What non automotive projects and repairs are you doing?

[BlackBart]

And - rarely - the nail hits a hard spot in the wood and decides to do a hard left and turn into a big fish hook as it goes through your palm. Never happened to me luckily.

When I put my roof decking back on this summer after we insulated, I used two and a half boxes of gun nails... 7000 nails +/-. I'm so glad I decided not to use screws and an impact driver, or hand nail it all. But either way it meant I had to pull 7000 nails of out the roof......I was sore.

[abscate]

Framing with the Simpson metal plates and screws ups material costs but cuts labor by 80%, with much less splitting, bent nails, and easy to fix boo-boos

You can rough in the lumber and thenhavethekidsfill in the fasteners with a nut driver , too

[Sveedy]

Nail history and collection:

When I first got into the building trade almost 50 years ago now, it was said that a carpenter drove more nails in one day than the average person would drive in a lifetime. And looking at some of these framing nails, you can imagine the " guns " needed to spend everyday pounding those things into rock hard wood. 4+ inches long and 3/16" diameter ! Can you say " tendinitis " ?
The nails at the far right are what are called " Rose head " nails. Each one was made by hand by the local blacksmith. These ones date back to the late 1700's early 1800's. In those days nails were so valuable that when a building was no longer habitual, they would burn it down and collect the nails from the ashes. Then they started making wire nails, but the smith would still need to cut and make the heads. A big savings in labor. After that total mass production of the type we are most familiar with.

[volvolugnut]

A carpenters joke:
Carpenter 1: Why are you throwing all those nails on the ground?
Carpenter 2: Well, those nails are bad. They have the heads on the wrong ends.
Carpenter 1: You fool! Those nails are for the other side of the house.

volvolugnuty

[abscate]

A carpenters joke:
Carpenter 1: Why are you throwing all those nails on the ground?
Carpenter 2: Well, those nails are bad. They have the heads on the wrong ends.
Carpenter 1: You fool! Those nails are for the other side of the house.

volvolugnuty

That one is going into my repertoire.

On a somber note, my ancestral records from the 1700 and 1800s list occupations of many kids under 10 as ‘ nailer’

Yes, kids spent their childhood in factories making nails, in one can assume, deplorable conditions

Of course, this was a considerable upgrade from working in the coal mines

[abscate]

I can report that solo sheathing even a relatively mild 3/12 pitch roof, sucks. Trying to keep your purchase while manipulating 4x8 into alignment. Awful

[volvolugnut]

Are you adding temporary toe boards of 2x4 on the lower rows to give you a grip from sliding off? Temporary nails between sheet edges will also maintain the 1/8 inch edge gaps and help in sliding new sheets into place. Nail to sheet edge is easier to move than sheet edge to sheet edge. Rubber knee pads would help.
I don't recall much trouble with 5/12 pitch unless it was windy. But, my roof was also dry.
But, you knew all this.
volvolugnut

[abscate]

Are you adding temporary toe boards of 2x4 on the lower rows to give you a grip from sliding off? Temporary nails between sheet edges will also maintain the 1/8 inch edge gaps and help in sliding new sheets into place. Nail to sheet edge is easier to move than sheet edge to sheet edge. Rubber knee pads would help.
I don't recall much trouble with 5/12 pitch unless it was windy. But, my roof was also dry.
But, you knew all this.
volvolugnut

Toe boards and that nail trick would have really helped. Shucks. Knee pads I did think of but didn’t execute.

My math was bad too, actual pitch was 4/ 9

I got it done and the Grace on though, so a nice day in November and it will be shingled. Have air gun and hood compressor

[volvolugnut]

Put some flashing under shingles in that little valley?
Looking good.
volvolugnut

[BlackBart]

Flash is good. "Ice & Water Shield" is good. In snow country, people sometimes sheath the whole roof in it before shingling.

4/9...? Like as in 5+/12 ?

I think falling off is your worst case scenario here.