Caught myself using the wrong drill bit for drywall anchors for way too long

I spent three hours last Saturday hanging shelves in my living room and kept having anchors spin loose in the wall. After the fourth one stripped out I sat on the floor and just stared at my drill bit case. That's when I noticed I'd been using a standard 1/4 inch bit instead of the actual size for the anchor itself. A buddy of mine at the hardware store had told me months ago that drywall anchors need their own specific pilot hole but I just brushed it off. Turns out he was right, the anchor package literally has the drill bit size printed on it in tiny letters. I went back and used a 3/16 bit for those little plastic ones and they bit in solid on the first try. Anyone else ever waste a whole afternoon because they skipped reading the fine print on a box of anchors?

2 comments

2 Comments

taylorhunt18d ago

That line about staring at your drill bit case really hit home with me. I read somewhere that something like 80 percent of drywall anchor failures come from the wrong pilot hole size. I used to think it didn't matter that much until I put up some heavy coat hooks and one pulled clean out of the wall three days later. Left a nasty hole I had to patch with spackle. Now I keep a little cheat sheet taped to the inside of my drill case that lists the bit sizes for the common anchors.

blake_black4718d ago

My dad drilled a hole clean through a kitchen cabinet back in '89 because he used a spade bit instead of a regular drill bit for a toggle bolt. The anchor hit something weird and he just kept pushing. Made a hole the size of a quarter right through the laminate. @taylorhunt your cheat sheet idea is solid but I just ended up buying one of those plastic bit index cards that has the anchor sizes printed right on it. Saves me from having to read my own handwriting. Still have to keep the cheat sheet somewhere though because the ink on those cards fades after a year.