Applications
Decorative nails are distinguished by a variety of options for their appearance, which allows them to be used for a variety of purposes. For example, to fix a decorative molding, in order to fix upholstery for upholstered furniture, for a coach brace. Decorative wallpaper hardware is used not only for furniture upholstery, they are also used for door design. Due to its variety and decorativeness, upholstery hardware makes it possible to create a unique interior design in the room.
Applying cling nails to any, even the simplest furniture, you can give a unique look. With their help, you can emphasize the silhouette and geometric shapes of the furniture product, as well as make a design drawing on it. With the help of a wallpaper nail, furniture can be given any style - from pretentious classics to the simple style of rustic Provence. To create a finish, nails are hammered into the furniture material, leaving no gaps or making them with a minimum step. The correctly selected type of upholstery nail allows you to make a stylish and individual furniture project, bringing it to life in a single copy.
Peculiarities
Finishing decorative hardware differ from similar fastening models in that the finishing products have a short length and a special structure of the cap. The parameters and appearance of the cap can be large or very small. Various types of finishing nails are used to decorate armchairs and sofas, creating a sophisticated and sophisticated appearance. The shape of the head of a furniture finishing nail can be round, square or fancy.
Since the hat has artistic value, it is necessary to hammer in such decorative hardware in a special way, while acting with the utmost care. To perform the work, the craftsmen use a small and lightweight hammer, hammering the hardware according to the existing sketch
As a result, you can get a beautiful designer item with an ornament or a simple geometric pattern. Most often, nails intended for decorative finishing are not used as fasteners. The only way they can be used is to nail down a thin cabinet wall made of plywood.
Dimensions (edit)
Since upholstery hardware is rarely used as a fastener, their size is usually small. In terms of their diameter, hardware can be manufactured in the range of 0.8–2 mm. The length of nails, as a rule, is standard and is 3 cm. If you want to upholster a wooden door, then upholstery nails are used, the diameter of which is 1.6–2 mm, while the length of the hardware can be from 8 to 25 mm.
When determining the size of the hardware, it is important to take into account the thickness of the upholstery. The hardware will have to go through it and go deep into the material - the basis to which the decor is fixed. Upholstery nails should perform the function of fixing the upholstery and at the same time not stand out from the general background of the product
There is a rule according to which the length of the hardware is allowed 2 or 3 times more than the fixed thickness of the material
Upholstery nails should perform the function of fixing the upholstery and at the same time not stand out from the general background of the product. There is a rule according to which the length of the hardware is allowed 2 or 3 times more than the fixed thickness of the material.
Cleaning old nails
A few words about how to clean old forged nails. In fact, this is a whole science, and there are many methods. But if you decide to create your own collection, and do not plan to sell your carnations, you can do this:
Artifact cleaning starts with rinsing
- First, the nails are washed in a stream of water, brushing off the rust
- Then, you can go in two ways:
2.1. The nail can be heated, then dipped in water (in this case, rust particles will fall off). I have used this method only once in my life, as there is too much hassle.
2.2. Use sandpaper of different grain sizes to process the surface of the nail. At the same time, the nail can be processed in such a way that it will look like new.
- Well, at the last stage, the nail can be preserved, as we have already mentioned. By the way, if you want to leave and preserve a nail at home in its original form, you can immediately "preserve" it, having previously dried it well and removed moisture.
Forged nails look beautiful in a frame with coins and objects of yesteryear. For all their simplicity and unpretentiousness, they give the composition some kind of zest, it immediately becomes clear that these things have history.
Photo of coins with nails
So, think about whether it is worth throwing away the forged carnations (and they are very small sizes, those that were used for shoes, for horseshoes, and so on), which you will come across on the next hunt.
Read on "E-KLAD": Search with a metal detector or forest at night
Materials (edit)
The working part of the nail - its rod, which is driven into the furniture material, is made of metal alloys. The cheapest option is steel with a low carbon content. After the nail is made, it is subjected to a zinc coating. For upholstery, you can also find nails made of expensive stainless steel. Such hardware has anti-corrosive properties, and also has a pleasantly pronounced silvery sheen.
To make stylized antique nails, bronze, as well as chrome or nickel can be applied to their coating. In exclusive designer furniture models, nails can be covered with fine silvering or gilding. Often brass or copper hardware is used for restoration work.
Such a finish attracts with its beauty and does not require dusting, which can wear out over time with the active use of furniture. There are even wooden upholstery nails in old furniture models, but now such products are rare and can hardly be found.
Important! The selection of the material from which the upholstery hardware will be made is carried out in accordance with the design idea, as well as starting from the environment where the furniture will be used
Old nail in collection
If you wash the found nail, remove the rust, correctly arrange the find in the frame, then you will look at such a forged nail somehow differently. As already mentioned, forged nails were previously made by hand. The metal (rod) was heated to the point where it began to yield with a hammer.
Framed forged nails
Then, they gave the nail the desired shape and size, at the finish, they made a hat, flattening the metal on the anvil with hammer blows. Indeed, considering that the nails were used as a consumable, it is easy to imagine what strength and health a blacksmith must have had when forging such nails in the hundreds.
