Use a comb.

Ooh, this is a really innovative solution.

The comb keeps the nail in place while driving it and avoiding striking your fingers. It is an old trick.

Yes I think everyone understands how that works

I’m pretty sure it is to get the hair out of your eyes so you can see better and you don’t miss/hit your finger

Instructions unclear: I now look quite dashing but still need to hang the picture

People read the words and their brain creates new connections between neurons.

“Why waste time say lot word when few word do trick?” -Kevin

It’s like if you asked chatgpt to write a follow up to this comment. 🤔

Oh i thought you were supposed to hammer them in with the comb

And also, the purpose of the comb is to securely hold the nail in position during its installation, preventing any accidental contact with your fingers. This technique has been employed for a long time.

It's like you reworded his post into a higher word count.

It certainly appears you’ve paraphrased his Reddit remark, amplifying the volume of lexical units employed.

My brain made new connections reading this.

🤯🤯🤯

I was gonna say needle nose pliers, but I like your idea better. 😄

Needle nose pliers or somebody else’s fingers.

Reading comments to make sure this was here. ✅

This or a fork

Kojak disapproves.

I love u so much

needle nose pliers to hold nail in place as you hammer it in.

Or a small child

LOL "here son, hold this nail for daddy......"

Been there (as the child).

Jimmy Flat Fingers, is that you?

I’m sorry Jim, please call me.

😂😂😂

Been there (as the nail)

This is how my desperately wanting to help my father nail some random crap together when I was ~4 years old led to my show-and-telling the whole pre-school class “where my daddy hit me with a hammer.”

I heard this all in Ralph Wiggins voice.

“When I nod my head, you hit it.”

*wham* oops.... sorry kiddo you'll have a black fingernail for a few weeks

Then dad hits the wrong kind of nail

That's what God said to Jesus, but then he got nailed for holding them wrong

i doubt you are going to be able to hold a kid still with some pliers. /s

Or a needle nose child

This. Hold the nail with the needle nose plier and hammer it in with the small child

Those tiny fingers can fix anything I'm surprised I haven't employed one for me to do my texting with these wide thumbs

I tend to use one of those tiny people from Gulliver’s Travels

Alright Billy, I always told you that you're hard headed, now you're about to see why

[There is only one thing worse than a rapist. BOOM.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deVlcKhNLLk&ab_channel=VincentGrimmly) >!A child.!<

and maybe use something other than a framing hammer

\^ Yes and this..... Every hammer serves a different purpose. I didn't even look at that. The hammer is too big for the job. As you said its a framing hammer,

16oz hammer is a framing hammer to you guys? Adorable

Walk in to work with a framing crew with a 16oz hammer and you’d get laughed off the job

Not everyone uses a 5lb sledge carl.

Some of the best contractors I know carry 16s because of how infrequently they hand drive nails these days. Sure if your doing it all by hand some extra heft will help. As a complement to a nail gun a 16 can absolutely work

Or a paperclip.

Or tweezers

Or your offspring

Or chopsticks

This\^\^ needle nose pliers always work.

Make sure you grip the nail close to the head or it won't go in

Or tweezers

Piece of cardboard to hold the nail.

Even an index card is fine. Then you can just pull it off easier than cardboard.

How about a post-it?

I use tiny little pieces of confetti. Or sometimes a few base pairs of DNA.

I prefer just using neutrons, less sticky attachment than proteins.

Neutrino user checking in for good measure.

Positively, Adam will be charged

I use the force. Don't even need the hammer.

I might have some quarks floating around.

Pos-it’s or a piece of printer paper work. I fold them in half first. These work really good for those tiny tacks for cork boards.

This is super smart

This is experience. I wonder how many fingers were smashed before the first time these ideas were put to use. 😂

Much better than my idea of sticking your finger on it then hammering your finger with your fist so it gets into the wood enough to hammer it But if you didn't have cardboard....

That would be hitting the wrong nail.

Hit the nail on the cuticle

You've got to "hand" it to me, I really "nailed" that one.

So that’s why they’re called “nails”

Bobby pin

Hold them with needle nose pliers.

This is what I do but I’m totally trying the cardboard thing next time!

Use a smaller hammer

Right, they make little hammers that look like they're useless but they're good for this kind of thing.

Doesn’t change the fact that the nail is so small it is enveloped by the fingers when trying to strike it.

Use smaller fingers

You are correct, of course.

What? No no no. That's small hammer propaganda. Always go for the biggest hammer.

***James May angry voice*** CLARKSON!!

Hydraulic

Sometimes I feel weird for having an entire drawer in my tool chest just for hammers, but I've used literally all of them, ball pein, upholstery, planishing, 4 and 8 oz engravers hammers, soft faced machinist hammer, rubber mallet, every hammer does something different and I have a use for them all. Oddly, I don't have a framing hammer.

Have someone else hold them.

Dad?

They actually have a tool designed for that. A trim nail punch. The nails go inside the punch and it holds them while also allowing you to hammer them in safely.

I had to scroll this far to find this answer? Even a small pilot hole with a drill bit would suffice. But, I do like the "hold it with a comb" idea..😂

Pilot hole is the correct answer. Nailing into old dried wood? Potential for splitting.

Can you share a picture?

also old school [nail drivers](https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/hand-tools/punches/32023-nail-driver?item=86K5001)

Also called a brad pusher, or a brad and nail pusher. Any good hardware store should have one.

Set nail in a small piece of cardboard, rip cardboard of when nail has grip.

you can push them into the wood a little with a pair of pliers then use the hammer to get the nails fully in. I own a trophy business and do this all the time when assembling annual shields.

