Brad, the slide hammer works very well, you can attach a set of vice grips to the end, you want a heavy model not a light one. I refiled the teeth on my set of VG's to better grip the peg. My order to peg removal is, 1st-drive from the back if that doesn't take, drill a pilot hole and use a large shank screw, the small ones will snap, 4"-6" screws are a nice length. Timber lock screws can be found at Home Depot etc. for small quantities. The hose clamp helps also. With the bent down on the ground, it is difficult to drive from the back. If it's new construction and a peg has to be removed for some reason or another and the peg has not been cut off just clamp the VG"s to the peg and pull away. Some combination,there abouts usually works. My last resort is to bore the the peg. Tim

Thank you. I never thought the big boxes would have these. I avoid going in HD if at all possible, but I'll check at Lowes when I go today and if they don't have them, I'll go into HD.

The slide hammer and vice grip combo tool is also the best way in the world to pull old nails from recycled timber. We've tried them all.

Gabel, Is this a commercially made tool you speak of -vice grip attached to the slide hammer? If home made, could you provide a pic? Thanks.

Try your local auto parts store. Some come with a selection of adaptors for pulling different items gears, dents etc.. You screw out the adjustment screw on the VGs and screw in a the adaptor which screws onto the slide hammer, I ended up welding the adaptor to the slide hammer due to over use, the threads pulled away. Its a slick tool. Tim

homemade -- the adjustment screw on the end of the vg's handle is welded to the slide hammer. I don't have any pics right now, sorry.

Here's one I found commercially available. I'm not so sure it's made by irwin or not. Could be home made with the right tools.


So you use this for pulling pegs? I must assume you mean to grab the timberlock screw you have in the peg.

Now weld that to a slide hammer and you're good to go. As for pulling pegs with it, you might could just grab the peg.

All we've used them for is pulling nails -- the stubborn, broken off brittle kind. it is helpful to sharpen the beaks a little for nail pulling -- the hammer drives the jaws down into the wood around the nail, you clamp the nail really tightly, and use the slide hammer to withdraw the nail, causing minimal damage to the surface of the wood.

Yes, that it, and as I have mentioned above, I filed the teeth on the jaws to grip onto the peg. Every sitiation is different, and for old pegs we sometimes have to use a screw, but not always. I will have to try it with nails as well. Tim

I would think this piece is a replacement for the original screw adjuster. the back end should be threaded to accept the threads of the slide hammer. No need to weld it to the slide hammer unless you wanted a dedicated tool. My slide hammers have a thread on the end and each attachement is held on with a nut; an axle puller flange, and an L shaped fork as well as bearing pullers.

Speaking of the L shaped fork, you can use such a bracket to hold the timberlok screw and yank with the slide hammer. I will try it in the next couple of weeks if not this weekend.
For broken off nails, I bought and old fashioned nail puller. It's over 100 years old probably. It has a handle that extends and a foot attched to one of the jaws so as you apply force to the handle, it acts to clamp the nail more while pulling it. I haven't used it much yet, but in the next month will be denailing some timbers and trying it more extensively.