Nail hole

“ Brads have smaller, thicker heads, nails have larger, flat heads.
To drive a nail straight, start it straight. The hole cannot be [Pg 10] straightened by bending the nail so that it looks straight after it is partly driven. Many gentle blows with the hammer will often drive a nail where heavy blows would fail. The fingers pinching the nail often prevent its bending. ”

“ If the injured member be plunged into very hot water the nail will become pliable and adapt itself to the new condition of things, thus alleviating agony to some extent. A small hole may be bored on the nail with a pointed instrument, so adroitly as not to cause pain, yet so successfully as to relieve pressure on the sensitive tissues. ”

“ Oval steel nails are nicely shaped, very tough, and are less likely to split the material than any other kind of nail; slight shallow grooves in the shank increase the holding power. Brads are known in more than one variety. The cut-steel large brad is used in flooring, and does not make such a large hole as a cut nail. The cut-steel small brad is used for general purposes. French nails are of round wire, pointed, and have round, flat heads; they are strong, but their unsightly heads cause their use to be confined to rough work.
Fig. ”

“ The part that will be nearest to the point of the nail has no hole bored in it, for it should fit tight. The nail must reach thru the joint far enough so that it may be bent back, staple-like, and when the point is driven back into the wood, the joint should swing freely. ”

“ Fill a china wash basin with a suds of warm water and castile soap. Soak the hands for five minutes. With an old soft linen towel push back the skin around the nails. If there are hangnails snip them away carefully. Cutting the cuticle at the base of the nail was a barbaric feature of a new science which disappeared when it became more rational and refined. Never, under any circumstances, must the inside of the nail be scraped with a sharp instrument. Another thing to be avoided is the vulgar application of pink nail cosmetics. ”

“ When, however, the nailing to be done is of such a kind that it becomes necessary that the nail should pass through the wood so as to come out upon the other side, to be clinched there, the stiffness of the iron in a cut-nail constitutes a serious difficulty ”

“ The nails which hold the outer covering should either be set and puttied, or the heads should be left even with or slightly above the surface of the wood, that the paint may cover all parts of the nail head. If the nails are driven too far in the heads are not fully covered and protected by the paint, in which case they will rust and present an unsightly appearance. ”

“ The toe-nails do not grow so fast as the finger-nails, but they should be looked after and trimmed at least once a fortnight. They are much more subject to irregularity of growth than the finger-nails, owing to [Pg 370] their confined position. If the nails show a tendency to grow in at the sides, the feet should be bathed in hot water, pieces of lint introduced beneath the parts with an inward tendency, and the nail itself scraped longitudinally. ”

“ To edge the boot with overlapping nails, which may become a smooth bar, is ineffective, and even more likely to produce a slip on rock than if the sole were left altogether unprotected. One good rough nail rightly driven in and rightly placed is quite enough to ensure a perfectly safe stance under a well-balanced body; and on much modern slab climbing one nail-hold is all that is sought or obtained. The neater the action the fewer the nails needed. ”

“ Nails may also be classified according to the process of manufacture; as, cut nails, wrought nails, and wire nails. Cut nails are cut from a plate of metal in such a way that the width of the nail is equal to the thickness of the plate, and the length of the nail to the width of the plate. In the third dimension, the nail is wedge-shaped, thin at the point and thick at the head. Unless properly driven, such nails are likely to split the wood, but if properly driven they are very firm. In driving, the wedge should spread with and not across the grain. ”

“ Clumsy nails spoil good work, as the holes made by them are larger than the awl used in stitching. Very fine nails do not spoil the work, and can be obtained in sizes suitable for heavier and clumsier work; and they may be used over and over again if care is taken in pulling them out with the nail-claw. Cut tacks are used in putting gig saddles together, in nailing the leather to the tree, in adjusting panels in the gullet and behind, between the two prongs of the crupper staples, for nailing seats in riding saddles, etc. ”

“ When the four grooves were finished, the box was ready for assembling. This called for hammer and nails.
Wire nails are so cheap now that the old-fashioned cut nails have been largely driven from the market.
The nails used on the box were one-inch brads.
The holding power of flat-head nails is of course much greater than bung head, but in this case the box was to be squared up after nailing, exactly as if it were a solid block of wood. This meant planing the sides and ends, and as the nails would ruin the plane iron, they were all sunk below the surface with a nail set or punch. (Fig. 135) . ”

“ You can easily prove that the nails do grow constantly from the root or base, out toward the tip, by watching, some time when you have pounded one of your nails, how the black or discolored patch in it will grow steadily outward toward the tip, where it will be broken off and shed.
You cannot see the softest and youngest row, or layer, of the nail cells at the base, because a fold of skin, the nail fold, has been doubled, or folded, over them to protect them while they are young and soft. ”

“ The growth of the nail takes place from below. It cannot grow backwards, since it is confined in a groove. But as the fresh cells form they gradually thrust the whole nail forward, till at last it requires paring. As a matter of fact, however, the nails really require more attention than they usually receive. The finger nails should be trimmed into a bow shape, and the corners rounded off, while the skin near the root of the nail, which tends to grow over the lunula, should be repressed into position by means of any suitable appliance. ”

“ Many boys and some girls spoil the appearance of their nails by letting a line of black dirt remain beneath them. A piece of a stick or a nail cleaner should be passed beneath the nails every time the hands are washed. If the fingers are much soiled, a stiff brush is useful in removing the dirt under the nails. ”

“ The edges or sides of the nail are disposed to turn down and grow into the flesh, giving rise to inflammation, ulceration, and often great pain and suffering. The best remedy I have ever known in this difficulty is to scrape with some sharp-pointed instrument, as the point of a penknife, a sort of groove or gutter in the center of the nail lengthways from the root to the end. ”

