1890s Rare Antique Nail Gun [Restoration]
This 1892 patented Pearson's Nailer restoration was fairly straight-forward. It was made by the Pearson Mfg. Co from 1908-1921. This restoration was mainly aesthetic as the nailer was functioning previously.
I decided to paint the nailer in its original bright blue colour. There was a larger version that was painted red. In most, but not all photos of these nailers online, the cast iron parts seem to be a darker blue than the tin parts. I tried to replicate that look by "staining" the blue paint with some black plaint. I could have used a darker blue paint, but this technique seemed to match what I have seen online.
I also decided to place the writing on the other side of the nailer than where it originally was. This was done because the original side is heavily dented and the writing would not show up as well. In the future, I may add some gold pin-striping as well along the raised lines in the tin parts, as I have seen this is some, but not all photos online.
These nailers were mainly used by roofers to set the nail for driving in by a hammer later on. I'm impressed by how well this tool still works.
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It's interesting to see HTR's growth over the years. If this had been made today I'm sure he would have completely taken it apart to fix all those dents. The cinemetography has also improved a lot.
It always amazes me in your restorations when you start taking these really old tools and machines apart how many pieces there are. It makes you think about the person that invented it - with no computer no CAD program just an idea in their head. I imagine them sitting at a desk with a piece of paper And a pencil drawing it out
As a contractor I didn't know the nail gun was this old. Nicely done.
Man, your restos have gotten SO much better. Not faulting you, we all gotta practice, if anything its a complement as it shows improvement!
Never heard "restos" before, but you bet your ass that's all I'm ever calling them from now on
I absolutely love your videos, as a young lad 13-16 I used to renovate old tools for my mother who sold old furniture (Victorian and Edwardian mainly) and she would sell them in the converted barn next to the house in Cumbria UK. Keep on saving these beauties, I'm disabled (Iraq) these days and in need of a time filler that I can pick up when the pain is lower and leave when I'm stuck in bed....you've rekindled an old interest...it could be time to hit the car boot sales and tidy up my workshop/garage. Thanks for what you do, it's a greater thing than most realise.
Thank you! I hope you get back into it.
He didn't say which side he was fighting on >:)
MattOGormanSmith I was British Military, I don't know if that was the right or wrong side but I felt it was the right side to be on :/
charlieboyzname it doesnt matter what other people think about "your side" its a choice. and you choose which side to be on and whatever side it is you decide has to be the right one. unless its ISIS
Apologies for the tasteless joke. We are brothers in arms of a sort now, as my mother is also a -junk- furniture dealer. I get most of my old tools from the local auction house where you get the occasional gem in the house clearance boxes.
I want one. Just think, no more smashed fingertips. Nice restoration. I love watching your videos. You not only do great work but you sometimes joke around too. Keep up the good work.
Love these old bits of kit being bought back to life!. Nuff said!. 🙂
oh my. this is the first time I see this tool, like most other restorations/rescue videos I have to watch to the last moments to discover how it is used. So splendid! Great job man
11:15 Lol, you got me with that shotgun sound effect. 😂
11:14 that sound effects
I love antiques. I started young with both parents taking me to antique shows, garage sales etc. We were poor but our home was filled with love and the most beautiful antiques my father restored. You’d never know we were poor and I certainly never felt poor. Fathers gifts were always something he restored; Lane hope chest, brass bed etc. I’ll treasure those more than anything for all time. Thanks for a great post. If my dad was still with us he’d love seeing these great restoration videos.
i love the new life you give to these tools, keep up the good work.. the old ones were built right and should live on for future generations to love
Laughed my ass off at Jaws with a nail in the head👌🤣
I wanna see you do something big like a power hammer or a band saw, table saw something huge cast iron and old !!
Power hammer would be sweet, as I really want one anyways.
Hand Tool Rescue that is not a hand tool
+Jttv neither is a forge blower
Jttv do you hold it with your hand??? then it is a hand tool.
+GasNBullets yeah but cast iron and a bit of a mini series what's not to like about that hand tool or not
That thing is awesome, old tools have so much character and such unique looks and function. I have a handful of older items I restore every now and again when I can find them. This came out great though!
Great video, cool tool, awesome resto job! NAILED IT! That first nail hit was a doozy! Perfect effect for that, LOL!
I love the guy at the end from happy Gilmore 😂😂
and Jaws from 007 movies
Nailed it!
Add this to my list of cool antiques I never knew existed. Too bad my grandfather isn't still around to see these videos, he loved rescuing and fixing up just about anything he could get his hands on to keep people from letting something go to scrap.
that's awesome..nice job on the resto. had no idea nailguns dated back that far
Haha, that shotgun sound startled me, thought that was the sound it made for a second.
