JIMMIE wrote:

On Jun 8, 12:58*pm, gcotterl wrote:
How do I prevent finish nails from bending when I hammer the nails
through pre-drilled holes in quarter-round oak molding into drywall?
(I'm not using a brad-nailer).

I got a little doer as a gift about 35 years ago dont know what you
call it but its a tube with a plunger inside. You put the the nain in
the tube push hard on the plundger and it drives the nail. Damned hand
for getting in difficult spots.When I got it I couldnt belive you
could push a nail into wood like that but it works great.

It's a dang nuisance that one can't remember where one got a
particularly useful gadget. You could try:

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/index.aspx

They have a spring loaded set something like you describe.

Unfortunately I don't see the two items I use to solve this problem.
One, the one I think I bought from Lee Valley ten or so years ago,
looks like an old-fashioned screwdriver with a red wooden handle and
the tang going through it so you can strike the end with a hammer. But
it's not a screwdriver. It has a sprung cylindrical tube with an
internal plunger. You put the nail into the tube, place the tube over
the point into which you want to nail and hammer away. The tube won't
allow the nail to bend and the plunger will extend about 1/16" and
countersink the nail at the same time. The risk is that you can
overdrive the nail and push the tube into the surrounding wood.

The second solution was available from places like Hartville Tool,
McFeely's and even IIRC Sears. It consists of a round bit (only
describes as such because it's chucked into a cordless drill) with a
diameter of about 1/2". In the center is a hole into which you insert
the nail. You'll find it's gripped by teeth similar to those of an
internal pipe wrench. You put the projecting end of the nail where you
want to drive it and push while turning on the drill. Effectively you
use the nail as a drill bit. No pilot hole is generally necessary