Blued Saddle Tacks Vs Nails

[stef73433]

What is the difference between blued saddle tacks and ring shank nails?

Also, on the tacks, what are the most useful sizes? When would you use which?

[Hennessy]

i'll take a stab at responding eh ! blued saddle tacks were first used by noah on constructing th ark. they come in various lengths and have been used in th saddle trade for eons esp in th english field where nail length is important because of tree wood thickness.blued metal has a corrosive effect on leather over a long time,any metal does unless stainless or coated.they seem to have been passed over in modern western saddle construction for glue n coated nails. various nail lengths can be overcome with a good set of nippers .ring shank nails hold in wood really good ,th better th wood th better th bite.make sure its where u want it cause gettin one oot can be a b''',a good head on a nail is a must also,i have used copper washers under nail heads before eh .i've been using a 11/4 length coverd nail zinc coated n cut shorter if need'd,hope that helps.

[stef73433]

That does help, thanks!

[oltoot]

I was taught, over 50 years ago, to think about the poor guy who might have to repair something and to consider the total life of the things we made as we would likely be that poor guy if we stayed in business. With that as context, I use blued tacks as they can be pulled without damage to the tree & the tapered holes they leave have a greater tendency to "heal" and to accommodate new holes in their 'neighborhoods'. For more permanent or otherwise demanding applications I use screws. For about 15 yrs now I have been using drywall screws. Oh yeah, and in between its coated nails. I would never use ring shank nails because of the large, rough surfaced holes they leave when extracted. That said, I think ring shanked nails are fine for tree makers to 'anchor' rawhide in dished surfaces as you would never expect to pull them. I know some folks prefer brass for good reasons but I never saw the need. Hope this helps, too.

PS sizes Tacks 22, 14, 8, 6; screws #6 & #8 x 1, 1 1/4, 1 5/8; nails 4p, 6p, 8p

Edited April 6, 2013 by oltoot

[stef73433]

This is great advice!I hadn't thought about the poor guy who has to repair!!

[Hennessy]

a ton of observation and a wealth of knowledge can be had from repairing other peoples work , good stuff fer th memory bank.