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Whatever happened to...... |
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| message from Chris Kaley on 17 May 2004 |
The cut-to-length wallplugs originally made (I think) by Thunder Screw
Anchors at Burgess Hill..
These colour coded plastic strips used to be readily available from Great
Mills and the like not that many years ago.
I thought they were brilliant - much better than your common-or-garden
Rawlplug type thingy that I just can't seem to get along with.
I still have some kicking about, but am rapidly running out of them.
Anyone know if these strips are still available, and if so, from where?
No luck at Focus, B&Q, etc., etc... just blank looks!
Chris
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| The Void replied to Chris Kaley on 17 May 2004 |
[snip - anyone remember snipping?]
I dunno but... *if* such a thing exists I would truly rejoice.
Plugging badly/wrongly drilled holes with badly/wrongly filling rawlpugs is
the bane of my life.
...and THE reason I don't do much d-i-y.
If I could a few of these right once-in-awhile, I'd be inspired and
motivated to tackle bigger jobs.
...ok, maybe not.
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| usenet replied to The Void on 17 May 2004 |
Yes, but it's gone out with the cut-to-length wallplugs.
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| troubleinstore replied to usenet on 17 May 2004 |
The cut to length wallplug takes me back a bit. Not seen them for
absolutely ages. Used them when, back in the old days before hammer
drills, I was using the old rawldrill and lump hammer. Always carried
a supply of plasters or insulation tape with me.
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| Michael Mcneil replied to The Void on 17 May 2004 |
"The Void" <skweek@br7.net> wrote in message
news:JX0qc.112$JZ4.58@newsfe6-win
Let's see if we can put you right.
First of all you need the right colour plug for the diameter masonry
drill. Brown is the one most commonly used by carpenters (with 7 and 7.5
drill bits) as it is good enough for screw sizes 7 to 10.
Electricians usually needing lighter fixes use the reds and 6 or 6.5 mm
diameter bits and smaller screws. Other colours are not needed by most
of us.
Next is the drill you use. For soft brickwork and breeze block you don't
need the hammer action and certainly not sds. In fact you can even use
ordinary steel bits with breeze blocks.
The idea is to not make the hole too big for the plug. Also with breeze
block, for example, the stuff splits very easily, so get the hole
drilled the right size and just use a hammer insteads of a screwdriver
as you would with Fisher Fixings.
To be honest I hate breeze block and wouldn't use it in a house I was
going to live in. Try and catch the mortar. Better still, glue a block
of wood to the crap with no nails if you can as grounds for door frames
etc.
Drill said hole and put the plug in, hammer flush and insert screw. Tap
this in a short distance to take the plug into the hole and make the
thread of the screw bite hard into the plug. Then screw it home. Most
failures are because of hammering the screw in too deeply. The screw
needs to wind out the wedging action of the plug. It can't do that if
the hole is too big or the medium is too friable or the screw and plug
have been hammered home.
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| Charlie replied to The Void on 17 May 2004 |
Ridgeons in Cambridge certainly have them. Perhaps try a builder's
merchant rather than a shed?
Charlie
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| N. Thornton replied to Chris Kaley on 17 May 2004 |
If you mean the uncut foot long strips - yes I saw these some place
recently... damned if I can think where though, nor what they were
called. But maybe it'll give you hope to search at least.
I never understood the mentality of selling only precut short lengths,
- theyre often not the right length, we still need plugs for those
other holes. You can always use matchsticks or wood dowel, works fine.
Regards, NT
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| Jason replied to N. Thornton on 17 May 2004 |
my local diy shop sells them, in fact i go there more than the local B&Q
warehouse.
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| Ziggur replied to Chris Kaley on 17 May 2004 |
Bought some the other day - 3 different sizes/colours.
In a Plymouth city centre "£1 shop". Cost a lot less than that, I think
about 10p per foot.
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| Tim Jenkins replied to Chris Kaley on 17 May 2004 |
I still use them all the time - I get mine from a local DIY shop in
Farnborough, Hants. About 60p a length. I think they're called "Viking
plugs" or something like that.
Cheers,
Tim.
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| Broadback replied to Tim Jenkins on 17 May 2004 |
I know where you can get them in the Stoke on Trent area, he smugly
writes. :-)
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| David W.E. Roberts replied to Chris Kaley on 17 May 2004 |
I found some abut 6 months ago (I think) via this NG - mail order.
Damned if I can remember where, but Google Groups could well find the
original thread.
HTH
Dave R
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| Martin Angove replied to Chris Kaley on 17 May 2004 |
I'm probably being completely thick here (yes, ok, don't say it), but
although I do know of and have used these things I really can't see the
advantage over "modern" pre-formed plugs.