Making a nail
And it should be noted that nails were not such a cheap commodity at that time. Not everyone could afford to use forged nails. Indeed, on the one hand, in the hands of an ordinary old nail, on the other hand, a thing that was made by hand, and not everyone could do it, but only a select few - blacksmiths who knew a lot about their business.
Due to the demand for nails, many houses were built without them.
Read on "E-treasure": Treasure hunter to treasure hunter - friend or foe
Variety of decor
Finishing hardware for decorating furniture is used according to the same system as conventional types of nails. The principle of use lies in the fact that with a hammer the hardware is driven into the required place.To fix and logically dock several dissimilar materials, use a sufficient number of hardware necessary to maintain a uniform installation step and symmetry.
In order to give upholstered furniture a special chic and elegance, designers use the method of finishing with decorative hardware made along the contour of furniture parts. For this purpose, both all-metal nails and varieties with rhinestones can be applied. This method is used to decorate upholstered armchairs, sofas, chairs.
Another common finishing method is a pattern made from decorative nail heads. In this way, not only furniture is decorated, but also door leaves. The heads of nails are positioned so that a complex pattern or geometric figure is obtained from them. Hardware can be arranged in a straight line along the contour, or a symmetrical complex pattern. Sometimes the hardware is positioned as it is done with the so-called carriage coupler, while the heads of the nails are on the surface of the material in a staggered arrangement.
Sometimes, small wallpaper nails are used to simulate a structural finishing stitch, while larger ones are used in the form of overlays, using them to create a solid line or pattern. Upholstery with decorative nails can be applied on leather furniture, as well as on cabinets, dressers, tables and other furniture products. Sometimes decorative nails are used to trim wide frames that frame the mirror surface. Any, even the most mundane item can be made a unique designer product that will be transformed thanks to upholstery nails. Decorated with brass or copper nails create a vintage feel and give the piece an antique look.
A kind of finishing can be called a special furniture molding. On this decor, which consists of a narrow metal plate, you can see the heads of decorative nails, but this is just an imitation of them. You can fix the molding using several holes located at the ends of this decorative tape.
How to accurately hammer decorative nails, see the video.
Species overview
Modern experts distinguish several types of decorative details. So, for example, you can find nails with and without a head, in a modern design and antique, long and short varieties, as well as other options. Consider several popular classifications of decorative nails.
By the size of the hat, products with a small head and elements with a large hat are distinguished. The first option resembles standard finishing nails. For the most part, this variety performs a functional role, carrying out a fixing action.
Large head nails serve an aesthetic function, since the nail head is an integral part of the decor.
By design, decorative details can be decorative and wallpaper. The finishing variety is a thin nail (most often the raw material in this case is wire), the diameter of which does not exceed 2 mm, and the length is 4 cm. The hat of such an element is small. Wallpaper decorative nails have a large and beautiful head and are small in size (maximum diameter - 2 mm, maximum length - 2.5 cm).
The most diverse classification of decorative nails is their distinction by their external design. So, depending on this characteristic, the following groups are distinguished:
- enameled - the hats of such products are painted with enamel and covered with a pattern (it can be either monochromatic or multi-colored);
- shaped - nails can have not only a traditional round head, but also a semicircular, square, triangular, volumetric;
- embossed - the heads of the nails can be smooth or embossed (voluminous);
- complex - the shape of hats can be not only geometric, but also have a complex shape: for example, a flower, letter, butterfly, hieroglyph.
Peculiarities
Decorative nails are products that are widely used in various spheres of human activity. That is why there is a huge variety of similar elements on the market today, which differ in one way or another (for example, length or appearance). Accordingly, each customer will be able to choose just such a variety of decorative details that fully meets his needs and desires.
At their core, decorative nails are fasteners. Although they must primarily perform functional tasks, decorative items (as you might guess from their name) must have an aesthetically pleasing appearance that will fit well into one style or another.
Usage
Decorative elements combine functional and aesthetic indicators, so the area of their use is quite wide and varied. For example, often the elements used for decoration interior details that are made of soft material or wood (in this case, nails can be used alone or form an unusual pattern from them that will fit well into the overall style). Moreover, they can be fastened manually or using a special device called a pneumatic stapler.
By using a simple and common decorative material like nails, you can give an unusual look to an outdated or boring piece. Feel free to get creative and creative, but also keep practicality and functionality in mind.
In the process of using fasteners, it is important to follow a few rules.
Before using decorative parts, it is important to make sure that fastener length 2 or 3 times the thickness of the material you are securing. If you ignore this principle, then in the end your fasteners will be unreliable and will quickly weaken, which can lead to a complete breakdown of the product.
If you use not one, but several nails for fastening, then think in advance about how you will place them.
So, for example, you can give preference to a simple symmetrical arrangement, create a non-standard design, issue an author's pattern, make an ornament.
To create a classic style, it is recommended to arrange the nails along the contour.
At the same time, it is advisable to choose fasteners in an elegant traditional style so that they do not create a clumsy effect.
If you want to draw the attention of others to this fastener, then use nails whose color is contrasting with the color of the main product. Otherwise, choose nails that match.
To add eclecticism to the product, you can use several types of nails at the same time: they may differ in material, size, and appearance.
In the next video, you will learn how to drive a decorative nail evenly.