What metal anchor expansion tool sizes are available?

5th March 2020

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What metal anchor expansion tool sizes are available?


	Shop for Metal Anchor Expansion Tools


		Metal anchor expansion tools are made in various sizes by different manufacturers.

		How to select the correct anchor size
		The most important thing to check when selecting a hollow wall anchor is that it’s capable of supporting the object you wish to hang. The next thing to check is anchor size: this should include the screw size of the anchor, the hole diameter it requires and the range of plasterboard sheet thicknesses it is designed to cover.

		Different manufacturers may display information about their hollow wall anchors sizes in differing ways, so it’s important to carefully check you have the correct size for your intended job.

		Remember, you will need the screw of the hollow wall anchor to be capable of extending far enough beyond the plasterboard to fix the particular object to the wall. This length may depend on the thickness of plasterboard to which you are fitting it.

		For example, if the hollow wall anchor is suitable for plasterboard thicknesses of 6-15mm (approximately ¼ – ½”) and has a screw length of 45mm (approximately 1¾”). The screw may project up to 17mm (approximately ¾”) when fitted to 6mm (approximately ¼”) thick plasterboard but only 8mm (approximately ¼”) when fitted to 15mm (approximately ½”) thick plasterboard.

		Some metal anchor expansion tools are sold packaged with compatible hollow wall anchors.

		This can be an excellent way of saving money when first purchasing a metal anchor expansion tool and hollow wall anchors – particularly true if you only need the tool and anchors for a one-off DIY job, as the set will likely contain enough anchors for one job.

		How long are metal anchor expansion tools?
		The length of a metal anchor expansion tool is measured from the top of the head to the base of the handles. This length can vary from one manufacturer to another, but it is usually between 200-300mm (7⅞”-11¾”).

		This size is made up mainly by the length of the tools handle’s. Metal anchor expansion tools with longer handles give the user more leverage so may require less force to operate, depending on the stiffness of the handle return spring and ratchet mechanism spring.

		However, if you have small hands you may not be able to span the distance between the base of the two handles. In this case you would have to hold the tool further up the handles, reducing the leverage or use both hands, one on each handle.

		How wide are metal anchor expansion tools?
		Depending on the type of metal anchor expansion tool you are looking at the width can be either the distance from the the back of the handles to the front of the head, or the distance between the front and back of the two handles.

		Non-ratcheting metal anchor expansion tools have a much smaller head so their width is always measured between the front and back of the two handles.

		Sometimes the width of a metal anchor expansion tool can prevent it from fitting into an area where you need to work. This is most likely to happen with extended stroke models as they have the widest heads and this is the part of the tool most likely to be required to fit into a small space.

		What other sizes are important to metal anchor expansion tools?
		Along with the length and width there are a couple of other important sizes you might need to consider when choosing a metal anchor expansion tool. These are the stroke length and support surface.

		Stroke length The stroke length of a metal anchor expansion tool is the distance the tool is capable of pulling back the screw of the hollow wall anchor from the outside surface of the plasterboard. Most metal anchor expansion tools have a stroke length of approximately 20mm (¾”), but there are models available with an extended stroke length of up to 30mm (1⅛”).

		If you are fixing large wall anchors, the standard stroke length of most metal anchor expansion tools may not be great enough to fully collapse the anchor’s shell and fix it in the plasterboard, unless you remove the tool from the anchor and use a screwdriver to turn the screw back into the anchor before reattaching the metal anchor expansion tool.

		Some non-ratcheting models may have an advantage over ratcheting models with a standard stroke length, as you are able to access the screw head of the hollow wall anchor and reset it without having to remove the expansion tool from the anchor.

		While the stroke length of a metal anchor expansion tool will normally be given by the manufacturer, the stroke length required to fix an anchor is not. The best method of determining the stroke length required to fix a metal hollow wall anchor is therefore to measure the length of its collapsing legs and divide it by two.

		Support surface This is the area of the tool’s head that is pressed up against the plasterboard. Metal anchor expansion tools with a larger support surface distribute the force they apply to pull the screw back over a wider area of the plasterboard.

		This makes them better suited for fitting hollow wall anchors in thin plasterboard, as the increased area over which they apply their force reduces the chance of damaging the plasterboard.