Jump to main content

Holding Power of Nails

1
2
3
4
5
268 reviews

Summary

Areas of Science
Difficulty
 
Time Required
Short (2-5 days)
Credits
*Note: For this science project you will need to develop your own experimental procedure. Use the information in the summary tab as a starting place. If you would like to discuss your ideas or need help troubleshooting, use the Ask An Expert forum. Our Experts won't do the work for you, but they will make suggestions and offer guidance if you come to them with specific questions.

If you want a Project Idea with full instructions, please pick one without an asterisk (*) at the end of the title.

Abstract

How strongly do different types of nails hold in wood? Try different diameters of nails, and try pounding them to different depths. To gauge the holding strength, measure how difficult it is to remove the nail. Can you pull it out with a pair of pliers? Can you remove it with the hammer claw? Do you have to push only a little bit, moderately hard, or as hard as you can? Do you need a crowbar? What happens if you pre-drill holes for the nails, using drill bits that are different percentages of the nail diameter? You can also try different types of wood as an independent variable. Another idea would be to compare the holding strength of various sizes of wood screws vs. nails. (Hess, 2006)

Bibliography

Hess, J.R., 2006, personal communication.
icon scientific method

Ask an Expert

Do you have specific questions about your science project? Our team of volunteer scientists can help. Our Experts won't do the work for you, but they will make suggestions, offer guidance, and help you troubleshoot.

Careers

If you like this project, you might enjoy exploring these related careers:

Career Profile
What makes it possible to create high-technology objects like computers and sports gear? It's the materials inside those products. Materials scientists and engineers develop materials, like metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites, that other engineers need for their designs. Materials scientists and engineers think atomically (meaning they understand things at the nanoscale level), but they design microscopically (at the level of a microscope), and their materials are used macroscopically… Read more
Career Profile
Mechanical engineers are part of your everyday life, designing the spoon you used to eat your breakfast, your breakfast's packaging, the flip-top cap on your toothpaste tube, the zipper on your jacket, the car, bike, or bus you took to school, the chair you sat in, the door handle you grasped and the hinges it opened on, and the ballpoint pen you used to take your test. Virtually every object that you see around you has passed through the hands of a mechanical engineer. Consequently, their… Read more
Career Profile
If you turned on a faucet, used a bathroom, or visited a public space (like a road, a building, or a bridge) today, then you've used or visited a project that civil engineers helped to design and build. Civil engineers work to improve travel and commerce, provide people with safe drinking water and sanitation, and protect communities from earthquakes and floods. This important and ancient work is combined with a desire to make structures that are as beautiful and environmentally sound, as they… Read more
Career Profile
What do race cars, bridges, boats, computers, bikes, and cell phones all have in common? They all require welding, or using tools to permanently bond pieces of metal together. Welders' skills are needed to assemble many of the objects you encounter and use every day. A career in welding could take you to the garage for a famous car race, to the tops of the highest buildings, or even to the bottom of the ocean! Read more

News Feed on This Topic

 
, ,

Cite This Page

General citation information is provided here. Be sure to check the formatting, including capitalization, for the method you are using and update your citation, as needed.

MLA Style

Science Buddies Staff. "Holding Power of Nails." Science Buddies, 20 Nov. 2020, https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/CE_p019/civil-engineering/holding-power-of-nails. Accessed 28 May 2023.

APA Style

Science Buddies Staff. (2020, November 20). Holding Power of Nails. Retrieved from https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/CE_p019/civil-engineering/holding-power-of-nails


Last edit date: 2020-11-20
Top
Free science fair projects.