Long thin but strong nails. (For wool combs)

[Cobweb]

I've had a look through the local diy shop and there isn't anything remotely resembling, long thin and strong nails.
Any ideas where I can get some from, I want to make a pair of wool combs like these:
http://www.woolcombs.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15

I can't seem to find any makers based in the UK and the prices are stupendous!
I'd rather make my own

 

[Barney]

try looking for industrial nail gun nails they are hard and thin i used to have some four inch but used them all up or you could have had some

 

[Mike Ameling]

An alternative would be steel wire of the same diameter. Just cut to length and file/sand the points. They would not have that nail head, but a little good glue would hold them in place.

So check out piano wire, or guitar strings. Long, thin, and very tough.

You might also look at MIG/TIG welder wire. Some of it has some pretty good strength and will flex well before bending/kinking. Check with the welding supply shops. While there, also check out the welding/brazing rods they have available. Some of them might work for your project.

If all else fails, look at buying a WIRE BRUSH from the welding/painting store. The wire in them is pretty tough and resistant to bending. But they usually are made up from groups/bundles of wire glued into holes in the handle.

And steel cable might also work. Some is pretty tough. You just have to cut to length, unwind the twists, and then tap the individual wires straight with a hammer.

Just a few options to consider. But, in the end, I think the time you put into making your own will be far more than buying a pair of Wool Cards. Check on evil-bay. There should be a number listed most any time.

Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands

 

[Toddy]

pm Eric Methven, he makes them for re-enactors and spinners / feltworkers.
That site's prices for them is a touch on the steep side

atb,
Toddy

 

[Tadpole]

Check your local Hire shop see if they have any old worn needle gun needles that they don't want.

 

[Dave Budd]

I would go to a hobby shop (model shop, sorry) and get some piano wire. the steel wire that is in the racks with brass tubing and the like. It's high tensile stuff and is nice and stiff in a wide range of diameters

 

[Eric_Methven]

Just get some six inch nails, stick them one by one in a power drill and apply at a fairly high speed to the side of a grinding wheel. Make sure they are spinning in opposite directions (you don't need much pressure). That will taper them nicely. Cut the heads off first. You can use them straight if you drill the holes in the handle at a slight angle so they rake back a bit, or drill straight holes and add a bend in the nails. Once you have ground the nails to a nice taper, go over again on a fine stone. Then apply once more with the drill onto a bit of leather rubbed well with grinding paste and decrease the abraisive grade until the nails are nice and shiny. You need shiny nails for combing wool, otherwise the roughness will catch on the wool fibres and it won't comb out properly.

Eric

 

[OldWood]

Cobweb,
Google "Super Quench" by Robb Gunter .It's a soap solution for getting Mild Steel ( 1018)up to a Rockweld 43C -45C DO NOT USE ON TOOL STEEL it gets too Brittle. It is also in Jack Andrews book " New Edge of the Anvil" the book is on line at Google Books. Use some 1/8" wire shape it and "Super Quench" it and you have some "wool comb teeth"

 

[Cobweb]

Wow, thanks you everyone!
Eric, that sounds like a great Idea Unfortunately I don't have all of those bits required to do that I have got a metal file though, I'll see what I can do with that, it will probably take a while longer but it will be worth it. Thanks for the tip on making them smooth, I didn't think about that, but it makes sense now that you mention it. I'll have to PM you if it all goes to pot and invest in a pair from you

 

[Kepis]

Might have some long nails down the shed, i'll go and have a look for yer

 

[Ben Trout]

....and I thought I was done in the workshop for the evening.

If it is what you are after I have a load of 1 metre lengths of 1.6mm and a few of 2.4mm diameter stainless steel wire. I was given them and it's looking like a lifetime supply. If you need them whipped into lengths I've got an angle grinder and it'll be the work of minutes.

Tadpole makes a good point, those needles are tough as...

All the best for the project. No need to spend $120!

 

[hiraeth]

What about looking out for an old cycle wheel and cutting out the spokes, always seem to be plenty at our local river.

 

[bushwacker bob]

If you want stong nails, buy masonry nails, usual brand in the UK is 'obo's' they are available up to 75mm (3") Other,longer nails are either bright round wire or galvanised wire nails and the stronger ones are thicker diametre. 75mm Obo's are 2.65mm diameter whereas 100mm round wire nails are 3.85mm.