yup, when I was 6 or 7 years young, my dad would hand me a bucket of salvaged nails to straighten,
we would do it on a piece of railroad track he had cut, and a hammer.
we would also be allowed to strip the shipping blocks (2x4's) in the railroad freight cars accross
the street from our house on Rt. 20 in Palmer, MA
late 30's & the 40's were a rough time for our family.
oh yes, I banged a few fingers along the way.
I have been in a few old barns that also had buckets or boxes of old used nails. when times are tough,
even nails were a luxery.
Frank
