The Types of Nails

 In woodworking and construction, a nail is a pin-shaped object of metal (or wood, called a tree nail or "trunnel") which is used as a fastener, as a peg to hang something, or sometimes as a decoration. Generally, nails have a sharp point on one end and a flattened head on the other, but headless nails are available. Nails are made in a great variety of forms for specialized purposes. The most common is a wire nail. Other types of nails include pins, tacks, brads, spikes, and cleats.

• Clout nail – a roofing nail
• Coffin nail – general name for a nail used in a Coffin, slang for a cigarette and/or the final nail. Used less due to metal coffin manufacturing.
• Coil nail – nails designed for use in a pneumatic nail gun assembled in coils
• Common nail – smooth shank, wire nail with a heavy, flat head. The typical nail for framing
• Double-headed (duplex, formwork, shutter, scaffold) nail – used for temporary nailing; nails can easily pulled for later disassembly
• Dowel nail – a double pointed nail without a "head" on the shank, a piece of round steel sharpened on both ends
• Drywall (plasterboard) nail – short, hardened, ring-shank nail with a very thin head