Removing Brads/Staples

[cabinetman]

After assembling parts with brads or staples there's those rare (hopefully) times that it has to be pulled apart. Not that one of us hasn't just stood there swearing and cussin', I found out that doesn't remove the fastener. What you have is a piece of wood with the leg (brad), or legs (staple), sticking out the other side. Out of frustration and desperation, the first weapon of choice might be a hammer to tap it out backwards, from whence it came.

I say nay nay, as 18 ga fasteners bend pretty easy. In lieu of digging it out from the topside, which will in fact leave you with a nasty ugly gouge, there is some hope.

The owners manual for the tool used won't mention this, and don't tell anyone where you heard this, but here is a tip that works most of the time, with most guns. First, disconnect from the air supply, and then remove the brads or staples from the gun. Reconnect the air supply and on a scrap, fire the gun to make sure there's no fasteners left. Make sure the leg/legs are straight. You may have to use a pliers to do this. Then insert the leg of the brad sticking out carefully into the nose of the fastener and push the nose tight to the wood, and pull the trigger. Make sure the positioning of the gun is in line with the desired direction you want the brad to go. What this does is fire the fastener back from whence it came.

For staples, carefully feed both legs into their perspective holes in the nose of the fastener and push the nose tight to the wood and pull the trigger. This technique will drive the fastener up high enough to pull out with a pliers, and you have a clean hole to deal with.
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[Ed62]

I could have used that tip a few days ago, on a cardboard box. Thanks for the tip.

Ed

[jhart]

Good tip!!! Hadn't thought of trying it that way, but makes some sense. Really is frustrating trying to get them out the old fashioned way.

[DaveS]

You'll shoot your eye out!

[cork58]

That is a great tip! Thanks.

[chopnhack]

Nice Mike! That sometimes happens to me on miters

Will that harm the hammer on the nailer?

[cabinetman]

Nice Mike! That sometimes happens to me on miters

Will that harm the hammer on the nailer?

That's a good question. It will have no effect on the mechanism or the drive pin itself. What does happen to drive pins after much use is the ends (impact surface), may get peened somewhat. The fix for that is to file it to its original edge, which on many brands is flat.
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[gsmittle]

Nice tip, Cabbie! That's one of those forehead-slappers; as much as I play with a brad nailer it never occurred to me to use it to drive the brads OUT.

As for putting out an eye, remember there's no more important safety rule than to wear these: (pointing to eyes) safety glasses.

g.

[LCHIEN]

I find upon pulling the pieces apart and leaving leading end of the 18-ga brads protruding from the entry piece, you can grab that end of the brad with a pair of pliers of vice grips and pull it through, head and all. Not something you'd want to do for a hundred brads, but it'll work OK when you have a few to do.

[cabinetman]

I find upon pulling the pieces apart and leaving leading end of the 18-ga brads protruding from the entry piece, you can grab that end of the brad with a pair of pliers of vice grips and pull it through, head and all. Not something you'd want to do for a hundred brads, but it'll work OK when you have a few to do.

There are special nail pulling pliers designed for that which I have, and invariably the brad will break off very close to the wood, leaving you SOL.
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[chopnhack]

I've pulled a few through the wood with diagonal wire cutters and it usually leaves a mess as you end up gouging the wood pretty good to get a grip. And yes, sometimes the soft nail ends up cut leaving a nice sharp point

[iceman61]

Thanks for the tip Mike.

My problem always seems to be when I'm trimming out a window and the occasional nail shoots through the casing at an angle and protrudes out the side or top jamb. Too close to the window to get the trim gun in there.

It seems like it happens about every fourth window.

I've pulled a few through the wood with diagonal wire cutters and it usually leaves a mess as you end up gouging the wood pretty good to get a grip. And yes, sometimes the soft nail ends up cut leaving a nice sharp point

When I pull one I always lay my prybar right next to the nail & use that as a prying surface to pull the rogue nail with my pliers. It helps to keep for marring up the wood considerably.

[LCHIEN]

There are special nail pulling pliers designed for that which I have, and invariably the brad will break off very close to the wood, leaving you SOL.
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I don't usually have problems breaking off the brads. I didn't give the whole procedure,

If you don't care about the wood and are in a real hurry, I use some heavy duty (non-needle-nose) pliers and grab the nail close to the wood, then roll the pliers one the side of the head bending the brad but leveraging the head against the wood to pull it out. Regular slip joint pliers work for me, the head width is not real big so for deep brads I need to grab and lever it twice.

If wanting to save the wood in nice shape, use a prybar under the pliers head to avoid scarring the wood (like iceman suggested),
or clamp the wood in a vice and pull straight up, or hold the wood down on the floor with your foot and pull straight up...

Chopnhack, why do you use wire cutters and not pliers? You ruin the cutters edge and use the wrong tool for the job and end up cutting the brad off accidentlly as well? tsk, tsk.

[cabinetman]

I don't usually have problems breaking off the brads. I didn't give the whole procedure,

If you don't care about the wood and are in a real hurry, I use some heavy duty (non-needle-nose) pliers and grab the nail close to the wood, then roll the pliers one the side of the head bending the brad but leveraging the head against the wood to pull it out. Regular slip joint pliers work for me, the head width is not real big so for deep brads I need to grab and lever it twice.

If wanting to save the wood in nice shape, use a prybar under the pliers head to avoid scarring the wood (like iceman suggested),
or clamp the wood in a vice and pull straight up, or hold the wood down on the floor with your foot and pull straight up...

Chopnhack, why do you use wire cutters and not pliers? You ruin the cutters edge and use the wrong tool for the job and end up cutting the brad off accidentlly as well? tsk, tsk.

Using a pliers to pull a brad through the wood is no feat of genius, and I'm sure many here have tried that so that's why I didn't suggest it. It can work fairly well in soft woods. This was a tip I'm sharing that is a benefit for those situations to keep brads from breaking off, or being able to work with a short brad that did break off, especially in hardwoods. If you don't drive many brads the first corrective measure may be using a pliers. If that works for you and you are satisfied with the outcome, there is no need to try this procedure.

In hardwoods, pulling a brad head through a smaller hole has its option to snap off close to the wood. Once the head is seated, and the brad snaps off close to the wood, getting it out is a bit more difficult. That procedure doesn't fall in the category "It's so easy a caveman could do it".

Where this procedure has a great benefit, is with removing staples. You won't be grabbing one or two legs with a pliers and be pulling it through. If you have a tip that works, it would be worthwhile to post it.
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[pelligrini]

I wish I had a stapler to try your method with. Sounds like a neat idea.

I explored many methods of removing staples. I aquired a lot of used maple flooring from a jobsite a while back. The method I found that works the quickest and with better results is to use my 4" bench vise. I'll clamp most of the legs in the vise with a little exposed between the wood and the vise. Then I'll give the wood a wack with a mallet to expose the head. Then I'll flip it over, clamp the head, and use the wood itself as a lever to pull the staple.