[TheForge] nail header question

[Demon Buddha]

Steven.Walker at its.state.ms.us wrote:
>    I  recently  purchased a nail header from Tom Clark at Ozark School of
>    Blacksmithing  and  I am having some trouble with nails getting wedged
>    in  it  after  forming  the  nail head.  I did some reading about nail
>    headers and how to make them and the tapered square hole in mine seems
>    to  be  punched  in the opposite direction than what I've read you are
>    supposed to do.
>    The  one I bought from Ozark S of B has the tapered hole larger on the
>    top   of   the   dome   and   smaller   on  the  bottom....like  this:
>    ======\  /
>    This originally seemed correct to me because that's the same direction
>    the  nail  tapers.  However, hammering down on the head is pushing the
>    tapered  nail  into  the tapered hole and making contact evenly on all
>    sides....and getting stuck.

	Are you SURE you're inserting the nails in the correct end?  If the 
header is as you describe, then it is 180* out of whack with any header 
I have ever seen or used.  The hole should taper away from the nail, not 
with it, for precisely the reasons you cite.  Is it possible that they 
punched one backwards?  I would contact them and ask.

>    However,  after  reading  various  blacksmith's instructions on how to
>    make  one,  they all seem to  say to make the taper smaller on  top of
>    the  dome  and  larger  at  the  bottom  to keep the nail from getting
>    stuck.....like this: ======/  \

	Yes, this is the only correct way that I am aware of.

>    Seems with the hole tapered like the one I bought \  / , the nail gets
>    wedged  and stuck when I form the head of the nail. I have to pound on
>    it to get it out and it always screws the nail up.
>    My  question  is what is the correct way to taper the hole in the nail
>    header. I wondering if Ozark S of B might have punched the taper in my
>    backward accidentally. 

	See above. :)