The Test Cut

Woodworking Glossary

Nail Set

A nail set. The cupped tip sits over the nail head without skating off it, so the last blow drives the nail below the surface instead of denting the wood around it.
A nail set. The cupped tip sits over the nail head without skating off it, so the last blow drives the nail below the surface instead of denting the wood around it.

A nail set is a small steel punch with a slightly concave or flat tip, placed on a nail head that's already been driven nearly flush, then struck with a hammer to sink the head a millimeter or two below the wood's surface. The resulting small depression gets filled with wood filler or putty, hiding the fastener entirely rather than leaving a proud metal head visible (and prone to catching a stray hammer blow that dents the surrounding wood).

Set sizes are matched to nail head diameter -- too small a tip can slip off an angle and mar the surrounding wood, too large won't seat cleanly into the head.

Images

A nail set. The cupped tip sits over the nail head without skating off it, so the last blow drives the nail below the surface instead of denting the wood around it.

Product: A nail set. The cupped tip sits over the nail head without skating off it, so the last blow drives the nail below the surface instead of denting the wood around it.