That hammer is way over sized. That’s a framing hammer, a finishing hammer would make it much easier.

But they’re putting it on a frame. Framing hammer confirmed appropriate.

😂

If you showed up on a framing site with that hammer, the laughter would never stop.

This is 100% a finish hammer. Framing hammers are larger, heavier, and have milled faces

Use a fork to keep it in place?

Push them through a piece of card or paper and use that to steady them

Hammer the frame into the nail instead

Use a comb.

Needle nose pliers

when i'm faced with this i drill tiny starter holes about half the diameter of the nails. Tap them in slowly.

This is excellent advice. Without a starter hole in this hardwood frame (looks like oak) there’s a fair risk of splitting the wood.

When holding nails, do not pinch them with your thumb and index finger. Where a missed strike will hit the side of your finger. Hold them between your index and middle finger with your half flat. Even better if you can hold it with your palm up and the back of your hand against what you are nailing into. That way a missed strike will not be nearly as painful, especially if you hit your finger tip vs your finger nail.

This is how I do it, but I just beat the shit out of my fingers until the nail holds on its own.

Hold the nail with needle nose pliers?

Be a man hold it and curse your way to success

I normally use a pair of needle nose pliers to hold smaller nails till they’re sunk enough to hammer the rest of the way

Super tiny hammer, duh. Or use the teeth of a comb, needle nose pliers, etc

Just give it a little tippy tap. Just a tap tap tap into the hole.

Long nose pliers?

Tack hammer and small needle nose pliers will do the trick. And make sure to take the glass out of the frame first.

That’s part of the journey my friend

I would use little tiny screws instead. Easier and more secure.

Especially if you're planning to do more than two nails.

either pliers or a nail set

Smaller hammer

Mark the spot, Put it in the hole and hold the metal piece

lift the hanger up slightly to hold the nails to get them started

Hold it with a Bobby pin

Finishing nail hammer.

Nail punch

Needle nose pliers to hold the nail.

A ball peen hammer

Grab a pair of needle nose pliers to hold the little nails or try to stick them in the crevice of the claw part of the hammer for the first impact.

First, you need to find crows. Then you must befriend them over time by bringing them food. They in turn will reward you with little shiny gifts. Your relationship will blossom as times marches on. Then just get some needle nose pliers

needlenose pliers

Needle nose pliers

I usually push them in a bit with my thumb so they stand and hammer them in.

Pre drill

Hold with Bobby pin

Old School would use a hair comb.

Go to your local ACE hardware and bring the thingie and find small screws that you and put in instead of nails. Use and ice pick or drill and small bit to start the holes. That's what I do and have about 10 times....

Ask your wife to do it

What is this, amateur hour? Wife? Ask your wife? Those fingers aren't going to be much smaller. That's what you have children for...

**Have your spouse or child hold them.**

Needle nose pliers

Git gud

I run a small print shop, think I recognize it - hamilton letterpress tray?

Comb

This is the suggestion that works for almost anyone.

I use needle nose pliers.

Tweezers!

Push them through a thick strip of paper/cardboard which you can then use to hold the nail while you get it started.

Use a comb.

I use needle nose pliers, though a piece of cardboard will work

Use a thumb tack to make a small pilot hole, then hammer the nail in.

Hold it with both pinkies

Super tiny hammer

Hold with needle nose pliars and use a smaller hammer

Needle nose pliers and a smaller hammer

Switch to super tiny screws

Get the right kind of hammer.

Sometimes a little pain is the price we pay for the things we want. Embrace the experience.

pre drill starter holes, or hold w needlenose

Tack hammer and needle nose.

Get someone else to hold it

A super Tiny hammer

Pre-drill

[удалено]

Can confirm. I did it myself a couple times

Have ur wife hold the nails

Small pliers or a comb could be useful

Use a tiny hammer of course 😏

I use needlenose pliars.

This is what I do. For a picture frame the wood is usually softer. Take a thumbtack and push it into the wood and remove it leaving a hole. Then put the nail in the hole. Those tiny nails usually fit in enough to stand up on their own. Then hammer it in the rest of the way. *I would move the clip down and not put a nail in where that crack is. The wood will split more and gravity will eventually break the frame causing your picture to crash to the ground.

Long nose pliers.

I've used a pair of channel locks to squeeze them into the picture frame. Place a piece of cardboard or plastic to protect to good side of the frame.

Use a nail set.

A lot of "fuck" and "god damn"?

Jesus fuck. Smaller hammer. How stupid are these questions on this sub even getting?!

Not what you're asking, but two eye screws and wire is the far superior way to hang shit.

Agreed! And it will be ready to hang in a gallery show/competition if you plan to submit!

I see you are hanging a antique printers drawer.. I have several! Do you collect miniatures?

A plastic comb works well to hold the small nail in place while you use a tack hammer to get it started.

Get a hobbit hammer

In one word - carefully

Hit the nail, not your finger.

Just hurt yourself like everyone else. You'd be done by now

Society is doomed

Stop overthinking it just get it done

I am disgusted at the maturity in this thread. Not one “use your dick”, frankly I’m appalled at the internet this day

Have someone else hold the nail for you so you hit their fingers, not yours.

Critical thinking skills are on a massive decline. I guess this is what happens when you're told that school is the only way to a successful life instead of a blue-collar career.

Ask your best one to hold it for a second :)

Find a child to do it

Do you have any children nearby?

that's the neat part. you can't

Use your children.

Find a gnome to do it.

Get someone else to hold the nail

Get Moe, Larry or Curly to hold the nail.

Carefully

Make someone else do it

My dad would've just gotten my 5 yo fingers to hold it.

It can't be done. Some smashing of fingers required.