Remember boys and girls never use a screwdriver or chisel to hammer on something. That's what pliers are for. Love the video, please keep up the good work.
Obviously! Thanks.
I wish they still make these! Simple and easy to use.
What a rad little machine! Good job bringing it back to life!
"And you can count....on me waiting for you in the parking lot"
Beautiful Job Sir! Now where's that kind of ingenuity these days? By god everything must be powered and have a short life to boot! Again, wonderful job on the restoration!
you find the coolest tools! Nice job with the details. Hanging from a Mag strip is an awesome idea.
I'm happy that a person like you exists.
pretty damn cool! was probably a 2 man job, one guy going along setting the nails and the other one following behind driving them in.
not necessarily - one man can set his own nails with one hit, and sink them in a second hit. Most carpenters were (they don't tend to use wood much anymore) pretty proficient in doing this anyway, but this makes it a little easier. especially at the end of the day.
Kevin Keel Where do you live that carpenters don't tend to use wood? We certainly tend to use it more than any other material where I live.
Maybe the machine efficency is poor because the nail quality is different.
He was hitting it lightly. You would use a wooden mallet and hit it with much more Force.
I wonder if these people who complain about sandblasting and how it's "removing history" save their cut fingernails and hair... What's the point of leave something old to rust away? "Oh, it's history..." No! When your house starts to loose it's paint, don't you repaint? If your car gets scratch, don't you get it fixed? Well, I think with these old things should be the same principle. At least restoring it makes it last longer.
Ok
o k
History is what the object is, not the little dents or the rust or the paint.
I wouldn't call it removing history. That's kind of a dramatic way to put it. But for most people including myself these restoration videos (speaking generally about all antique tool/toy restoration channels) basically take something that's cool because it's old and rarely seen anymore, that looks like it was used for decades in some guys shop or on an assembly line somewhere, and turn it into almost a cheap novelty arts and crafts item. At best it looks like a new-but-made-to-look-old Pier 1 style decorative piece. No collector will want them. You've removed what 99% of people found aesthetically interesting about it. If it's rusted to the point that the next stop is the trash bin I get it. Can't ruin garbage so do whatever you want. But there's a right way and a wrong way to restore old items. Say you want an old WW2 army uniform for a display....do you want the last guy to have taken all the stitching apart and redyed everything to make it look brand new? No, because now it looks like a cheap replica and all the authenticity has been removed by some guy who wanted a weekend project. As to your house example...if your 100 year old house needs restoration would you let some guy repaint it with a can of spray paint and some preschool level stencil work (sorry no offense to the guy who made the video)? Or...would you want it done properly by people who have experience, can properly fix any rotted wood, who use the correct paint, take the time to tape off areas that need it....so that way if you go to resell the house it doesn't look like your cross eyed little brother painted the house with watercolor?
@Undefined Lastname Lol So all those people who collect paintings should refinish it themselves? Should you polish old silver? Don't be so literal just to argue and try to seem right. Obviously different old objects require different care and upkeep to stay desirable over time. But using your example would you want this guy to restore you classic car for you? Or...is there a right way and a wrong way to restore items, like I said, and something like that you would take to a professional? Most if not all old objects are most valuable in two conditions: untouched and showing all the wear and weathering from time, and properly restored.
Nice work on the nail gun. I very much liked the ref on "Happy Gilmore". It's one of Sandler's best movies...
I've seen a lot of old tools but have never seen this one before... thanks!
Another great video, where the hell are you getting all of these unique old tools?
Thanks! I get them from Big Money Salvia.
Holy shit... that guy is funny. I actually hadn't heard of him before. His "gardening with salvia" vid is hysterical. Something else that's hysterical is I misread your comment as Big Money Saliva and thought "That's kinda disgusting" Hahahahahaha
Another Internet Comment Etiquette fan I see.
Bounced on my boys antique nail gun to this for hours.
Wood.Work.LIFE. Boring to watch tho... With no music or anything
Your ball struck my foot!
Nutz4Gunz45 just. Tap it in.
Happy Gilmore
play it where it lies
Just tap it in. Just tap it in
No worries happy nail comes out next week.
that last bit with the nail in the head reference got the subscription. dude I was dieing.
Another excellent vid man! PLEASE, keep them coming....I never miss an episode now.
I love Happy Gilmore, that was hilarious. I guess it would let you put down the nails and you or another guy would come behind and set them? I suppose it would save the fingers from holding the nails and risking getting smashed?
