I have lath and plaster walls. I want to hang 3 shelves that have hangers
pre molded in the back of the shelves that requires the shelve be placed
over an extended screw head and then pushed downward so that screw head
slides into a slot about a 1/2 inch long and come to rest at the top of the
slot. Hope I described that in great enough detail - if not ask questions!

I went to Lowes to purchase Hollow Wall Drive Anchors and it turned out I
seemed to have more knowledge about what I wanted than any of the employees.
Not enough to actually know what I wanted though. Very, very sad for Lowes
and me too!

Anyway I purchased some anchors made by Cobra. The anchors are not like
other hollow wall anchors I have used in the past in that they do not
require a pre-drilled hole. Supposedly one should hammer the anchors into
the plaster wall. The anchors are equiped with a metal point and a plastic
collar just above the metal tip. Anyway, these things are at least 1/4 inch
thick at their widest so I thought rather than just pounding them in I would
pre drill a hole to reduce the tension when inserting the anchor. Any
thoughts?

My nagging question is, have I purchased the correct anchors? There is a
selection guide on the packaging.

SIZE WALL THICKNESS
1/8" SD 1/8" @ 1/2"
1/8" LD 5/8" @ 7/8"
1/8" SLD 1/8" @ 13/16"

I purchased the 1/8" SLD - which was anchor that was finally recommended by
the store employee. I do not understand what the manufacturer is trying to
demonstrate by the 'wall thickness' in the chart above descriptions. What
means 1/8" @ 13/16" under Wall Thickness?

Thanks for any assistance!

Sounds like the shelves have "keyhole" slots. If it's not wood lathe
plaster, a molly bolt would work well



"Sue" wrote in message
. net...
I have lath and plaster walls. I want to hang 3 shelves that have hangers
pre molded in the back of the shelves that requires the shelve be placed
over an extended screw head and then pushed downward so that screw head
slides into a slot about a 1/2 inch long and come to rest at the top of the
slot. Hope I described that in great enough detail - if not ask questions!

I went to Lowes to purchase Hollow Wall Drive Anchors and it turned out I
seemed to have more knowledge about what I wanted than any of the
employees. Not enough to actually know what I wanted though. Very, very
sad for Lowes and me too!

Anyway I purchased some anchors made by Cobra. The anchors are not like
other hollow wall anchors I have used in the past in that they do not
require a pre-drilled hole. Supposedly one should hammer the anchors into
the plaster wall. The anchors are equiped with a metal point and a
plastic collar just above the metal tip. Anyway, these things are at
least 1/4 inch thick at their widest so I thought rather than just
pounding them in I would pre drill a hole to reduce the tension when
inserting the anchor. Any thoughts?

My nagging question is, have I purchased the correct anchors? There is a
selection guide on the packaging.

SIZE WALL THICKNESS
1/8" SD 1/8" @ 1/2"
1/8" LD 5/8" @ 7/8"
1/8" SLD 1/8" @ 13/16"

I purchased the 1/8" SLD - which was anchor that was finally recommended
by the store employee. I do not understand what the manufacturer is
trying to demonstrate by the 'wall thickness' in the chart above
descriptions. What means 1/8" @ 13/16" under Wall Thickness?

Thanks for any assistance!

It is wood lath - house is over 40 years old.


"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...
Sounds like the shelves have "keyhole" slots. If it's not wood lathe
plaster, a molly bolt would work well



"Sue" wrote in message
. net...
I have lath and plaster walls. I want to hang 3 shelves that have hangers
pre molded in the back of the shelves that requires the shelve be placed
over an extended screw head and then pushed downward so that screw head
slides into a slot about a 1/2 inch long and come to rest at the top of
the slot. Hope I described that in great enough detail - if not ask
questions!

I went to Lowes to purchase Hollow Wall Drive Anchors and it turned out I
seemed to have more knowledge about what I wanted than any of the
employees. Not enough to actually know what I wanted though. Very, very
sad for Lowes and me too!

Anyway I purchased some anchors made by Cobra. The anchors are not like
other hollow wall anchors I have used in the past in that they do not
require a pre-drilled hole. Supposedly one should hammer the anchors
into the plaster wall. The anchors are equiped with a metal point and a
plastic collar just above the metal tip. Anyway, these things are at
least 1/4 inch thick at their widest so I thought rather than just
pounding them in I would pre drill a hole to reduce the tension when
inserting the anchor. Any thoughts?

