The Care Needed to Saw Wood with Screws and Nails

One of the common mistakes when you want to cut worked and structured wood, like that of a wooden pallet: not checking for the presence of nails or screws. These ferrous material elements can become a problem even when doing a basic job necessary to cut the elements into smaller sections. This condition is similar to that of someone who has to make a hole in reinforced concrete: the presence of iron bars can make the use of normal bits useless.

You must use specific bits to drill reinforced concrete in addition to following certain rules; the same applies when you need to cut wood with the presence of nails. What are the essential points when you need to operate in this direction?

Before Proceeding: Pay Maximum Attention

A warning for those who get to work: cutting pieces of wood that still have nails in them - because it's scrap material you took from a pallet or a construction site - is dangerous. If you don't use the specific tools and the appropriate blades, plus a series of precautions, you can risk a lot in terms of safety. Because a blade that splinters while moving quickly can cause injury. So, maximum caution, and if you have doubts leave the work to other professionals.

Preventive Operation: Identify and Remove Nails

Certainly, you can cut wood even if there are nails if you prioritize the right blades. But the best solution is to prevent this need. How? You must remove these metal elements before cutting.

You can use carpenter's pliers, with a curvature ideal for this work, or a carpenter's hammer or a specific lever like a pry bar. The technique is the same: you insert the forked element around the nail head - or grab it with wire cutters - and use the lever to extract the nail. If there are screws, you can activate the appropriate tools - just a simple screwdriver - to unscrew these elements. In summary, you remove everything you can, without risking.

Choose What You Need to Cut Safely

This is the key: you can't expect to cut a piece of wood in which you suspect there are nails with just any saw. The risks when working with reclaimed wood: destroy a blade, damage the power tool, or, in the worst case, hurt yourself. The best way to handle a nail in wood is not to saw it, as already mentioned. But you might not be sure that a piece of wood has been completely cleared, so before starting you need to choose and wear the appropriate PPE: appropriate safety glasses or face shield because metal splinters of the blade that fly around are the biggest risk.

Also wear work gloves to protect your hands from any danger. Then, clearly, you must avoid any type of blade designed only for wood: this is the biggest risk because this type of product breaks, gets damaged and can injure you.

Maximum Attention to the Cutting Blade

What you need to know is simple: whether you choose a jigsaw or a circular saw, the important thing is to use a model suitable for this job. There are specific blades for angle grinders, jigsaws or circular saws designed for wood with nails. They are often found on construction sites where scaffolding and carpentry work are common. These models have special teeth, both for the material and for an angle suitable when they need to withstand impact.