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As devoted as McFeely’s is to the Square Drive Screw, there are times when nails make more sense. For instance, putting up redwood or western red cedar siding can be done with screws, but it will go much faster with nails. These are top grade, made in the USA, stainless steel nails. 304 Stainless Steel Unlike screws, nails are sold by the pound. Approximately 144/lb
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A very good experience
By pbwe
from Houstown, TX
About Me Avid Do-It-Yourselfer
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Comments about 6d (2'') 304 Stainless Steel Ring Shank Nails:
I used the 6d (2'') 304 Stainless Steel Ring Shank Nails on a cedar fencing project for my residence. These were used for nailing 5/8 in. picketts onto cedar dimensional lumber. In summary, the nails performed flawlessly, and the quality result is well worth the cost.Originally I ordered both the SS nail and some SS screws (these with the shank tip cut so as to drill releif as the screw is driven, and these were not the small head "trim" screws), with the intent to compare. Cedar is a comparatively brittle wood, and has a tendency to split during fastening operations if judicious technique is not applied. With the nails, I tapped the sharp chisel tip to flatten it some so as to enhace a crushing effect, and minimize the splitting effect, as the nail was driven. The result with the nails was zero splitting of the cedar picketts. A trial with the screws showed a marked tentency to split as the head was driven to flush. This is only prevented if the spot is countersink is prepped before drilling; which is time and labor intensive. The nails appear to have excellent hardness, as all nails were hand driven without bending or mis-shapen heads. The nail would begin to bend if driven into a knott, but I extracted these and continued in the same nail hole with a nail with the original chisel tip. The chisel tip works well for penetrating the knott.In testing, and with the few extractions, the ring shank proved to have a very strong grip in the wood. Extractions required significant leverage and pulled much wood with the shank. I think it unlikely these will be worked out of the wood over time.As an aside, it seems to be in vouge to use screws for picketts. For security reasons, I think the nails are a safer bet since extracting them is not at all easy, or quiet, compared to screws (think a brace and a bit, and the board is off).