My nagging question is, have I purchased the correct anchors? There is a
selection guide on the packaging.

SIZE WALL THICKNESS
1/8" SD 1/8" @ 1/2"
1/8" LD 5/8" @ 7/8"
1/8" SLD 1/8" @ 13/16"

I purchased the 1/8" SLD - which was anchor that was finally recommended
by the store employee. I do not understand what the manufacturer is
trying to demonstrate by the 'wall thickness' in the chart above
descriptions. What means 1/8" @ 13/16" under Wall Thickness?

Thanks for any assistance!

The "wall thickness" issue is for using these "moly" anchors in
various types of walls. Typically, for modern dry wall it is 1/2" or
sometimes 3/8". For things like cored doors, which are 1/8" masonite,
you use smaller ones.

The lath/plaster, is going to be 1/2" or so, I would think. I've never
pounded in the ones you describe, but drill a hole -- typically 1/4",
and then use a hammer/mallet to coax them in. If you have trouble with
them turning, as you tighten down the screw, then there is a little
tool that engages the two notches on the flange of the moly. NO idea
where I picked that tool up, but in a pinch, a pair of needle nosed
pliers will do the trick. Then, when you have them in (do NOT over
tighten, or you can sheer the screw off!), then back the screw out
enough to engage the slots in the back of the shelf. You may have to
fool around a bit with the length of the screw to get a nice fit to
the wall. It is very important to get the EXACT distance between the
holes. as there isn't much "slop" to the fit. Also, you need to make
sure that the holes are level. I'd use a long carpenter's level to
pick the level off of the first hole to find the second one.

I also find it a good idea to drill a 1/16" pilot hole first, as it is
always possible that the spot you picked is NOT between the studs. If
you find that there is something behind the pilot hole (the drill will
not continue to cut after about 1/2"), then you can use an ordinary
wood screw instead of the moly bolt.

"Sue" wrote in message
. net...
I have lath and plaster walls. I want to hang 3 shelves that have hangers
pre molded in the back of the shelves that requires the shelve be placed
over an extended screw head and then pushed downward so that screw head
slides into a slot about a 1/2 inch long and come to rest at the top of the
slot. Hope I described that in great enough detail - if not ask questions!

I went to Lowes to purchase Hollow Wall Drive Anchors and it turned out I
seemed to have more knowledge about what I wanted than any of the
employees. Not enough to actually know what I wanted though. Very, very
sad for Lowes and me too!

Anyway I purchased some anchors made by Cobra. The anchors are not like
other hollow wall anchors I have used in the past in that they do not
require a pre-drilled hole. Supposedly one should hammer the anchors into
the plaster wall. The anchors are equiped with a metal point and a
plastic collar just above the metal tip. Anyway, these things are at
least 1/4 inch thick at their widest so I thought rather than just
pounding them in I would pre drill a hole to reduce the tension when
inserting the anchor. Any thoughts?

My nagging question is, have I purchased the correct anchors? There is a
selection guide on the packaging.

SIZE WALL THICKNESS
1/8" SD 1/8" @ 1/2"
1/8" LD 5/8" @ 7/8"
1/8" SLD 1/8" @ 13/16"

I purchased the 1/8" SLD - which was anchor that was finally recommended
by the store employee. I do not understand what the manufacturer is
trying to demonstrate by the 'wall thickness' in the chart above
descriptions. What means 1/8" @ 13/16" under Wall Thickness?

Thanks for any assistance!


I hate those shelves. May the guy who designed them spend eternity
installing them.

Your best bet is to use a screw 1.5" long the head of which will fit into
the keyhole. If you hit the lathe behind the plaster you are all set.
Second best choice is to use the long range molly. The sld above.
PRE-drill the hole. Those are designed to hammer into drywall not plaster.

This is all very good information - no wonder your a 'professor'.
Thanks a bunch - makes my life so much easier!


"professorpaul" wrote in message
oups.com...
The "wall thickness" issue is for using these "moly" anchors in
various types of walls. Typically, for modern dry wall it is 1/2" or
sometimes 3/8". For things like cored doors, which are 1/8" masonite,
you use smaller ones.

