sinister wrote:
"sinister" wrote in message
...
I need to remove some deep-set nails. They're the type without large
heads, and they look like they must have been placed with a nail gun,
because the heads are (say) 1/8" into the wood.

One method I thought of was some kind of drill bit that would drill out a
small circle, except it would have a hole where the nail is so the bit
wouldn't press on the nail itself.

Thanks to all of you for replying!

About whether I want to save the wood:

It'd be easier for me to save the wood, but it's not important. The problem
is that the "top" piece (which I don't really need to save) looks sturdier
than the "bottom" wood, which is thinner, tongue-and-grove panelling stuff.
I'm worried that if I pry up the top piece, that I'll damage the panelling.
(Minor scraping is OK, but if I just pound a crowbar into there, I'm not so
sure.)

Maybe there's some wider prying tool than the usual crowbar that stands less
of a chance of damaging the paneling?

Aside: this is in the basement. The reason I want to take this apart is
that I need to be able to get at the AC, and this stuff (panelling, and the
top piece which is if I recall 1/2 or 3/4 inch strip of wood) is nail up
around the AC/furnace. I just bought the house, and myself, it makes no
sense why someone would "nail in" the furnace like that. Me, I would have
secured the part of the panelling (it cordons off a small storage area, in
addition to the AC/furnace and H2O heater) with some kind of latch or large
butterfly nut, or at least used screws there.


Drill the head off the nail, then pull the board off the top of it. Once
you have a half-inch of nail showing, vise-grips will pull it right out.
A small stanley wonder bar, with a piece of cardboard as a scuff guard,
will protect the paneling the batten is nailed to. Yeah, I've done
non-destructive demo before a few times. And you are right- furnaces and
water heaters should never be trapped- if you must put a wall in the
access path, put it on quick releases of some kind. And even then, you
should leave plenty of air space around them for proper functioning.

--
aem sends...