This section is from the "Educational Woodworking For Home And School" book, by Joseph C.Park . Also see Amazon: Educational Woodworking For Home And School.
The origin of the terms "six-penny,"" ten-penny," etc., as applied to nails, though not commonly known, is involved in no mystery whatever. Nails have been made a certain number of pounds to the thousand for many years, and are still reckoned in that way in England, a ten-penny being a thousand nails to ten pounds, a sixpenny a thousand nails to six pounds, a twenty-penny weighing twenty pounds to the thousand ; and, in ordering, buyers call for the three-pound, six-pound, or ten-pound variety, etc., until, by the Englishman's abbreviation of "pun" for "pound," the abbreviation has been made to stand for penny, instead of pound, as originally intended.
Size | Length | Common | Clinch | Fence | Finishing | Fine | Barrel | Casing | Brads | Tobacco | Cut Spikes |
3/4... | 3/4in. | - | - | - | - | - | 800 | - | - | - | - |
7/8.. | 1/8 | - | - | - | - | - | 500 | - | - | - | - |
2d . | 1 | 800 | - | - | 1100 | 1100 | 376 | - | - | - | - |
3d . | 1 1/4 | 480 | - | - | 720 | 760 | 224 | - | - | - | - |
4d . | 1 1/2 | 288 | - | - | 523 | 368 | 180 | 398 | - | - | - |
5d . | 1 3/4 | 200 | - | - | 410 | - | - | - | - | 130 | - |
6d . | 2 | 168 | 96 | 84 | 268 | - | - | 224 | 126 | 96 | - |
7d . | 2 1/4 | 124 | 74 | 64 | 188 | - | - | - | 98 | 82 | - |
8d . | 2 1/2 | 88 | 62 | 48 | 146 | - | - | 128 | 75 | 68 | - |
9d . | 2 3/4 | 70 | 53 | 36 | 130 | - | - | 110 | 65 | - | - |
10d . | 3 | 68 | 46 | 30 | 102 | - | - | 91 | 55 | - | 28 |
12d . | 3 1/4 | 44 | 42 | 24 | 76 | - | - | 71 | 40 | - | - |
16d . | 3 1/2 | 34 | 38 | 20 | 62 | - | - | 54 | 27 | - | 22 |
20d . | 4 | 23 | 33 | 16 | 54 | - | - | 40 | - | - | 14 1/2 |
30d . | 4 1/2 | 18 | 20 | - | - | - | - | 33 | - | - | 12 1/2 |
40d . | 5 | 14 | - | - | - | - | - | 27 | - | - | 9 1/2 |
60d . | 5 1/2 | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 |
60d . | 6 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 |
- | 6 1/2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 1/2 |
- | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 1/2 |
- | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 1/2 |
Material | Size of Nail | Lbs. Required |
1000 shingles........ | 4d | 5 |
1000 laths......... | 3d | 7 |
1000 sq. ft. beveled siding .... | 6d | 18 |
1000 sq. ft. sheathing..... | 8d | 20 |
100 sq. ft. sheathing.... | 10d | 25 |
1000 sq. ft. flooring...... | 8d | 30 |
1000 sq. ft. flooring.... | 10d | 40 |
1000 sq. ft. studding..... | 10d | 16 |
1000 sq. ft. studding........ | 20d | 5 |
1000 sq. ft. furring 1 x 2 in. . . . | 10d | 10 |
1000 sq. ft. finished flooring, 7/8 in. . | 8d to 10d fin. | 20 |
1000 sq. ft. finished flooring, 1 1/2 in. . | 10d fin. | 30 |
The difference between consecutive sizes is .01316".