Yeah I can see where it'd come in handy for a job needing to be done fast.
omg i nearly fell off my chair with the happy gilmore pic.
Great job . Loved the little manic minute at the end
Another great video thanks. Been in the construction trade all my life love the old tools.
Hahahah the end had me dying!
Happy GIlmore!
12:12 Had me rolling .... fun video!! Thanks for making the restorals so entertaining .... I look forward to them.
I absolutely lost it when that guy came up on the picture. I did not see it coming AND it was hysterical. Well done, sir.
Have you ever thought about going back and trying to further breakdown old restoration projects like this now that your skill level/tools have improved? I've noticed on several of your newer videos that you're able to take most things apart down to the rivets.
"And you can count, on me waiting for you in the parking lot"
This mans mechanical skills and intuition are up there with the best, I wish he would introduce himself and talk about his interests with antique tools.
Great video, fantastic job! ...was a pleasure to watch, makes me want to restore old tools myself.
11:15 I laughed
DanVR same
same
same
Hand Tool Rescue Who's that guy? txs...
Henery Rollins Watch Happy Gilmore
more disassembly
I would have loved to do that as well, but the tin parts are riveted on and I would have risked damaging something if I was to hammer or drill them out.
pity I like seeing all the bits come back together
Hand Tool Rescue is it just supposed to set the nails like that instead of driving them all the way in?
Should be able to just dremel cut off the rivet heads and tap them out with a punch
omg. My neighbor growing up "old man Nick" use to use one of these all the time! this makes me want to find one!
Love the Demo at the end! Spot on perfect!
Here's an idea.....if you want to post negativity about the restorations, please post the ones you do to show how awesome you think you are so we can worship you for the God of restorations you obviously are!
Agreed!
I love old things, especially tools and mechanical things. It's amazing to me to see how capable manufacturers were back in the day ie. regarding quality and ingenuity when compared to much of the crap made today. Sometimes I wonder if we really have made much progress. Sure some things are obviously better but they always seem to sabotage a product with at least one poorly made/designed part, not to mention made to be unrepairable.
Same quality as there always have been, but you get what you pay for. If you try and find the price for the stuff shown here i bet it was not cheap.
I somehow don't see this tool as much improvement compared to just having your nails on a roll of painter's tape, maybe with some kind of guide around it that you could make out of a thin strip of plywood - it's a heavy, thus likely tiresome and complicated contraption, possibly prone to jams, that only dispenses the nails, doesn't encourage them in. It doesn't make me wish i had this. We certainly have much faster and easier to use tools today, and we get them for laughably little money, even if they are of disposable quality or often engineered to fail right after warranty runs out. The mechanical precision of tools has also improved since then - any cheap plastic injection moulded part can be made with no deviation from another one, which is probably more important when you actually use the tool than the fact that it will fall apart in a few years and will be burned in a power plant to regain a good portion of the energy that was spent making it. These old tools are important for historical preservation, but we really aren't missing anything we need today.
Sweet work! I've never seen anything like this before, you are an artist.
Just subscribed found this channel yesterday and it's the first thing I watched when I woke up this morning since it's a weekend and don't have to work you have a great memory to be able to reassemble these hand tools I've seen a lot of these hand tools when I was a kid and a lot of them were old then I'm 60yrs old now.Keep up the great restorations very interesting.
This is like the Manliest ASMR video I've ever seen. Fell asleep like a lumberjack holding his chainsaw.
who is the man on the photo at the end ?
Nicolas Brient He's from the film Happy Gilmore his name's (the actors name is) Richard Kiel.
Umm...his name is Mr. Larson, jeez. haha
I think its Richard Kiel, he played Jaws in the bond movie.
Not gonna lie had a good laugh when I saw that!
in the movie he got shot in the head with a nailer by happy gilmore
That is amazing! The care you put into restoration projects show the love you have for these tool and with something like this nail gun it really really shoes. It's infectious too, ive inherited some old tools that a covered in rust and now I really want to restore them instead of feeling like I had to weather I liked it of not. Thank you for sharing 👍😁👍
As a professional ( lettering brush) sign maker, your stencils...lol. Another great video of a tool resto that most of us never even knew of....love your channel.
Haha yes, it was nowhere close to my best work, but practice makes perfect! A sponge might have been a better choice.
That was really interesting... I wonder if that nailer is something that was commonplace or rare. Seems like a time saver for sure, especially if you had a team of carpenters working on a job. This restoration came out great, even if (as you say) it's mostly aesthetic. Seriously though the reapplied lettering looks great.
