Nail sets are essential for such jobs as installing decorative molding or face-fastening wood flooring; once a nail is “set,” it only needs a dab of putty to make it disappear. The 4/32-inch tip on the long shaft is flat, so hold it square to the nailhead and strike firmly to avoid a slip off. On this Japanese tool, the small, anvil-shaped head is actually a second nail set, meant for striking 8d nails in tight spaces. The square-cut tip sets nails; the Japanese-style nail puller on the opposite end can dig them out, although the puller’s claws will damage the surface whenever they extract an embedded nail.

Kincrome Automatic Centre Punch - Bunnings Australia Kincrome Automatic Centre Punch - Bunnings Australia

To eliminate the chance of missing the mark, these tools have a hollow shaft that slides over the nail and rests on the wood. If you don’t know the size of a nail set or a nail, use a tip slightly smaller than the head of the nail you wish to sink. That leaves one last problem to solve: how to avoid clobbering your hand when you miss the nail set. Its shaft and tip must be hard enough to survive repeated collisions with nails, while its head has to be considerably softer so it won’t chip or shatter when struck.They are used for the final few blows onto the exposed heads of finish nails, sinking them beneath the surface without collateral damage to the surrounding wood. The disk makes it harder to see what you’re doing, but you don’t have to guess about the tip size: It’s clearly engraved in the head. Letting go pile-drives the tip into the nail and the nail into the wood—after about a half-dozen hits. The rough surface of this Japanese tool still shows the hammer blows of the blacksmith who forged it.

Nail Punch Set 5 Pieces - Screwfix

To use this spring-loaded, “hammerless” nail set, you hold the bottom half in a tight pincer grip and pull the top half away from the nailhead. When most people think of a nail set, they think of this version from Stanley, with a square head, knurled body, and cupped and chamfered tip.

Engineers have even established performance standards for nail set manufacturers, to ensure that these tools do their job safely and effectively. This 6½-inch-long tool has a 5mm (roughly 6/32-inch) tip for sinking big 12d to 20d finish nails or driving chunky flooring nails into antique floorboards. From Top to Bottom: Handmade, Knuckle Protector, Hammer-Free, Set and Pull | Photo by Laura Johansen 1.