Pulling Nails the rest of the week: my new nail puller tool in action

Spent the day with the nails flying as I put the above tool into action. I was working on saw horses so the main problem was my back was bent over. So the small of my back is very sore from that muscle being worked all day. So I'm in full lotus to stretch out the small of the back. Also the forearms and hands are sore but not as bad. So I'll probably had to really bend my knees a lot tomorrow to keep my back straight.

So almost 2000 Amazon ratings give this tool a 4 to 5 star rating

 Got these before I started a rehab on a 1900’s farmhouse (lathe & plaster, old crumbling wood floors, petrified rough sewn studs, etc...) and still going strong. A bit heavy after a while but that could have been all the blood rushing out of my arms when pulling 47,293 nails out from over my head.

That sounds like fun....

 Love it for staples, finish nails and exposed nail heads. Heads have to be exposed, not flush, will not dig and pull sunk nails. Best for smaller nails. 4 stars because of the limited usage, otherwise great tool for any carpenter. I bought because I work with reclaimed wood and pull a lot of nails and staples. Love it.

Yeah if the nails are flush then I don't have to pull them but if there is anything sticking out at all then I try to pull it out and the above tool works very well - unless the part sticking out if very tiny.

Some of those Amazon reviews are also for THIS tool:

 I go tthis one also - this is an Old Skool farm tool. The handle end slides out and you pound it back in to force the "claw" end to dig into the wood around the nail - (on the left hand side). And then you an see the leverage side.

This is the perfect tool for removing flush nails without destroying the wood around them. Place the "parrot beaks" at the edges of the nail heads, set them under the edges by tapping with the slide hammer handle, then pry out. Lots of leverage causes the "beaks" to bite into the nail and pull it out neatly. Great for removing nails from finishing trim that you want to reuse.

In fact there is a good vid promoting this tool.

Could This Be The Perfect Tool ???

So I got this tool also but for this particular task I don't need to take out "flush" nails - and so the above tool is not needed.

Unless you have a quarter inch of nail showing it doesn't work that well.

well doesn't have to be that much.

 This nail puller can pull out nails or pieces of nails that have no heads.

 Right - another advantage over just using a hammer claw.

If you are salvaging 100 year old oak or maple then use this puller. I also use a 1/4 inch chisel and tap around the nail head before pulling to minimize the tear out and make the puller jaw insertion easier. Very minimal damage to the wood. Try it - you'll like it. I wouldn't recommend it for general use (plaster board, ply wood, decks, etc.) but if you have the need to salvage expensive woods this one is great. I also taped on a small piece of leather on the lever so it wouldn't scratch the surface.

 yeah good ideas...

This tool is very well designed. First of all, the jaws and handle are set up for maximum grab without undue hand strength required. Second, the gentle roll of the steel arc makes it nail removal easy with maximal leverage. Just buy it!

 This critical review:

It will not grasp the nails unless they were sticking out at least an 1/8 inch from the surface. The claw end of a hammer was faster and easier to use. It also will not work on plywood with at, or below the surface nails. This might work if the nail is sticking out of soft dimensional lumber and you don't mind huge gouge marks in that wood. But again I find a hammer works better with less damage.

that is probably true but if you're dealing with nails that are embedded with just part of the head remaining out of the wood - or no head at all - then this device works better to grab the nails than a claw hammer....

This tool will pull nails a hammer or ply bar can't.

Precisely.