Thanks! This tools was $5 in 1908, and with the average wage of $0.22/hr, it only took a few days to pay for itself and could be purchased by lots of workers. I think it's not common because many were broken. I don't think this tool could survive a fall off a roof. The cast iron parts would break off easily.
How common was falling off a roof?
Yeah, I dunno... I think you underestimate the pressure to just keep yourself and your family fed and have a roof over their heads @ 22 cents an hour. I used an inflation calculator and .22/hr would be $5.58 in 2017 wages! $5 in 1908 dollars would be equivalent to $127 today. It would be doable eventually but in 2017 wages bringing in $892 a month, I think you might be worried more about those essentials. Let me put it this way, years ago I was a making 22 DOLLARS an hour and I would have had to think long and hard about buying a tool that didn't increase my wages (but did increase my productivity) and cost me $500 to buy. I'm thinking this may have been something a company might buy for it's carpenters, and when companies buy tools for their men they often get broken, or at the least are treated roughly.
Sadly the tools you had/(still happens today) lead to getting work. While companies are ""supposed"" to supply equipment, a lot of workers bring their own. Some for personal preference with better quality without having to wait to get the worn piece of crap tool, but most because it helps them get chosen over someone who doesn't. Like owning a screw gun is required and people wont hire you if you have only have manual screw drivers. When it comes to industries that can abuse the employee verse independent contractor destinations, it is the workers who buy equipment so they can have more work. They know it is not right but you want to work.... Vicious cycle especially when starting out. Conventions set up crews that are day type hires are expected to bring several hundred to thousand dollars worth of tools.... On a happier note, Amazing job locating and restoring another great classic tool. These videos are great. Imagine put the tools in room and seeing how many modern day professionals could figure out the what and when to use... Amazing, how much genuis inventions have cycle throw the various workers' tools through the years.
I agree to an extent, but when I see tradesmen in the UK they tend to have many hundreds of pounds worth of tools, even the lowest ranking staff (apprentice/labourer) do save for Makita and Dewalt etc despite them costing a weeks wages or more each. I find it easy to believe that 1900 carpenter would spend two/three days wages on a tool that would save a lot of time, sore thumbs and fiddling with nails. I would buy that tool in an instant if I were a (1900) roofer, and tie it to my tool belt with a piece of twine to prevent dropping it. :)
Things were so different in the 90's!
Great video! I was laughing so hard on the first nail with the gun shot! TOO FUNNY! Made my morning!
The Mr. Larson bit at 12:14 was absolutely hilarious!
Would've been cool to see it completely taken apart, cleaned, and put back together
I would have loved to do that as well, but the tin parts are riveted on and I would have risked damaging something if I was to hammer or drill them out.
Hand Tool Rescue gotcha! I love all your restorations though man! Please keep them coming 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
Those 2 hands are really good at tool restoration
any girls that had a thing with this man will always remember his hands
+A Toaster my god dude 😂😂😂
A Toaster I'd say it is a compliment
Talk about a shit show WTF that's the worst restoration I've ever seen!
that gun shot edit was so perfect bro more funny shit like that would bring in a younger group of kids like myself
I absolutely love to see old tools redone over! Grass job. Loved the sound effect. Great reference to "Happy Gilmore". Thank you. You need to send that video to Adam Sandler and tell him to watch it to the very end. I bet that he'd get a blast out of it!
Just a little tap tap taparoo
AVE fans unite!
uses a claw hammer to panel beat, and a club hammer to drive nails...
Loved the Happy Gilmore references. That last part with the photo was a nice touch.
Never seen one of these before. Nice restoration!
You done a pretty piss poor paint job. Otherwise a very neat tool.
I cringed when it went into the glass bead cabinet, then died when it was painted. I like the 'rescue' videos more than the 'restorations', because in my mind, these are far from restorations. But, I still enjoy watching the videos regardless.
I don't know if it was glass bead, sand, or soda but it was a bad idea none the less.
The paint makes it look cheap, tacky, and yes Modern.
+Random Person : How do you change the ("modern") font to italics? Are you using a PC or Smarty-pants-phone?
+Random Person : _Like This_ if I follow your instructions correctly? I'm using a Samsung Note2, and can't see the result as I type, but maybe see it after I hit _send_ Thanks for your kind reply.
You must be very careful sandblasting sheetmetal because it's very easily distorted. I was also concerned you removed the original metal finish that has done a pretty good job protecting it from rust for the last hundred plus years. That "paint job" will not protect it for long. And the stenciling was hard to watch. Then the super glue. Never do anything to an antique that cannot be undone. I was, however surprised to see the nails fall into place. That's a pretty ingenious mechanism.
