A tacky posting
 

In the interest of sharing vital information with other enthusiasts here, I submit the following.
Restoring a '30 Fordor. Removing the old seat covers to re-do. I report that the front edge of the rear seat cushion upholstery, which is about 54 inches across, was held in place with 96 tacks......thats about one every half inch. I sometimes think about how much hand labor went into building these cars compared to how its done today. Wow!

Re: A tacky posting
 

Old time upholsterers worked amazingly fast. Common practice was to load a bunch of tacks in one's mouth, spitting them out one at a time, in correct orientation to be transferred to the magnetic head of the hammer.

Joe B

Re: A tacky posting
 

I worked with a roofer many years ago who would hold the roofing nails in his mouth. He would throw half away because they were backwards. He told me to hold the nails between two fingers with the fleshy part of the fingers up. That way when you hit the fingers with the hammer it did not hurt as much as when you hit the fingernail.

By the way, do not hold tacks or any nails in your mouth these days. It is a safety issue. Of course, now a days everyone uses a pneumatic nailer or stapler. I have a pneumatic upholstery stapler that I use for upholstery work on my cars.

Re: A tacky posting
 

While we on on this subject, lathe nails used to be flavored since they were held in your mouth before use. Times have changed!

Re: A tacky posting
 

I tacked the roof on my Sport Coupe, glad I did..original ford hardwood dried over 90 years, the tacks bit and held. I lined the bows with flatbar and pattern screwed it to stiffen the joints..

Re: A tacky posting
 

I once watched a guy putting up a paling fence. When it came to attaching the palings, he used about 1 1/2" nails for the first run, then 2" for the top paling. He held the nail between thumb and forefinger with his left hand and hammer in the right. Just as he began his swing with the hammer, he let go of the nail. The timing was so precise that the nail was still there when the hammer struck the head squarely and with ONE blow, the nail was driven home. I was left wondering how many broken fingers he suffered perfecting that and how many nails were left laying in the grass.

Re: A tacky posting
 

Quick demo of spitting tacks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCviBqqWAv0

Re: A tacky posting
 

Quick demo of spitting tacks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCviBqqWAv0

Shot a fly out of mid-air! Don't mess with that guy.....