# Hammering in a nail



## All Buns Glazing (Apr 22, 2012)

Ok, I'm walking out the door for work, but I just had this idea and I thought if anyone had tried it.

Has anyone tried, or does on a daily basis, nailing a nail into a pine board by shooting the head of the nail repeatedly?

It seems like an almost impossible trip, and perhaps Bill Hays and some others here are the only ones that could think about it. Problems would be hitting it on the edge and bending the nail, or richochets when you DO hit it head on.

Ideas?


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

This is why nail guns were invented ....

Cheers ..... Charles


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## ash (Apr 23, 2013)

This is an idea!

Lead balls would prevent too much ricochet carnage.

My deck needs a lot of nails banged back in - come over and do them for your dare!


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## M.J (Nov 1, 2010)

You'd have to hit it an awful lot. I'd venture to reckon that even the most powerful slingshots hit pretty softly compared to a swinging hammer.


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## ash (Apr 23, 2013)

A small nail, big head, soft wood, pre-drilled pilot hole.


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## Gardengroove (Feb 13, 2012)

In Bavaria we have a similar drinking game. Everyone has one nail and has to hammer it in a tree stump (preferably hard wood so it isn't to easy) with the peen (small surface) of an engineer's hammer.









You are not allowed to touch the nailhead with the hammer before you swing it and only light strokes are needed to drive the nail in. Of course there are people who think full power is better  In most cases they bend the nail and loose the game. But I've seen a few driving a nail in with just one swing.

I guess ricochets aren't that much of a problem, as nails are normally soft compared to steel, but I'd also take my precautions. I think this is one of the hardest things to do with a slingshot though. Good luck with it.

Cheers, Simon


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## bullseyeben! (Apr 24, 2011)

I tried to thread a .33 onto a wood screw,got a vid somewhere on me channel but despite several spot on hits the lead ball just tore apart.. after 30 mins or so the wood screw was blunt and bent but could not thread it on at over 45 ft..
I reckon I friendly challenged big bill too but I never saw him try.. the topic is somewhere in the forums here. 
A nail may work in card board but I doubt it will penetrate timber as the nail will bend and the balls will bounce


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## All Buns Glazing (Apr 22, 2012)

Awesome sauce! Great feedback. I reckon it'd be nigh on impossible, but I thought that about a lot of things before I joined SSF. I thought cutting a card swinging in the breeze from .... a jillion feet away wasn't possible, but it turns out it was (Hi B.Hays.)

I wonder if pre-drilling a hole in pine, so it could be hammered in in a solid hit would be possible. If you got a roofing nail, with a pre-drilled hole, and got solid centre hit on the nail, I can't see why it wouldn't go in.

The more I think about this, the more amped I am about trying it. I'll give it a go this weekend.


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## Berkshire bred (Mar 4, 2012)

this sounds like a great idea. I think a little bit beyond myself but I think that there are plenty of people on this forum that could pull it of. I would love to see some videos of this being tried.


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## Saderath (Jan 1, 2013)

I have tried this but with a really small nail and nailing it into cardboard.

Takes only one shot but it is really hard to center the shot and not knocking it off but making it go though!


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## treefork (Feb 1, 2010)

This will be a good video buns !


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## Gardengroove (Feb 13, 2012)

It could even be combined with ABG's 1000th post givaway. Would be very hard, no doubt, but in combination with the MC Hammer dance it could be quite entertaining


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## All Buns Glazing (Apr 22, 2012)




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## ash (Apr 23, 2013)

I had a wave of ideas earlier before I was interrupted by my stalker...

Imagine if you will, a 12" x 12" or 300mm x 300mm wood panel standing upright as your target. It's full of holes, just like the perforated board that some people hang their tools on in their workshop or shed.

In each hole, a big fat nail or perhaps a wooden dowel, a metal or plastic rod...

Some have red tips. Those are your scoring shots. Some have black tips - those are your lives. Shoot for a high score without dying.

Perhaps a grid could be set up - ABCD... across the top, 1234... down the side. You and your opponent could play Battleship or Connect Four or something!


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## B.P.R (Dec 28, 2012)

i have.... NO CHANCE...of hitting the head of a nail...

id have.more.luck...

throwing.lead balls at it!