No. of Screw Gauge | Size of Number in Decimals |
000 | .03152 |
00 | .04486 |
0 | .06784 |
1 | .07100 |
2 | .08416 |
3 | .09732 |
4 | .11048 |
5 | .12364 |
6 | .13680 |
7 | .14996 |
8 | .16312 |
9 | .17628 |
10 | .18944 |
11 | .20260 |
12 | .21576 |
13 | .22892 |
14 | .24208 |
16 | .25524 |
No. of Screw Gauge | Size of Number in Decimals |
16 | .26840 |
17 | .28156 |
18 | .29472 |
19 | .30788 |
20 | .32104 |
21 | .33420 |
22 | .34736 |
23 | .36052 |
24 | .37368 |
25 | .38864 |
26 | .40000 |
27 | .41316 |
28 | .42632 |
29 | .43948 |
30 | .45264 |
31 | .46580 |
32 | .47896 |
33 | .49212 |
No. of Screw Gauge | Size of Number in Decimals |
34 | .50528 |
35 | .51844 |
36 | .53160 |
37 | .54476 |
38 | .55792 |
39 | .57108 |
40 | .58424 |
41 | .69740 |
42 | .61066 |
43 | .62372 |
44 | .63688 |
45 | .65004 |
46 | .66320 |
47 | .67636 |
48 | .68952 |
49 | .70268 |
50 | .71584 |
Number of Wire Gauge | American or Brown & Sharpe | Birmingham, or Stubs' Wire | Washburn & Moen Mfg. Co's Worcester, Ms. | Imperial Wire Gauge | Stubs' Steel Wire | U. S. Stand, for Plate | Number of Wire Gauge |
000000 | - | -- | - | .464 | -- | .46875 | 000000 |
00000 | - | - | - | .432 | ----- | .4375 | 00000 |
0000 | .46 | .454 | .3938 | .400 | ----- | .40625 | 0000 |
000 | .40964 | .425 | .3625 | .372 | ----- | .376 | 000 |
00 | .3648 | .38 | .3310 | .348 | ----- | .34375 | 00 |
0 | .32486 | .34 | .3065 | .324 | - | .3125 | 0 |
1 | .2893 | .3 | .2830 | .300 | .227 | .28125 | 1 |
2 | .25763 | .284 | .2625 | .276 | .219 | .265625 | 2 |
3 | .22942 | .259 | .2437 | .252 | .212 | .25 | 3 |
4 | .20431 | .238 | .2253 | .232 | .207 | .234375 | 4 |
5 | .18194 | .22 | .2070 | .212 | .204 | .21875 | 5 |
6 | .16202 | .203 | .1920 | .192 | .201 | .203125 | 6 |
7 | .14428 | .18 | .1770 | .176 | .199 | .1876 | 7 |
8 | .12849 | .165 | .1620 | .160 | .197 | .171876 | 8 |
9 | .11443 | .148 | .1483 | .144 | .194 | .16625 | 9 |
10 | .10189 | .134 | .1350 | .128 | .191 | .140625 | 10 |
11 | .090742 | .12 | .1205 | .116 | .188 | .125 | 11 |
12 | .080808 | .109 | .1055 | .104 | .185 | .109376 | 12 |
13 | .071961 | .095 | .0915 | .092 | .182 | .09375 | 13 |
14 | .064084 | .083 | .0800 | .080 | .180 | .078125 | 14 |
15 | .057068 | .072 | .0720 | .072 | .178 | .0703125 | 15 |
16 | .05082 | .065 | .0625 | .064 | .175 | .0625 | 16 |
17 | .045257 | .058 | .0540 | .056 | .172 | .05625 | 17 |
18 | .040303 | .049 | .0475 | .048 | .168 | .05 | 18 |
19 | .03589 | .042 | .0410 | .040 | .164 | .04375 | 19 |
20 | .031961 | .035 | .0348 | .036 | .161 | .0375 | 20 |
21 | .028462 | .032 | .03175 | .032 | .157 | .034375 | 21 |
22 | .025347 | .028 | .0286 | .028 | .155 | .03125 | 22 |
23 | .022571 | .025 | .0258 | .024 | .153 | .028125 | 23 |
Number of Wire Gauge | American or Brown & Sharpe | Birmingham, or Stubs' Wire | Washburn & Moen Mfg. Co's Worcester, Ms. | Imperial Wire Gauge | Stubs' Steel Wire | U. S. Stand, for Plate | Number of Wire Gauge |
24 | .0201 | .022 | .0230 | .022 | .151 | .025 | 24 |
25 | .0179 | .02 | .0204 | .020 | .148 | .021875 | 26 |
26 | .01594 | .018 | .0181 | .018 | .146 | .01875 | 26 |
27 | .014195 | .016 | .0173 | .0164 | .143 | .0171875 | 27 |
28 | .012641 | .014 | .0162 | .0149 | .139 | .015625 | 28 |
29 | .011257 | .013 | .0150 | .0136 | .134 | .0140625 | 29 |
30 | .010025 | .012 | .0140 | .0124 | .127 | .0125 | 30 |
31 | .008928 | .01 | .0132 | .0116 | .120 | .0109375 | 31 |
32 | .00795 | .009 | .0128 | .0108 | .115 | .01015625 | 32 |
33 | .00708 | .008 | .0118 | .0100 | .112 | .009375 | 33 |
34 | .006304 | .007 | .0104 | .0092 | .110 | .00859375 | 34 |
35 | .005614 | .005 | .0095 | .0084 | .108 | .0078125 | 35 |
36 | .005 | .004 | .0090 | .0076 | .106 | .00703125 | 36 |
37 | .004453 | - | - | .0068 | .103 | .006640625 | 37 |
38 | .003965 | - | - | .0060 | .101 | .00625 | 38 |
39 | .003531 | - | - | .0052 | .099 | - | 39 |
40 | .003144 | - | - | .0048 | .097 | - | 40 |
 
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