I don't do a lot of very heavy fixing, but I have yet to find a
situation where a pre-formed plug doesn't work where I think "oh yes,
what I need is a plug of exactly the same diameter but different
length." Usually if the plug fails it is because I've stupidly drilled
the hole in the wrong place or at the wrong size or the wall has fallen
apart for some reason (crumbly mortar being the current favourite -
manky 1930s council house in ex-mining village). In these cases it is
either a case of upping a size (i.e. fatter diameter plugs) or mentally
chastising myself and doing it right the second time. Occasionally
Gripfill comes to the rescue :-)
I have even standardised on a plug (red) and screw (No8 by 1 inch or by
1.5 inch, or whatever the actual metric sizes are) for practically all
the work I do at the moment. The trick for the sort of work I do is to
drill "tight" - I generally find a 5.5mm drill works best for these
plugs, though a 6mm might be needed if the substrate is very sound - and
to use a thin-shafted screw such as the Turbo things from Screwfix. The
way it works seems to be that they "cut" their way into the first part
of the plug without expanding it too much, and then expand as per normal
later on.
The 1 inchers don't make it all the way down the plug but given a half
decent wall hold really well. The 1.5 inch screws just poke out the end
(there's really no need to do more, is there?) and can hold in less
decent walls.
The biggest problem (apart from dodgy walls) is the odd occasion where
things are *too* tight, and the thin shaft on the turbo screws breaks.
This only happens with the 1.5 inch screws - the 1 inch ones don't go in
far enough. Over time I have learned to recognise the onset of this and
back out quickly. Often this brings out just enough plastic debris to
allow the next screw (always discard the first) to work.
Well, it works for me :-)
Hwyl!
M.
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| Lurch replied to Martin Angove on 17 May 2004 |
You're not alone, I was wondering what the fixation was. I usually put
two normal length plugs in if one wont do it, and if one is two long,
cut the end off. Simple really.
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| Chris Kaley replied to Lurch on 20 May 2004 |
Well, thanks for all your replies - they are obviously still available.
I'll just have to get out and look.
I can see there are a lot of afficionados of normal rawlplugs, but I've
always had problems with them not holding, buckling, not long enough, etc.,
etc. Conditions are never perfect, particularly when you're in a hurry.
These strips grip in a far more substantial way, they are very forgiving of
poor holes (and most of them ARE pretty poor when you're dealing with
ancient stock bricks of varying hardness), and of course they are as long a
you want them to be. So much easier to use - you can even trim them to
length in situ, and tap them flush to the wall with a light hammer.
In my experience when removing plaster, etc., it's the cut to length plugs
that are still firmly in place in the exposed brickwork, whilst your average
rawlplug falls out pretty easily.
Chris
"Lurch" <theoriginallurch@tiscali.co.uk> wrote in message
news:40a95077.182906405@195.129.110.67...
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| Aidan replied to Lurch on 18 May 2004 |
I dunno what happened to them, but they were great, by far the best
wall plugs around. I haven't seen them for about 15 years when my
usual suplier stopped stocking them.
If you find a supply please report back. I used to tap the end of the
stick into the hole, then cut it flush with the wall with a sharp,
flexible knife. Easy.
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| mate replied to Aidan on 18 May 2004 |
I saw Viking cut to length wall plugs in my local timber merchant
today but have also found them listed as Bostik cut to length wall
plugs for 42p each on:
http://www.tool-up.co.uk/shop/diy/BSTRVP.html
HTH
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| stuart noble replied to mate on 18 May 2004 |
Well done that man! Pricey though, aren't they?
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| Aidan replied to stuart noble on 19 May 2004 |
Thanks, Mate!
Didn't they also make yellow, blue & green ones with different
diameters? Now I know who makes them, I'll scout around for a local
supplier. Much appreciated.
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| mate replied to Aidan on 19 May 2004 |
Not sure of colours (think there was blue red green and maybe white)
but was in timber merchant again today and took a closer look - it
seems that Bostik was definitely the make but it said Viking on the
top of the stand they were on.
Glad to have been of service for a change!
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| James Hart replied to mate on 19 May 2004 |
If you click on your own link and go up a level there's a whole page of them
including a multipack with the following description:-
White - Drill Size 8, Screw size 4-6.
Red - Drill Size 10, Screw size 7-8.
Green - Drill Size 12, Screw size 9-10.
Blue - Drill Size 16, Screw size 11-14.
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| mate replied to stuart noble on 19 May 2004 |
Huh man indeed - only a woman could find something they're not even
looking for! Or do blokes browse whilst waiting in timber merchants
too.... ?
Didn't think they were too expensive myself - they're 45p each in
timber merchant.
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| stuart noble replied to Lurch on 18 May 2004 |
The cut to size plugs are more rigid and, obviously, have no lip. This means
they can be knocked through whatever you're fixing, rather like a frame
fixing, only better IMO. I certainly lament their passing
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| Richard Savage replied to stuart noble on 18 May 2004 |
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
stuart noble wrote:
Is anyone old enough to remember Rawlplastic? Especially pertinant if
you saw the article in the Times recently about the severe underfunding
of research into asbestos related carcinoma. Still, it was great stuff
and I've never found anything to beat it.
Richard
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