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## flipgun (Nov 14, 2012)

The mantra is, "Aim Small. Hit Small." There has been a lot of data presented on the amount of energy in foot pounds that our instruments produce. I think that is doable. Of course I would probably look like Charles before I finished.


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## halbart (Jan 23, 2013)

Tried this once at about 20 feet with a .38 revolver and a very light load of wadcutters, you could almost watch the bullets go, lol. Shot a lot of lead and bent a lot of nails. The strike has got to be near perfect to work. Ash's idea of a pre-drilled hole would improve things.


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## All Buns Glazing (Apr 22, 2012)

yeah absolutely. It's not an exercise in power, it's an exercise in accuracy, so the pre-drilled hole would be big, so you could almost push the nail in by hand else the tiniest bit off would be a majorly bent nail.

Ash, that peg scoring game with lives totally caters to my arcade gamer tendencies. Could have big pegs, too, so it's not impossible to play


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## ruthiexxxx (Sep 15, 2012)

It was used on the "Top Shot" series, doing it with a pistol


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## ash (Apr 23, 2013)

Watch as I resist the temptation to go and make one right now!


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## All Buns Glazing (Apr 22, 2012)

ash said:


> Watch as I resist the temptation to go and make one right now!


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## ash (Apr 23, 2013)

I was successful....

For now.


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## halbart (Jan 23, 2013)

ruthiexxxx said:


> It was used on the "Top Shot" series, doing it with a pistol





ruthiexxxx said:


> It was used on the "Top Shot" series, doing it with a pistol


They would have done better than I did. The 'wadcutters' are potentionally best with their 'can of beans' shape. semi-wadcutters would be harder and roundnose would need a perfect hit. Even then the nail need to be aligned with the bore of the gun or, in our case, in alignment with the rubber of the slingshot ! It's getting more complicated already.


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## Dr J (Apr 22, 2013)

Great idea! If one can light a match, one can drive a nail! Into styrofoam maybe!


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## All Buns Glazing (Apr 22, 2012)

Styrofoam? With TBB 5mm bands maybe. haha The round would pass through the foam!


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## Dr J (Apr 22, 2013)

How thick, and what quality? A little research is required, I think.


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## dgui (Jan 12, 2010)

I set my framing nailer to 120 psi and one pop and its done.


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## Bill Hays (Aug 9, 2010)

I've seen this shot done before... I think John Webb did it, but I'm not sure.

I myself have tried it before but wasn't able to "hammer" the nail in right... I was shooting at roofing type nails (wide heads, short shank) and trying to drive them into plywood... I would tap the nail in place with a hammer and then shoot at it using .44 cal lead moving about 250 fps... after about 20 attempts I was able to hit the nail fairly consistently but it just wouldn't drive in much, maybe a 1/4" or so per solid hit.

So what I did was buy a bunch of upholstery tacks and was going to show my new "tack driver"... then got distracted and forgot about the whole thing... I've got the tacks around here somewhere.... If I can find them I'll think about doing this shot if tacks are acceptable to you that is?!


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Go for it, Bill!!! We are all dying to see the video.

Cheers .... Charles


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## f00by (May 18, 2010)

Charles said:


> Go for it, Bill!!! We are all dying to see the video.
> 
> Cheers .... Charles


+1!


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## Jaximus (Jun 1, 2013)

I love it, Bill. A literal tac driver.


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## All Buns Glazing (Apr 22, 2012)

Bill Hays said:


> if tacks are acceptable to you that is?!


Yes Mr Hays. I deem this acceptable. WOOOO! 1000 POSTS!


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## NoobShooter (Sep 15, 2012)




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## plinker45 (Jun 30, 2013)

All Buns Glazing said:


> Ok, I'm walking out the door for work, but I just had this idea and I thought if anyone had tried it.
> 
> Has anyone tried, or does on a daily basis, nailing a nail into a pine board by shooting the head of the nail repeatedly?
> 
> ...


gamekeeper john has a video of him shooting a nail into wood.


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## All Buns Glazing (Apr 22, 2012)

With fewaband?


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## plinker45 (Jun 30, 2013)

All Buns Glazing said:


> With fewaband?


i think yeah its on his channel


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## ash (Apr 23, 2013)

:rofl:


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## Dr J (Apr 22, 2013)

Go for it, any type of nail would be acceptable to me! What it really comes down to is that tou are extreamly accurate.


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