clinch nails – She Works Wood & Leather

practise (1 of 1) — I practiced with several nails before attempting to install the battens.

So it was time to attach the battens to the lid using the clinched nail technique.

My Bad Axe saw, size small handle. This is the first saw I’ve owned that actually fits my hand.

Drilled pilot holes and clamped in place.

So I cleaned up the battens, drilled the pilot holes and clamped it in place. I also ground the nail tips on the bench grinder as described below. All good to go, right?

curses crack (1 of 1) — The larger nail cracked the top as I tried to insert it.

As I drove the 2 1/2″ nail through the batten and top, a piece of the top cracked and broke. ARGGGGGH!

I had to get the demo tools out and regroup.

Deepened and widened the pilot holes and I used a 2″ nail instead.

Turned with needle nose plyers and hammered in.

After switching to 2″ inch nails, enlarging the pilot holes and deepening the counter bore ->Success!!!

One other thing I’d do differently .. make the moulding on the lid bigger, say 1/2″. That way the nail is in the round over and not at the edge of the round over and in the thick part of the lid.

And heat treating the nails and sharpening the points really seemed to help the clinching procedure.

Some of the tricks I used:

Improve the Clinching Power of Your Cut Nails

From Chris Schwarz Six Board Chest Chapter

Choose nails that are long enough that when you drive them through the battens and lid that they protrude about 1/2” beyond the moulding. Then turn the tip of the nail over like a fishhook and drive it back into the moulding. Hard.

This secures the batten to the lid and keeps the lid flat(ish). It is called clenching. Or clinching. Whatever you call it, it ensures that your battens won’t simply fall off your lid one day when the weather changes.

I used 2” cut fine finish nails for this. I’d have preferred 2-1/2” fine finish nails (but I was out). If you need to use a shorter nail than typical, first drill a 1/4” counterbore for the nail’s head into the batten. The depth of the counterbore should ensure you can get 1/2” of the nail’s tip sticking out of the moulding.

After drilling a counterbore, drill a pilot hole through the rest of the way and through the moulding profile. Use a small bit – 1/16” or 3/32”.

Drive the nail into the hole. Then push it so the head is at the bottom of the counterbore and the tip sticks out of the moulding.

Then turn the tip with needlenose pliers and drive it back into the moulding like a staple.

Gettin’ Close!

Tag: clinch nails

Ewwww! Clinched nails make me curse!!