What Is A 16d Finish Nail

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Nails are used in a variety of construction tasks, for box making, furniture building, etc. Though not every bit tightly divers as car screws and basics which must mate with one another, nails are standardized to some degree, particularly those used for structural purposes. The post-obit article tabulates some of the standard boom sizes and briefly describes the wide range of nails available through nail length charts.

Standard Blast Sizes/Nail Measurements

The nail size charts below illustrate industry standards for blast sizes and their dimensions. Under "blast size," the "penny size" (aka, pennyweight) refers to a standard nail unit. Nails are measured in pennies, believed to exist from older times when nails were sold by the penny. At the time, the abbreviation for pennies was d, so nail sizes are described as 2d nails, 3d nails, etc. So a 16 penny nail is also described as a 16d nail, and viii penny nails are abbreviated as 8 d nails. Pennyweight does non correspond exactly to nail weight, guess, or other measurements, withal; for instance common 10d nails are three" long with a 5/xvi" head diameter and a ix gauge shank.

Though nevertheless in common use, the penny organisation is considered obsolete, and some international vendors exercise not use it. The shank diameter and length refer to the shaft part of the nail, called the shank, which is driven into the surface. The head is, of course, the summit portion struck to drive the nail into the material.

Table 1 - Nail Sizes (Mutual Nails)

Nail Size		Shank Diameter	Shank Length	Head Diameter
Penny Size	Estimate	Nominal	Nominal	Approx.
2nd nails	xv	0.072	one"	3/xvi"
	xiv	0.083	1"	13/64"
3d nails	14	0.083	1.25"	13/64"
4d nails	12	0.109	1.five"	1/4"
5d nails	12	0.109	1.75"	i/4"
6d nails	11	0.12	two"	17/64"
8d nails	10	0.134	two.five"	9/32"
10d nails	9	0.148	3"	v/16"
12d nails	9	0.148	3.25"	5/16"
16d nails	eight	0.165	3.v"	11/32"
20d nails	6	0.203	4"	thirteen/32"
30d nails	5	0.22	four.five"	7/16"
40d nails	4	0.238	v"	fifteen/32"
60d nails	4	0.238	six"	17/32"

Table ii - Nail Sizes (Box Nails)

Nail Size		Shank Diameter	Shank Length
Penny Size	Gauge	Nominal	Nominal
3d	xiv-one/2	0.076	1.25"
4d	fourteen	0.080	1.5"
5d	14	0.080	1.75"
6d	12-1/two	0.098	ii"
7d	12-1/2	0.098	ii.25"
8d	11-ane/2	0.113	2.5"
10d	x-1/2	0.128	3"
16d	10	0.135	three.5"
20d	9	0.148	4"

Tabular array 3 - Smash Sizes (Annular & Threaded Nails)

Boom Size	Shank Diameter	Shank Length
Penny Size	Nominal	Nominal
6d	0.12	ii"
8d	0.12	ii.five"
10d	0.135	3"
12d	0.135	three.25"
16d	0.148	iii.5"
20d	0.177	4"
30d	0.177	iv.5"
40d	0.177	5"
50d	0.177	5.five"
60d	0.177	6"
70d	0.207	seven"
80d	0.207	viii"
90d	0.207	nine"

Nail Types

A variety of nail types exist. Nails are designed to resist both pullout and shear, with shear strength determined mainly by the shank diameter and pullout strength affected by that and the shank'due south blueprint. Nails used for framing typically accept smooth shanks as they are by and large used in supporting lateral loads where pullout resistance plays only a small role. Thus, the mutual nail serves fairly in this setting.

Pullout resistance is increased by adding rings or threads or both to the shank. These so-called plain-featured-shank nails are used in other aspects of construction to ensure that the nail does not pull out due to current of air buffeting or pedestrian traffic, for instance. Threaded-shank nails rotate as they are driven into forest or masonry, while ring-shank nails promote a wedging activeness between the smash and the wood fibers. Ring-shank nails are ofttimes used in softwoods while spinous shanks increase the holding power of nails in hardwood.

Box nails are slightly smaller than common nails and are used where property strength is less of a business organisation, such every bit for crate making and similar non-structural applications.

Nail material varies from bright steel for indoor utilise to electro-galvanized or zinc-dipped coated for exterior applications. Stainless steel is used as well where nails may be visible such as for hanging natural siding. Other special materials, such every bit copper, are available for unusual applications. While most nails are made from wire, some nails are "cut," such equally those use for nailing into masonry surfaces.

Nail heads vary according to the application, as well. For instance, roofing nails comprise thin, wide heads that both lay flat under succeeding shingles and provide a wide begetting surface against the material to keep it from tearing. Finishing nails have small heads that grip the woods slightly just enable the nails to exist sunk below the surface and later puttied over. Floor nails used to install subfloors as well have wider, flat heads – and are ordinarily ring shanked as well – again to lie flat beneath the finished flooring and to provide protection from boards working loose and developing squeaks.

Specialty nails abound. Double-headed, or duplex, nails are used for temporary construction, such as setting scaffolding, where one head allows for the nail to be driven fully into the wood while the 2nd head provides a way of pulling the nail out in one case the job is completed. Spring-head covering nails are used for attaching corrugated roofing. Upholstery nails have wide, domed heads to give furniture a finished look.

Some nails are coated, such as sinker nails, to increase pullout resistance. Physical coatings applied to boom shanks are intended to roughen up the shank surface for a better seize with teeth on forest. Vinyl coatings on nails are intended to melt upon driving and and so reharden to improve the nail shank adhesion to the wood.

Wood screws have taken some of the market place share away from nails owing to the development of powered drivers. Deck construction is one such example where threaded fasteners dominate as the spiral provides excellent holding power against wind-borne uplift. For structural framing work, nails continue to exist the preferred fastening method because of their superior shear strength.

Summary

This commodity presented a brief discussion of nail dimensions and standard nail sizes. For more data on related products or processes, consult our other guides or visit the Thomas Supplier Discovery Platform to locate potential sources of supply or view details on specific products. For a detailed technical word of nail pullout resistance, refer to this commodity by the USDA's Forest Products Laboratory.