much less painful. Bought mine from Hida Tools but also found them at my local Woodcraft in Hawaii.


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## Elizabeth (Oct 17, 2009)

Well, I wasn't pleased with the nail puller but I gotta say Amazon has come through again. I got a full refund.


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