How to fix anything to a wall...

[AndyT]

... if you are doing it in France, in 1932.

Step 1 - put on your favourite silk dressing gown.
Step 2 - light up a comforting Gauloise
Step 3 - hammer a Rawlplug into the hole.

Could anything be more rewarding? :lol:

With a Rawl Plug and an ordinary woodscrew you can fix anything to any material - plaster, brick, stone, cement, metal, marble, tile etc.
It's clean, solid and final.
Household box: 50 plugs, 1 tool, screws.
Large box: 100 plugs, 2 tools, screws.

This is from an old tool catalogue available here https://archive.org/details/AuxForgesDeVulcain1931

 

[Chris152]

Looks a bit sinister to me. I wonder what he's really up to...

 

[NazNomad]

Monsieur Fix-It

 

[tony_s]

Think that's probably a smoking jacket. You wouldn't get a secure fixing in a dressing gown...... Obviously!

 

[bourbon]

I have one of the rawl tools! Surprisingly good at it's job as well, Hard work though. I don't however, have the smoking jacket.

 

[sunnybob]

They conveniently forget to mention its an English invention.
Those frenchies.....

 

[AndyT]

I think I may need to smarten myself up in future - this old weskit is getting a bit shabby!

 

[AES]

I've got one of those old Rawltools too. Works well.

But a while after the brown fibrous Rawlplugs, they also came out with something to use where the walls are so old and rotten that you just got a big ragged crater instead of a proper hole. The new stuff was a packet of white fibrous powder, and back in the 70's when I was refurbishing an old country cottage I bought some. It worked very well too.

My "method" was to pour a small amount into my hand, wet it with a drop of spit, then put the whole lot in my mouth, rolling it around in there a bit like a bit of chewing gum. As said, the resulting mess, pushed firmly into the crater, worked very well if allowed to dry off.

And yes, I did know it was asbestos in the powdery mix, but being pretty ignorant about asbestos at the time ("it's fireproof, innit?") I didn't give it another thought.

I don't suppose I did all that many holes in the wall that way, but AFAIK, I've never suffered any ill-effects (he says, collapsed in the corner coughing his heart out!)

Never wore a smoking jacket while using it though

AES

 

[Phil Pascoe]

If you live in granite country you will probably share my loathing of those tools.

 

[NazNomad]

If you live in granite country you will probably share my loathing of those tools.

I worked in Aberdeen for a while, even the best masonry bits are only good for polishing a circle on the wall.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

You should try elvan. :lol: