Guide to Decorative Upholstery Tacks Purchasing

Last Updated on Wednesday, 04 February 2009 05:08 Written by Administrator Thursday, 06 November 2008 20:00

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Decorative Upholstery Nails, Decorative Nail Heads, Decorative Upholstery Tacks, Upholstery Decorative Brass Tacks, Leather Furniture Tacks, Decorator Nail Heads, Antique Furniture Brass Tacks, Designer Nail Heads, Upholstery Supplies, French Natural Upholstery Nails, Dome Heads, Clavos, Oxford Hammered, Upholstery Tacks, Nail Heads, Brads, Leather Fasteners, Brass Tack Nail Head Trim, Brass Upholstery Tacks.

 

These are all terms I have heard used to call these decorative upholstery nails. Please email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you have a term for decorative upholstery tacks that is not listed. "Clavos" is Spanish for nails. Also please send us a email if your are looking for upholstery supplies that you are not finding on this site. We are dedicated to making this site the most comprehensive resource for furniture upholstery supplies on the net. If there is a category of upholstery supplies or a specific item you are not finding, give us a chance to see if we can find it for you. In some cases we actually may stock the item under a different name or term than you are using. If there are upholstery supplies available we will do our best to try and source them for you. We do stock over one thousand bolts of Decorative upholstery fabric and would be happy to send you a sample if you are shopping for wholesale upholstery fabric. Additionally we distribute many name brand designer / decorator lines like Robert Allen Fabrics, Kravet Fabrics, Duralee Fabrics and many other fine decorative upholstery fabric designer lines.

 

Decorative upholstery tacks can be special ordered with the following shank styles:

Standard Smooth, Serrated, Double Prong, Button Loop Back, Serrated with Spring Prong Washer. However these brass tacks do require a minimum order to purchase for our upholstery supplies department. Many of these speciality upholstery supplies are available only on a minimum purchase basis. Call or email us about the details of your upholstery tack requirements. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brandt and Whitney Furniture upholstery supplies stocks over 200 styles, finishes, sizes and shank length choices of decorative upholstery brass tacks in our upholstery supply department! Just about every style of decorative nail heads has some variation in finish options available. Some of the latest innovations in upholstery brass tacks are very exciting. We try to stay up with the most innovative upholstery supplies available in our upholstery supply department.

 

French Natural and Oxford Hammered is the most commonly seen decorative upholstery nail, but that does not even scratch the surface in the world of upholstery supplies and  upholstery nails. For special order upholstery tacks we do have some interesting options available. The new Brandt and Whitney Xtreme hardware fasteners will give you the option of:

 

nail / shank, screw back, cap back, rivet back, button eye, pin back, 2 - 3 or 4 prongs back, clutch back or a wood screw adapter.  NOTE:  There is a minimum order of 25,000 nails with these different backings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All our decorative upholstery nails are made by the best quality furniture upholstery stud manufacturers in the USA and Germany.  All of are upholstery tacks are solid steel construction with decorative electro-plated plated finishes applied. Decorative nail heads are now available in many finishes including silver upholstery tack finishes.

Not every upholstery tack is available in all finishes.  But the finishes of upholstery nails we offer include: # 16 Oxidized, # 17 Old Copper, #18 Copper Plated, #19 Brass Plated, #20 Old Brass Spotted, #21 French Natural, #22 Pearl Gray, #23 Zinc Plated, #24 Old Nickel, #25 Old Gold 0, #26 French Natural. 23, #27 Old Brass No. 4, #28 French Natural No. 106, #29 Old Gold Spotted, #30 Old Gold Spotted Reddish, #31 Shiny Black, #32 Black Nickel, #33 Old Gold Spotted, Brown No. 2, #34 Black Brown Finish, #35 Old Gold Spotted, Brown No. 1, #36 French Natural No. 107, #37 Natural No. 1, #38 Old Gold Spotted "IT", #39 Platinum, #40 Flat Black, #41 Pewter No. 2, #42 Old Gold Spotted, Z No.1, #43 Old Gold Spotted R, #44 Black Nickel No. 1, #45 French Natural No. 4, #46 Old Gold Spotted Z No. 3, #47 Yellow Zinc, #48 Tin Plated, #49 Nickel Oxford, #50 Old Zinc Spotted IT, #51 Pewter No. 3, #52 Copper Oxford, #53 Light Oxidized, #54 Black Nickel No. 6, #55 Silver Black, #56 Brown Black, and #57 Brass Black.

 

The most common dome head nails are available in up to about twenty finishes. Many of the designer furniture nails only come in one or two finishes. If you require a special order run for a custom upholstery nail head finish that is not currently available, we require a minimum order of one-hundred-thousand (100,000) designer tacks.

 

The shank or nail length of our decorative nail heads varies in length from 3/8" up to 1". Smaller decorative upholstery nails have smaller shanks.  A few of our decorative upholstery nails are actually offered in two different shank lengths. The tack head sizes of our decorative furniture upholstery nails vary from 5/32" in diameter up to 1 3/16" in diameter.

 

When shopping for decorative antique upholstery nails you first need to figure out how many decorative upholstery tacks you will need. You do that by first determining the diameter of the decorative upholstery nail head you wish to use. Second, you need to measure the total length of the area that is to be trimmed. With those two numbers you can figure how many nails you need. If this sounds like one of those high school algebra word problems and you feel like you could use a second opinion on how many decorative nail heads to order, feel free to post to our message board for a second opinion.  Always order at least 10% more upholstery tacks than what you think you are going to need. Look for a vendor who distributes the decorative upholstery tacks in quantities that best matches your needs. 

 

Quality is important! That is why all our upholstery tacksare American and European made. Fine manufactures like Massasoit Tack Band, Heico Fasteners, and Turner & Seymour make the best quality upholstery tack nails. We do not buy our upholstery nails from D.A.D.S. or sometimes called Dads upholstery tacks. We do not distribute the decorative nail heads from China. The quality is not to our standards. I do see some of these Chinese manufactured upholstery decorative nails available on the internet and you can tell from the photos that they are not the same quality. 

Installing decorative upholstery nails requires patience and a few good furniture upholstery tools. All the tools mentioned in this paragraph are distributed through our decorative upholstery tack store. A nylon-tipped magnetic hammer No. 36 by C.S. Osborneis a must have. The nylon tip will keep you from nicking the plated finish on the decorative upholstery brass tacks. The other tip on this hammer is magnetic and is useful in the picking up and setting the decorative upholstery nail into your project.

 

Another tool many upholsters find helpful is the C. S. Osborne Quick Nailer No. 777. This tool will keep you from giving blood while trying to install your decorative upholstery brass tacks. It will conveniently hold up to 5 nails in place at a time while you hammer them in--no bloody or bruised fingers. Even and exact spacing every time!  Load the large end of the Quick Nailer with your upholstery tacks, making sure the decorative upholstery nails are perpendicular to each other and the nail shanks are flush with the base of the tool. Position the tunneled section of the tool over last nail driven and begin setting decorative upholstery brass tacks. Also the C. S. Osborne Magnetic Nail Holder No. 631 is a very helpful tool, especially if you are installing brass head nails in tight areas where the hammer head will not reach.  

 

If you are installing a lot of brass upholstery nails, you might consider using a nail gun.  We have two decorative upholstery tacks nail guns that we stock which will easily automate the job of upholstery tack installation. For high volume and manufacturing of items requiring installation of thousands of decorator upholstery brass tacks. I recommend the Design Tool Inc. DTI 7000. Its features are easy to maneuver, very accurate and the light-weight operation reduces operator fatigue. The unique barrel design will drive your decorative nail heads straight in to your project every time. The barrel is designed to drive furniture upholstery tacks in any direction.  The nail head gun will not damage tacks or harm fabric cloth, leather, vinyl, etc. The driving power is adjustable for varying hardness of frame material.  The machine will not waste brass head nails. This upholstery nail head gun speeds up production.  One upholsterer can install the same amount of decorative upholstery tacks as four upholsters manually installing brass furniture tacks. Modifications can be made to accommodate various size brass head nails. This pneumatic upholstery nail gun requires minimum maintenance.

 

If you are a custom craft shop and would like to increase the installation productivity of leather furniture upholstery tacks, I recommend the Pneumatic Power Nail Gun KZ-312. This specialty pneumatic upholstery nails head gun features a pneumatic power nailer compact design and special purpose decorator nail gun head attachments for the most widely used head sizes and shapes of decorative upholstery nails. It is safe, durable, practical, portable, straight forward, easy to handle, flexible, and fast. This Power Tool will reduce production cost. The nose piece design of the gun easily allows for easy setting all decorative nail sizes, from a diameter of 7/16" nail head up to a diameter of 1 1/8" nail head, including round brass tack heads, square upholstery copper tack heads, oval decorative brass tack heads and conical furniture upholstery brass tack heads & nails. Through a quick connect coupler, the gun is directly connected to your air supply. The controlled pneumatic operation of the Setting Tool assures a consistent nail set. The "front loader" concept is as simple as it is effective. Just drop a nail into the mouthpiece. A magnet in the center will hold the nail in place and allows for horizontal and vertical operation. The gun is exceptionally robust and reliable in operation.

