New to this forum and pretty green to workworking as well. Was hoping someone could help me here. All I’m trying to do is find a dang wall anchor for this little shelf I made.
Its 8″ x 8″, less than a pound, and I have a screw glued into the shelf, so all a person has to do is grab the shelf and screw it in the wall (for the most part).
For some reason, every anchor I try .. it either sags, pulls out, goes through. ..nothing will hold this little thing. Cant figure this out! Any help would be greatly appreciated . .
Replies
What type of wall are working with?
Is the wall wood stud with sheetrock?
Is the screw threaded with wood threads or machine screw threads?
The the back edge square with the top of the shelf?
There is no anchor that will hold that to drywall or plaster. You might manage it directly to a stud. But it's still a lot of leverage on a single point.
Although it does not weigh much, there is a lot of leverage.
I'm not an engineer, but if you have a long lever and the fulcrum (bottom of the shelf) is short then you have a massive force, and that is what is causing your anchors to pull out and the shelf to sag.
Think about using a nail puller - you could haul on it all day and get nowhere or just lever gently and out she comes...
You need:
- the shelf to be pulled tight against the wall OR the anchor itself to be thick enough not to sag; AND
- the anchor not to be under more strain than the drywall can support; AND
- the anchor capable of supporting the load.
I can think of two options that you could use:
1. A piece of steel bar stuck into a stud, then into your piece will hold it best.
2. You might be able to get away with a spring toggle anchor, but would probably have to change your screw. Something like https://www.mitre10.co.nz/shop/ramset-spring-toggles-3/16-x-75mm-zinc-passivated/p/194135
You’re gonna need to build a little bracket that can be pulled tight to the wall. Might do better with some hair pin legs or something.
I agree. You cannot securely mount that shelf on the wall with one small screw as shown. The idea of using a steel bar is a good idea. But, even if that held the shelf to the wall, it would still have a tendency to twirl about the bar especially if you tried to put something on the shelf. What you need is an angle bracket under the shelf. Something like this might look very nice:
That makes sense. The idea was a floating shelf.. bad idea though.. thanks for the tips!
At a bare minimum you need to grind a flat where the shelf contacts the wall, and larger is better. If the screw is high up in the flat your odds improve. IMO the design is flawed and is screaming for an added corbel.
No anchor will do much good because the only way to snug it up is to spin the shelf. It's a huge longshot that the shelf will be tight as it finds dead level...and after that you're either spinning the anchor in the wall or mounting your shelf as a ramp.
Thanks for explaining all that. Now I know why anchors are just spinning . Back to the drawing board.. appreciate the help!
Live and learn, but as mentioned the design as shown is flawed and imo not worth trying to accommodate in any way. I use a variety of knockdown hardware from Striplox and *may be a solution*. The small version at link might work. You would need to create a flat where the "screw was" approx 1 3/4 wide. Mortise a recess for connector in the flat stopping an 1/8 or so from top. Mortise may have to be open at bottom (depends on thickness of your piece) and the Striplox may extend past the bottom face - but wouldn't be seen. Use a pair of EZ Ancor plastic anchors for wall mount.
https://www.rockler.com/striplox-clip-50-concealed-surface-mount-connector-1-3-4-x-1-3-4-4-sets
https://www.homedepot.com/p/E-Z-Ancor-Twist-N-Lock-50-lbs-Drywall-Anchors-25-Pack-25200/100133106
Hey I appreciate the explanations. I just THOUGHT this was going to be easy..lol
Like you all said, bad design. Time to rethink this one.. thanks again!
It's a great idea and fun piece.
Thanks.. wish I knew more.. learning by trial and error.. the hard way.. but that's ok.. hey thanks again for all your expertise!!
Find a stud (bit of wood in the wall -the wall's 'frame' to screw it in to.