# Best way to remove blown out brad?



## Woodshingle

Hi guys:

I attached an oak face frame to my plywood cabinet and some brads fired not quite straight. They are now poking out of the plywood cabinet sides.

What is the best way to remove them with minimal damage to the face frame and cabinet?

Thanks.


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## BWSmith

"Best" way......hard to say?One way,is if theres enough protrusion you can lock a vise grip on blown out,pointed end of nail......then at a right angle,hit hinge pin of visegrip and pull nail through.And in some cases you'll have to deepen the brad with a pin punch(not a nail set 'cause that makes the hole too big).Yeee-up,it can get ugly.And is a bonafied tool abuse,just sayin........not that we've ever had one blow out or anything.Haha,best of luck,BW


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## cabinetman

If there is enough brad sticking out, a large channel lock adjustable pliers gripped on the end with a wood spacer under the head may allow the brad to be pulled through. In some hardwoods the tiny head can get hung up.

Or, remove all the fasteners from the gun, and make sure none will fire. Feed the end of the brad into the nose of the gun and push the gun towards the wood to get the nail in as far as it will go. Try to line up the head of the gun with the direction of the nail. Shoot the gun, and the drive pin in the gun will drive the nail back out the way it came in. Then just pull it out.












 









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## Woodshingle

*Will it break under the surface?*

Thanks for the ideas. One Canadian woodworker suggested on another forum to just grab the end that protrudes and bend it back and forth to break it off under the surface.

Has anyone tried that and did it work?


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## cabinetman

Woodshingle said:


> Thanks for the ideas. One Canadian woodworker suggested on another forum to just grab the end that protrudes and bend it back and forth to break it off under the surface.
> 
> Has anyone tried that and did it work?



It may break off below the surface...and then again, you may wallow out a good size hole. You might get a good pointed end nippers (diagonal cutter) in as far as it can go and just snip it off.












 









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## TimPa

flush cutting side cutters to cut off the brad, then sink it in with a small punch. fill with putty.


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## mdntrdr

I've had pretty good luck with these.

But you don't want a sharp pair, they would snip it.

Just clamp on, and roll out. :smile:


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## woodnthings

*I've done this*

A rectangular bar, steel or brass, 1/4" thick by 3/4" wide by 4" or so, held flat against the cabinet face, or at a slight angle, will have enough surface on the tip, when stuck with a hammer to drive the brad back through the hole...only problem might be some tear out as it comes back through.
A very small hole drilled in the end of the bar to center on the brad will help keep it in place. A round pin punch will also work.
Other suggestions to pull it through from the "pointy end side" are good as well....problem being might be damage to the finished cabinet sides unless protected when prying.
Hey we've all done this at some point, so there are several preferred methods based on the situation.....good luck :thumbsup: bill


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## JMC'sLT30

Woodshingle said:


> Thanks for the ideas. One Canadian woodworker suggested on another forum to just grab the end that protrudes and bend it back and forth to break it off under the surface.
> 
> Has anyone tried that and did it work?


Bend it back and forth with the grain of the wood it should be minimal damage. That is the best way I have found to do it. Good Luck:icon_smile:


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## NYwoodworks

For me this is what I do. I cut it as close as I can with nippers as shown in the other posts. (When you do this you want to make sure you don't pull up on it otherwise you are going to have more tear out and it gets ugly)
Then take your nail gun and unload all the nails. 
Hold your nail magazine back and place the tip of the gun right on top of the nail so it looks like the driver will hit the nail. Now shoot it it once. 
If you lined every thing up right it will punch it down into the wood with ease. 
This works very well and the driver is small enough that it wont leave a big hole like a punch or nail set will.

I don't know what kind of gun you have but many of them will do this. Test it on a scrap piece of wood first to see what happens
Personally I wouldn't use the break it off method you will end up tearing up more wood and your hole will get bigger.

I use this same method as a nail set when a gun leaves the head up a little on occasion because nail sets tend to slip and they leave bigger holes.

One of the things you can do to help avoid this in the future is look at the tip of your nails and see what way the chisel point is cut. What you need to do is shoot the nail so that the taper or chisel of the nail won't be deflected by the grain of the wood. This is what happens many times in your situation.You may need to turn the gun 90 degrees to what you shot it originally.


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## jlord

Woodshingle said:


> Thanks for the ideas. One Canadian woodworker suggested on another forum to just grab the end that protrudes and bend it back and forth to break it off under the surface.
> 
> Has anyone tried that and did it work?


Most times this method works fine & brad will break below surface. There is also a little technique involved so as to minimize damage to surrounding wood. If you try to cut it short there is always some left protruding. Then you have to reduce this exposure. Sometimes pulling strait thru is the best method.


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## Jordy3738

I live life on the edge when it comes to these things. Diagonal cutters would be my weapon of choice. I wouldn't cut it though, just pull it out. Better you than me.

That's one thing I like about working with real wood, you can just about fix anything.


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## del schisler

Woodshingle said:


> Thanks for the ideas. One Canadian woodworker suggested on another forum to just grab the end that protrudes and bend it back and forth to break it off under the surface.
> 
> Has anyone tried that and did it work?


The best way to do those are to get some side cutter's and cut it off and patch . You didn't say what wood but trim unless you made it probly box store stuff. I do a lot brad nail stuff what i do is take a drill bit smaller that the brad and drill a piolit hole. Now measure and make sure and not drill all the way through. I have had them come out in to the jewelry box's that i make. I have a out tho. I can cut off with side cutters. I spray suede inside so that the nail that was their doesn't show. The worst wood is oak. the grain is wild unless you drill the brad will not go streight. I can bet you on that . Even sometime's it still will come in the box but i spray suede and that hide's it .


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