National Nail Corporation

Roger A Vandenberg

Todd E A Schwartzkopf

Christopher Michael Colyn

Todd Ea Schwartzkopf

Douglas F Hutchings

A self-sealing fastener is provided to preserve fluid barriers on building components such as panels, sheets, boards and other work pieces. The fastener can be a form of a nail having a shaft and a pointed tip opposite a head that projects radially outward from the shaft. The fastener can include a striker post extending from the head opposite the shaft a preselected distance. A plug defining a bore can be placed atop the head and registered with the striker post so that the post extends through the bore. The post can extend above the plug, and the plug's upper surface can be unobstructed by any part of the fastener or post. A related method of use includes striking the post with an automated driver to drive the shaft into a panel; penetrating the panel with the head to create a hole; and plugging the hole above the head with the plug.

Self-sealing fastener and related method of use

A plug cutting tool that produces plugs having an aesthetic exterior surface common to a donor board. The tool can include a tool axis; a carrier that rotates about the tool axis; and a blade which is joined with the carrier and which includes a first cutting edge moveable along a first extension axis transverse to the tool axis as the blade rotates about the tool axis. The first cutting edge angles toward and moves closer to the tool axis as the first cutting edge bores a groove in a donor board. The first cutting edge can advance into the donor board to produce the groove surrounding a plug having a plug face, a plug bottom, and a plug sidewall inwardly tapered from the plug face to the plug bottom so that the plug face has a greater dimension than the plug bottom. A related method of use is provided.

Bladed plug cutting tool and related method of use

A fastener unit and related method for securing a board to a support is provided. The fastener unit includes a spacer block, a grip element extending from the spacer block and configured to fit in and engage a groove of the board, and one or more board engagement elements extending from a portion of the spacer block. The board engagement elements can clamp the board, between an upper and/or lower surface of the board and a groove of the board, thereby securing the spacer block in a position adjacent the groove to establish a gap between the board and another board. Related methods of use also are provided.

Hidden fastener unit and related method of use

A fastener unit and related method for securing a board to a support is provided. The fastener unit includes a spacer block, a grip element extending from the spacer block and configured to fit in and engage a groove of the board, and one or more board engagement elements. The board engagement elements can engage the groove of the board, thereby securing the spacer block in a position adjacent the groove to establish a gap between the board and another board. Related methods of use also are provided.

A fastener cap system can include a rigid cap and a sealing member which forms a liquid barrier so moisture is impaired from entering a space under the rigid cap and/or around a fastener installed through it. The sealing member can include a central seal disposed on an upper surface of the cap, the seal extending beyond a head of a fastener, which extends through the cap and sealing member, so that moisture is impaired from entering the cap under the head. The sealing member can be above and below respective lowermost and uppermost cap surfaces so the cap system can be fed cleanly and efficiently through a cap feeder during installation via a tool. The sealing member, which can have a higher coefficient of friction than the rigid cap, thereby does not drag along a cap feeder and cause feeding issues. Related methods of manufacture and use are provided.

Sealed fastener cap and related method of manufacture

A fastener unit and related method for securing a board to a support is provided. The fastener unit includes a spacer block, a grip element extending from the spacer block and configured to fit in and engage a groove of the board, and one or more resilient compression elements joined with the spacer block. The resilient compression elements can be vertically compressible so at least a portion of it can move from an open mode to a compression mode and fit within, then forcibly expand within, the groove, thereby securing the spacer block in a position adjacent the groove to establish a gap between the board and another board. Related methods of use also are provided.

An installation tool and related methods are provided. The tool can pull a strip of collated fasteners along a collated fastener path to a guide, where individual fasteners are sequentially separated from the strip and advanced into a workpiece. The tool can include a tension feeder located downstream of the guide. The tension feeder is configured to apply tension to the strip between the guide and a leading end of the strip. The tool can include a driveshaft configured to attach to a conventional drive tool chuck or a drive tool having hexagonal type drive components. The guide can be one piece and replaceable, with a guide body and a guide head. A strip slot can be defined in the same to align a fastener head with a backstop and facilitate entry of a fastener shank in a feed slot. Related methods of use are provided.

Tension fed fastener installation tool and related methods of use

A fastener guide is provided including a base plate that engages a first board, a guide member that maintains an advancing fastener at a preselected offset angle relative to the first board, and a retainer clip that engages a second board that is transverse to the first board. The retainer clip includes first and second prongs that resiliently hold the guide in place as the fastener is advanced at the offset angle, optionally without manual input so that a user can manipulate the fastener and a driving tool instead of holding the guide to align the fastener. A related method of use is provided.

Screw guide and related method of use

Fastener positioning device

A fastener installation tool is provided with a first fastener guide that guides a fastener into a side of a workpiece at an angle, and includes a pusher block that can be used to urge the workpiece toward an adjacent workpiece. The tool can include a second fastener guide having a spacer with a spacer width that establishes a consistent, predetermined gap between the adjacent workpieces. The pusher block can be strengthened via a pusher block width that is greater than the spacer width to withstand forces when the pusher block urges one workpiece toward another. The guide can be selectively moveable in a guide tube and able to be clamped in a selected location therein to set the spacer a predetermined distance from the pusher block to accommodate a variety of board sizes. Related methods of use also are provided.

Fastener installation tool and related method of use

A fastener unit and related method for securing a board to a support is provided. The fastener unit includes a spacer block, a grip element extending from the spacer block and configured to fit in and engage a groove of the board, and one or more resilient compression elements extending from the spacer block. The one or more resilient compression elements can be a joist leg configured to engage a joist, or it can be vertically compressible toward a first plane that is transverse to a vertical axis of the spacer block so that portions of it can compress from an open mode to a compressed mode and fit within, then forcibly expand within the groove, thereby securing the spacer block in a position adjacent the groove to establish a gap between the board and another board. A related method of use also is provided.

Growing community of inventors

Hudsonville, MI, United States of America

Roger A Vandenberg