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This is a fun little puzzle that may get a conversation going. You may have seen it before as it has been around for quite some time now but it still makes a great conversation piece and there are still many people who have not yet see this one.
I don’t remember who it was that introduced this puzzle to me, but I do remember the day when my family had a friend or another family member over and we were sitting at the kitchen table visiting when this friend or family member pulled out a small block of wood with a single nail sticking out of it. He then set down a whole bunch of nails and he said to me “I bet you can’t balance all 16 of these nails onto this one nail head.”
I was just a kid then and was probably in Junior High or High School. It was also before we had our first family desktop computer that ran on Windows 95 so it wasn’t like I could do much research online to find the solution…that just wasn’t a thing back then.
One thing that I really enjoy are puzzles, especially the ones you have to disassemble and then reassemble. I may not be able to solve them all or it may take me a while to solve it, but it wouldn’t be a challenge if it was something easy and I enjoy a good challenge once in a while.
Back at the kitchen table…This puzzle peaked my interest. I didn’t think it would be possible to solve but when you really think about the science behind things, you just kind of start trying different ways on how something like this may work. He wouldn’t be carrying this puzzle around with him to show people if it wasn’t possible to solve, right? After a couple attempts at solving this puzzle, I got it! I was impressed with myself and so was he. He thought I have seen this puzzle from someone else, which I hadn’t. Maybe I understood the physics behind this. Maybe I got lucky.
History
I have done some research on this puzzle and have had zero luck on finding any history on it. Nothing about who may have come up with this puzzle and nothing on the approximate year it was discovered.
My best guess is that this came from some carpenter taking a break one day on the job site and saw this nail sticking out of some 2×4 on the ground where he was sitting and wondered if he could balance multiple nails on top of that one nail head (Sounds like he was bored). Or maybe it was a group of carpenters that were taking a break and one of them challenged another with that idea. Who knows. If you have a story or know the history of this puzzle, share it with us in the comments section below, we would love to hear it.
All I know is that it has been around for at least 25 years…this is based on about how long I have been aware of this puzzle. It could be much longer than that.
You can make this puzzle yourself!
The assembly of this puzzle is super simple and can be made with just a couple supplies. You might already have the wood on hand and you might already have some nails.
What you will need
Block of wood – Grab any block of wood. I have made these puzzles with a piece of Oak 1.5″ wide x 3″ long x .75″ thick and also a separate puzzle with a 2×4. Anything that creates a fairly solid base so it doesn’t move around or wiggle on you.
Nails – I like using 16d nails because I can balance 16 of those nails on top of the one nail head. I have used smaller nails, but the smaller the nail, the fewer nails you use. The only thing you need to be sure of is that the nails need to have a distinguishable head. A finish nail most likely will not work because the head is too small (This might be a slight hint).
Hammer and Drill with drill bit – The drill and drill bit are for pre-drilling before you hammer in the nail. This is to prevent splitting the wood if you choose a harder wood like oak. If you are nailing onto the face of a 2×4, then you most likely don’t need to predill unless it is close to an edge.
History Lesson
What is the “d” behind the 16?
The “d” is read as “penny”. This means 16d is read as 16-penny and 10d is read as 10-penny nail. This is a way to indicate nail length. This designation of “penny” is common terminology in today’s construction and has been around for many many years, all the way back from when the Romans occupied England as we know it today.
Back then, nails were had forged and the cost of nails where based on weight and based on a hundred nails. Nails of a particular length would weigh and cost a certain amount. For example, a hundred 3.5″ hand forged nails would cost 16-penny (16d). A hundred 2.5″ nails would cost 8-penny (8d).
Why “d”? The “d” comes from an ancient Roman silver coin called denarius and was also the name for the English penny.
Assembly
Pick your wooden base and pre-drill a hole in the center of the board for the nail. I recommend pre-drilling so you don’t split the wood, especially if you are using a nice piece of Oak like the ones shown below. These are the original designs I made years ago and is very similar to the one I was introduced to.
That is the super simple method. Of course, you could make the base as elaborate as you want. Another one I recently made has a spot for the nails to be stored like the one shown below. I even thought about making a wooden box with a drawer to store the nails in and have the nail sticking out the top of the box. If you want to make this one, check out the instructions below.
The Challenge
If you are using 16d nails, use 16 of those nails to balance them all on top of the one nail head that is sticking out of the wood.
Rules:
The rules are simple, but there are a few things that you can’t do.
- The nails that are being balanced cannot be bent.
- The nails cannot touch anything other than the nails themselves. Not the table, wood block, wall…NOTHING.
- Cannot use any other tool to support the nails, including glue or tape.
That’s pretty much it. Simple rules, simple concept. Can you do it?
Solution
I am not going to ruin the surprise for those of you who want to figure this out on your own, so to prevent giving up the solution here, I have created this downloadable PDF so you can view it when you are ready.
Final Challenge
Would you like to see if you can beat the Guinness World Record for the most nails balanced on a single nail head? Then you will have to beat 349 nails! Check it out here (DO NOT CLICK THIS LINK IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THE SOLUTION YET). Now that is impressive!
Make Your Own With Nail Storage
Here is a quick step by step on how I made the nail puzzle with nail storage…
Now all that is left is for you to go solve this puzzle. Once you solve it, use it as a conversation piece with your friends and family. Set out on the coffee table or some place where visitors will see it and want to try it.
Rick Simper has various hobbies, including woodworking, metalworking, composting, and gardening. He is an Architect full time and uses these hobbies to get away from the busy week of Architecture.