The lath/plaster, is going to be 1/2" or so, I would think. I've never
pounded in the ones you describe, but drill a hole -- typically 1/4",
and then use a hammer/mallet to coax them in. If you have trouble with
them turning, as you tighten down the screw, then there is a little
tool that engages the two notches on the flange of the moly. NO idea
where I picked that tool up, but in a pinch, a pair of needle nosed
pliers will do the trick. Then, when you have them in (do NOT over
tighten, or you can sheer the screw off!), then back the screw out
enough to engage the slots in the back of the shelf. You may have to
fool around a bit with the length of the screw to get a nice fit to
the wall. It is very important to get the EXACT distance between the
holes. as there isn't much "slop" to the fit. Also, you need to make
sure that the holes are level. I'd use a long carpenter's level to
pick the level off of the first hole to find the second one.

I also find it a good idea to drill a 1/16" pilot hole first, as it is
always possible that the spot you picked is NOT between the studs. If
you find that there is something behind the pilot hole (the drill will
not continue to cut after about 1/2"), then you can use an ordinary
wood screw instead of the moly bolt.

I wouldn't hammer anything on a wood lath/plaster wall. Drill a
lead hole for the normal screw and hope you hit wood lath. If
not, get Mollies for thick walls, run them in to tighten, and back
out for your shelf.

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DanG
A live Singing Valentine quartet,
a sophisticated and elegant way to say I LOVE YOU!
(local)
http://www.singingvalentines.com/ (national)


"Sue" wrote in message
. net...
I have lath and plaster walls. I want to hang 3 shelves that
have hangers pre molded in the back of the shelves that requires
the shelve be placed over an extended screw head and then pushed
downward so that screw head slides into a slot about a 1/2 inch
long and come to rest at the top of the slot. Hope I described
that in great enough detail - if not ask questions!

I went to Lowes to purchase Hollow Wall Drive Anchors and it
turned out I seemed to have more knowledge about what I wanted
than any of the employees. Not enough to actually know what I
wanted though. Very, very sad for Lowes and me too!

Anyway I purchased some anchors made by Cobra. The anchors are
not like other hollow wall anchors I have used in the past in
that they do not require a pre-drilled hole. Supposedly one
should hammer the anchors into the plaster wall. The anchors
are equiped with a metal point and a plastic collar just above
the metal tip. Anyway, these things are at least 1/4 inch thick
at their widest so I thought rather than just pounding them in I
would pre drill a hole to reduce the tension when inserting the
anchor. Any thoughts?

My nagging question is, have I purchased the correct anchors?
There is a selection guide on the packaging.

SIZE WALL
THICKNESS
1/8" SD 1/8" @
1/2"
1/8" LD 5/8" @
7/8"
1/8" SLD 1/8" @
13/16"

I purchased the 1/8" SLD - which was anchor that was finally
recommended by the store employee. I do not understand what the
manufacturer is trying to demonstrate by the 'wall thickness' in
the chart above descriptions. What means 1/8" @ 13/16" under
Wall Thickness?

Thanks for any assistance!

Sue wrote:
I have lath and plaster walls. I want to hang 3 shelves that have hangers
pre molded in the back of the shelves that requires the shelve be placed
over an extended screw head and then pushed downward so that screw head
slides into a slot about a 1/2 inch long and come to rest at the top of the
slot. Hope I described that in great enough detail - if not ask questions!

I went to Lowes to purchase Hollow Wall Drive Anchors and it turned out I
seemed to have more knowledge about what I wanted than any of the employees.
Not enough to actually know what I wanted though. Very, very sad for Lowes
and me too!

Anyway I purchased some anchors made by Cobra. The anchors are not like
other hollow wall anchors I have used in the past in that they do not
require a pre-drilled hole. Supposedly one should hammer the anchors into
the plaster wall. The anchors are equiped with a metal point and a plastic
collar just above the metal tip. Anyway, these things are at least 1/4 inch
thick at their widest so I thought rather than just pounding them in I would
pre drill a hole to reduce the tension when inserting the anchor. Any
thoughts?

My nagging question is, have I purchased the correct anchors? There is a
selection guide on the packaging.

SIZE WALL THICKNESS
1/8" SD 1/8" @ 1/2"
1/8" LD 5/8" @ 7/8"
1/8" SLD 1/8" @ 13/16"

I purchased the 1/8" SLD - which was anchor that was finally recommended by
the store employee. I do not understand what the manufacturer is trying to
demonstrate by the 'wall thickness' in the chart above descriptions. What
means 1/8" @ 13/16" under Wall Thickness?

Thanks for any assistance!


I would mount a block of wood to the wall using mollies. Then user wood
screws to mount the shelf brackets. You will have to control the depth
of screws that the shelf bracket keyholes will go over[ which is
impossible with mollies.