It is sheetmatal not paper. Sandblasting is the most gentle non chemical way of removing paint.
blah blah blah , ( know it all )
Didn't occur to you that the stencils are laser cut from originals, huh
Your work has definitely improved greatly sense 2017.
Thanks!
Totally agree, this is the earliest HTR vid I've seen, and you really have improved over the years. (Still great though)
Awesome build! I didn't like the blue paint at first but you made it look great. Perfect end to the video. It was hilarious
so confused... no Nutella was used. ;-)
What do you think the "black paint" is?
+Hand Tool Rescue ummm......Vegemite? :P
I dont think this can be considered a restoration... this is more of a cleaning and throwing a rattle can to a piece of history...
Mike Rabago that's what I thought. This is noz a restoration, it's cleaning and repainting, no more, no less. I expected an interesting video, got that garbage instead
Ok then. What would he have had to do for you to consider it a restoration?
Steve Gould not strip or refinish it.
thank you! I thought the same thing rattle can paint doesn't even last through soap and friggin water and this guy takes all these tools and rattle cans them to death.
I totally agree. It's JUST repainting and wasting my time.
Its amazing that something like this is still around
Great videos man, hope to see more in the near future
Literally blasting away it's history was bad enough, but covering it up with a terrible paint job was icing on the cake.
TheSpoonyBard - I thought the same thing..!!
I kind of agree. I dislike sand blasting everything. I constantly see guys who have taken apart machinery to sell the parts, on eBay, and they blast the parts completely. They blast shafts and mating surfaces to the point of destroying any chance the parts ever had of working properly. But they look good in the small photos.
Wellness go go Mothers and get some note when back so u can Bend over
I think the same way.
It was its original paint though.
anyone kinda feel like its a travesty to see something's history wiped away? i get that its also nice to see something brought back to life and made like new but im not sure its worth what your losing.
Watching an survivor being devalued does hurt.
Well it had already been painted over in black at least a few times in it life and was almost bare metal in some spots, so it's not like its much different giving it another more original paint colour and cleaning it up a bit. Though I don't really get why he sand blasted it...
Soda blasting perhaps? That removes the paint easily but doesn't really abrade the metal underneath, unlike sand.
I couldn't agree more. This video was like a train wreck for me; just couldn't turn away from the carnage.
It's always a tough call whether to strip the original finish off an antique or not. In this case, it has been painted over a few times so it didn't hurt my soul as much removing the paint. I hope the blue darkens over time as I liked the blue colour before I stripped it off. The value thing is always an issue as well. Yes, this tool may be worth less now, but that just means all the others are worth more now.
The nail in the head made me chuckle:) loved that movie.
I demand more Wd 40 in action. great vid, and the fact that the nail gun is mechanical make it more classic.
Why would you remove the original paint i dont understand that?
The reason is in the title - restoration ;)
Surely restoration is making it mechanically work but keep it as original as possible to the day it was made.. just my opinion. Cheers.
Probably because most of the original paint was worn off. He used the same color, and resprayed it.
George Blackley the same reasons why people repaint their classic car? :/
Throwing paint on something is not considered a restoration.... Hopefully you are more skillful today...
Have you seen any of his new vids?
@@TheJ1022 no can't say that i have. Could've only gotten better tho....
Super nice work. And once again, at first i didn't understand at all how this tool works. That is until you showed it.
Ok you earned a thumbs up for the happy gilmore reference. A setup worthy of a playwright.
One of the better edited restoration vids I've seen. Good job
No talking or music format is perfect! Love your videos!
It's nice to know that now days i would be watching you take it all the way apart, fix the entirety, and use primer when painting it.
Really nice job, thanks for saving a piece of history
I love your videos , absolutely amazing! congrats on 50k!
LOL Love the picture at the end. CLASSIC!
Nice touch at the end, love your videos
Dude! The Happy Gilmore guy with the nail in the head was the best!
You're a boss for the Happy Gilmore quote mid restoration!
That's an old shake shingle nail setter. Very cool. As a retired roofer I can tell you I enjoyed this video. Thanks mate. Cheers
Thank you!
It amazes me. You turn out interesting, and funny, videos. What is there to not like? Why would anyone dislike any of these videos?
Just found this channel yesterday and I love what you do here on you tube already, it's interesting to watch I love it when people do these style of videos, no nonsense just getting on with the work at hand and I always find that no music in these videos is incredibly relaxing too, keep up the good work!
+Slothasaurus Thank you!