Got chewed out by a master carpenter over my toe nailing technique

Old timer at a job site in Portland last week watched me toe nail a stud and said 'you're leaving half the holding power on the floor with that angle'. I was coming in at maybe 50 degrees instead of 65 and not setting the nail deep enough into the plate. Has anyone else had their whole nailing method corrected by someone who's been doing it 40 years?

2 comments

2 Comments

james6722d ago

That old timer probably saved you years of headaches. A 50 degree angle instead of 65 really does leave the nail hanging on by a thread. Didn't realize how much that extra angle locks the stud into the plate until someone showed me the difference.

noahchen2d ago

Wait, 50 degrees? That's wild, I honestly thought anything under 60 was asking for trouble. I've been doing it at like 58 or 60 and never even considered going that low. So you're telling me that extra little tilt actually makes the nail bite into the stud and lock it in place instead of just sitting there loose? I've definitely had a few jobs where the walls felt a little springy and I couldn't figure out why. Feeling like an idiot right now lol.