 

Often when installing brass tacks especially when installing upholstery tacks in antique upholstered furniture, the upholstery tacks are installed over the top of Gimp Trim. Commonly referred to as chair braid or upholstery gimp trim, it is a small 5/8" woven tape. It actually comes in a variety of patterns the two most common are scroll gimp and french braid gimp. We stock over 500 colors of gimp trim, chair braid. We are happy to work with you to help you with your selection of gimp. You can email or snail mail us a color picture of your fabric you are trying to match. You can order cutting of our inventory we will send you up to 10 small cuttings for .50 postage.   

 

It is worth mentioning that chain link decorator trim and matching tacks are available in a variety of sizes and finishes. This is about the easiest installation of all. Every forth or fifth brad is an actual real upholstery brass tack. The other three or four in the row are just the furniture tack heads and they are all connected. This flexible connection that allows you to trim around curves as well as compound curves with the tack strip. Your leather furniture nail head project will trim quickly and easily. It is not an exact substitute for the individual stud look, but the trade off is it is more cost effective and quicker for very large areas. Some of our Stilfix/Andies are available on the roll, some or our French Natural trims are available on the strips about 39" each.

 

What I find more interesting than any of the above mentioned is all the different projects people buy and use these decorative brass upholstery studs for. The obvious is, of course, furniture upholstery and leather upholstery. Our customers use these decorative nail heads to trim wall upholstery, staircases and back-splashes and to decorate antique trunks, foot lockers, cases, jewelry boxes, musician cases, music boxes, clocks, leather crafts, saddles and clothing. I find it amazing to see all the different application these basic upholstery tacks are used for. 

 

Dress Up Your Home Decor with upholstery Nailhead Trim

Nailhead trim is a decorative accent that is used to embellish upholstered furniture. The upholstery tacks detail gives furniture a sophisticated look. Decorative nail heads can accentuate the style of the piece, and it is usually used on arms and rails. You'll find it commonly used with leather-upholstered furniture, particularly leather sofas, chairs and ottomans.

 

History of upholstery Nails

Upholstery nailhead tacks dates back to the period of 1560-1643 and the advent of French Country Style during the reign of Louis XIII. The best-known innovation from this period is the Os de Mouton chair. That piece marked the introduction of upholstery tacks as well as upholstered backs and seats with the popular flame stitch pattern.

 

Uses with Re-upholstering Furniture

You can also use nailhead detail when re-upholstering your own furniture to add a finished look and to hide staples or imperfections. Decorative nails come in many designs and finishes. From plain to ornate, polished brass to brushed nickel, you can find a nailhead trim to coordinate with your home's decor and existing sofas and chairs. Check hardware stores and home centers for a selection of decorative nail heads.

Individual decorative nail heads must be hammered in one by one. You can get a nail spacer that helps you space upholstery tacks neatly and evenly along the fabric edge. Alternatively, you can purchase a continuous designer nailhead trim strip that looks like many decorative nail heads joined together, and you can hammer in every few upholstery tacks instead of each one. To prevent damage to the decorative nail head when you are installing, use a lightweight tack hammer with a nylon tip.

 

Our in stock selection of over 200 styles sizes and finishes of decorative upholstery nailsand tacks are all on our Decorative upholstery nail head tack store. If you don't see the decorative upholstery tack or brass nail head you are looking for feel free to call us toll free at 1-(866) 528-4170. 

 

This web site has a message board / blog you can join in the conversation or just get answers to all your decorative upholstery brass nail head questions. 

 

Do You Sell Antique Nails Made Of Brass?

Last Updated on Monday, 20 October 2008 09:13 Written by Administrator Wednesday, 17 September 2008 10:15

Do You Sell Antique Nails Made of Brass?

No.   All of our decorative upholstery tacks are made of solid steel.  Brass is too soft of a metal and would bend or break if you hit it with a hammer.  The furniture nails we sell that look like brass are actually electro-plated, giving the upholstery nails their different finishes, including brass, nickel, copper, zink and other plated metallic finishes. After the decorative upholstery tacks are plated, the specialty effect and a sealer coat is applied to give the desired tarnish or antique effect. If you have any questions about Decorative upholstery tacks or any other upholstery supplies feel fee to call our upholstery supply department @ 1-866-528-4170.