"Couldn't resist and checked the life hack from the Internet"

Greetings friends and subscribers of the channel. Recently I read on the Internet information on how to drive a nail into the edge of a board or batten in such a way that they do not split. And I decided to test this statement. I'll tell you today how to do it. The method is very simple and accessible to everyone, and most importantly - it really works!

It turned out that the whole point of the nail. In case you drive sharp nails, they really split the slats at the edges. But a blunt nail will not do this. Is it really? Let's try to figure it out.

blunt nail

For the experiment, I will hammer in two nails. The first of them is with a blunt end, as indicated in this method. I retreat from the edge by about 1 cm. and I kill. As you can see, although it enters the wood a little harder than usual, but most importantly, the rail did not split.

So the way really works. And the force of driving is not important here. Even doing it with effort, nothing cracked and no cracks appeared.

sharp nail

Well, for the purity of the experiment, I will drive in a nearby, at the same distance from the edge, exactly the same length, but a sharp nail. I would say that the result is about the same, but still a small crack in this case went to the sides.

But I would also note that a lot depends on the density of the tree itself. For me, this is an ordinary young pine, which has soft wood, so it holds a blow well. And if you take a tree that is denser, or older and drier, when connected with a sharp nail, it would crack much more.

Results of the experiment

So the advantage of a blunt nail in the case of the edge of a board or lath is obvious. Although you can draw conclusions yourself when you try to do it yourself, with other wood, denser or dryer, or of a different thickness.

Of course, it would be ideal to take a drill and make small holes in advance. After that, any nail will painlessly enter. But this is not always possible, because the drill is not always at hand. Therefore, if you have already encountered such a situation when the rail cracks when driven in, just use a nail with a blunt end. You can even make it yourself like that, blunting it in advance. I hope this simple tip will help you in your work.