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Pry Bars, Nail Sets and Punches

Pry Bars, Nail Sets & Punches Safety Tips

  •  Always wear safety glasses when using punches.
  •  Always strike punches with a ball peen or sledgehammer.
  •  Discard any punch that is bent, cracked or chipped.
  •  Never use a nail set as a punch.
  •  Discard any nail set that is bent, cracked, chipped or shows excessive wear.
  •  Never use a nail hammer to strike a cat’s paw. The face of the hammer is too small and could chip. Use a ball peen or a small sledgehammer instead

    • Wrecking Bar

  •  Also known as ripping bars or crowbars, these tools are used in construction, demolition and where pulling nails, ripping wood and similar tasks are done.
  •  Those with curved ends are also known as gooseneck bars.
  •  Because of their length, usually 24" or 30", they have more leverage than hammers, enabling them to pull much larger and longer nails.

    • Pry Bar 

  •  Smaller and flatter than a wrecking bar and not designed for heavy-duty prying.
  •  Features beveled notches in each chisel-like end and ranges in size from 6" to 21".
  •  Useful for removing nails with exposed heads and for prying paneling or molding without marring the surface.
  •  One type of pry bar features an extra curve, which makes it useful for lifting and holding such things as drywall panels in place.
  •  Double claw models provide equal force on push or pull

    • Cat’s Paw

  •  Tool used to pull nails when nail heads are buried beneath the wood’s surface.
  •  Forked chisel end is hammered into wood surrounding nail head until the nail head is positioned between notches. It can then be pulled from below the wood surface.

    •  

    Nail Set

  •  Used to countersink nails before filling with putty, plastic, wood or other filling materials for a smooth surface.
  •  Nail sets are sized by 1/32" and range from 1/32" to 5/32".
  •  It is important that the correct size set be used for each size nail to prevent enlarging of a small nail hole by too large a set.
  •  The pointed end of the nail set should be cupped or hollowed out to avoid splitting the nail head. Self-centering nail sets are available.

    • Pin Punch

  •  Used for driving or removing bushings, pins and keys that have been loosened.
  •  Also called a drive pin punch.
  •  Shaft has a long taper to the tip, which is flat.

    • Prick Punch 

  •  Used to make a very light starter mark that can then be enlarged by a different type of punch (usually a center punch).
  •  Also used to mark layout lines.
  •  The point of a prick punch has a long bevel.

    • Starter Punch

  • Used to make a starter mark that can be enlarged with a pin punch.
  •  Generally ranges in length from 4” to 7”.

    •  



    Center Punch 

  •  Also known as a nail punch, the point of a center punch has a short bevel.
  •  Used for starting holes in wood or metal, or to align rivet or bolt holes.
  •  Also used for driving rivets after rivet heads have been removed.
  •  Good all-around punch that is useful for most jobs requiring a punch.

    • Automatic Center Punch

  •  Punch that is not stuck by a hammer. It has a spring-actuated internal drive that pushes the attached punch point into the material to be center punched.
  •  These punches are available in different sizes and with replaceable screw-on points.

    •  

    Courtesy of NRHA.org


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