Round nails and collated round nail strips

摘要

A wire nail (10) includes a head (12) having a circumferential edge forming to a complete circle which is radially offset in relation to the shank (14) of the nail (10). A flat surface (22) on the head (12) preferably provides a datum indicating where the shank is located. In some embodiments, a tangent plane defined by a lower portion of the head (14) is oriented at an acute angle (75 DEG to 85 DEG ) relative to the shank (14). In all cases the nails (10) are orientatable side by side with their heads overlapping to form a strip. A flat surface (30) on the shank (14) provides a datum for orienting the nail (10) and a group of similar nails (10). In a strip of such nails, the flat surfaces (30) on the shanks (14) of the individual nails (10) define an open channel (66), which coacts with a rib on one wall of a nail-feeding mechanism. In a nail-making machine, two gripping members defining an annular recess and a punch are used to form such a nail from a wire of a malleable metal. IMAGE