“ It is not best to push this fold of skin back too much, as, by so doing, you may uncover the young nail cells while they are soft and tender, and expose them to injury. The reason why there is a little whitish crescent at the base of the nail is that the cells of the nail do not grow hard and horn-like and transparent until they have grown out a quarter of an inch or so from under the fold, but at first look whitish, or opaque, like the rest of the skin. ”

“ The rapidity of its growth can be ascertained by filing a slight groove on its surface, and noticing how the space between it and the root of the nail increases, in the course of a few weeks. When the nail is removed by any accident, it will be replaced by a new one, if the root be not injured. ”

“ Instances are by no means unfrequent in which the power of production of the nail at the root becomes entirely destroyed, and it then grows in thickness only. When this affection occurs, it is often remarkable what a mass the nail presents. ”

“ The nails require daily attention: they should be cut every two or three days in an oval form. A piece of flannel is better than a nail-brush to clean them with, as it does not separate the nail from the finger.
When dried, a little pummice-stone, finely powdered, with powdered orris-root, in the proportion of a quarter of a tea-spoonful to a tea-spoonful of the former, mixed together, and rubbed on the nails gently, gives them a fine polish, and removes all inequalities.
A piece of sponge, dipped in oil of roses and emery, may be used for the same purpose. ”

“ A faulty mode of cutting the toe nails in a healthy foot may favor ingrowing toe nails. Toe nails should be cut straight across, and not trimmed away at the corners to follow the outline of the toes—as then the flesh crowds in at the corners of the nails, and when the nail pushes forward in its growth it presses into the flesh. ”

“ In nerve lesions, such as a divided nerve-trunk, the nails are apt to suffer, becoming curved, brittle, or furrowed, or they may be shed.
Onychia is the term applied to an infection of the soft parts around the nail or of the matrix beneath it. The commonest form of onychia has already been referred to with whitlow. There is a superficial variety resulting from the extension of a purulent blister beneath the nail lifting it up from its bed, the pus being visible through the nail. The nail as well as the raised horny layer of the epidermis should be removed. ”

“ Fig. 33.—Setting Nails.
You will notice the iron nails have two smooth sides and two rough ones. In using these it is necessary to drive them with the smooth sides parallel with the grain, otherwise they are sure to split the work.
Nails are classified according to their shape and gauge. The only kinds you will probably ever have [Pg 36] occasion to use are the Common, or nail for all ordinary work; the Finishing-nail, with the small head used on finish work; and the Brad, or small-sized finishing-nail. ”

“ Most of the nail is fast to the finger, but at the outer edge there is a little space between the nail and the finger, and if we are not careful this little space gets filled with dirt, and then the nail has a black band across the top, which looks very ugly. When the nails are long, the band is wider, and, although the dirt is under the nail, it shows on the outside, because the nail is transparent, that is, it can be seen through. ”

“ If the nail is cut too short, especially at the angles, while at the same time the shoe is too short or too narrow, the skin of the toe is forced over the nail, so that it necessarily happens that, by the further growth of the nail, the flesh of the toe is pushed still further over, until a point is reached where inflammation is set up. ”

“ On the extremities of the fingers and of the toes, there are broad horny nails. These I trace down to the curved line where they issue from beneath the skin, and whence every particle of each nail has issued in succession. They are composed of several strata of polygonal cells, which have all grown in reduplications of the skin, forming compressed curved sheaths (follicles) ; stratum after stratum of cells having been added to the base-line, as the nail perpetually grew forwards. ”

“ The term “radical cure” does not necessarily indicate the performance of the so-called radical operation, but may result from proper treatment of a down-curved nail edge, or of a diseased nail fold, together with such prophylaxis in foot-gear as is indicated. With sufficient room in the shoe and the removal of offending granulations or cutting nail edge, a radical cure can frequently be effected.
Any inflammatory condition, either of the nail or its matrix, or the tissues contiguous to the nail, may result in the train of symptoms which are indicative of ingrown nail. ”

“ A sharp instrument, usually a chisel, is placed against the free edge of the nail so as to cut only through the nail itself and not into the nail bed, with the purpose in mind of removing a wedge-shaped piece of nail of just the size necessary to relieve irritation, and permit of proper drainage and dressing. ”

“ In making nails by hand, the „nailer“ heats the end of the nail-rod at his small forge, and brings it into the form of the spike of a nail by a few strokes of his hammer on the anvil. It is then cut to any required length on a chisel, leaving it still attached to the rod. ”

“ If you object to the appearance of nail heads the boards may be secured by nails driven through the edges in such way that they will be out of sight when the floor is finished; but this should never be done except by skillful and conscientious workmen. There is no excuse for this "blind" nailing in floors that are to be covered by carpets, and it is seldom desirable under any circumstances. ”

“ The pterygium is a fleshy excrescence about the nails, covering part of the nail, and being commonly formed in the large fingers and toes. But those in the feet arise most commonly from an accident, whereas, those in the hands arise from whitlow, the inflammation being neglected and turning to pus. For, the pus being allowed to remain, corrodes and corrupts the root of the nail, and often destroys the whole of it, but generally the one half, while a portion of it uncorroded is left at the root of the nail, and sometimes the whole root is left uncorroded. ”

“ She takes a finger nail in hand and she files it and she trims it and she softens it with hot water and hardens it with chemicals and parboils it a little while and then she cuts off the hang nails—if there aren't any hang nails there already she'll make a few—and she shears away enough extra cuticle to cover quite a good-sized little boy. ”