Wall plug: Difference between revisions

{{refimprovemore citations needed|date=June 2017}}

[[File:Wall plugs plastic.jpg|thumb|300x300px|Wall plugs]]

A '''wall plug''' (UK English),<ref group=notes>In US English, a wall plug would likely be understood as an [[AC power plugs and sockets|electric socket]] on a wall, although that is a misnomer as a socket is a device that accepts a plug.</ref> also known as an '''anchor''' (US) or "[[rawlplugRawlplug]]" (UK), is a fibre or plastic (originally wood) insert used to enable the attachment of a [[screw]] in material that is porous or brittle or that would otherwise not support the weight of the object attached with the screw.<ref>[http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/wall%2Bplug?q=wall+plug Oxford Dictionaries]{{dead link|date=September 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=dowel+|title=The American Heritage Dictionary entry: dowel|last=Company|first=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing|website=ahdictionary.com|access-date=2017-05-09}}</ref> It is a type of anchor that, for example, allows screws to be fitted into [[masonry]] walls. In US English, mentions of [[drywall anchor]]s are sometimes meant (and taken) to refer specifically to the type of plastic wall plugs with expandable wings for hollow walls, in contradistinction with [[molly (fastener)|mollies]] and [[toggle bolt]]s.

Early wall plugs were thick-walled fibre tubes, made of parallel strings bonded with glue. The Rawlings brothers conducted thousand of trials using many diverse materials in their search for the perfect plug. Among the many solutions tested were plugs made of lead, zinc, natural and synthetic rubber, [[hemp]] fibres, glass, wood, and paper. They imported Indian [[jute]] as it possessed natural resistance to the effects of humidity and for particularly damp conditions they developed a range of [[white bronze plugs. Most current brands are plastic, first designed in 1958 by German inventor [[Artur Fischer (inventor)|Artur Fischer]], known as the Fischer Wall Plugplugs.<ref>{{cite web|title=Artur Fischer, Inventor With More Patents Than Edison, Dies at 96|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/09/business/international/artur-fischer-inventor-with-more-patents-than-edison-dies-at-96.html?_r=0|work=William Grimes|publisher=[[The New York Times]]|date=8 February 2016|accessdate=6 March 2016}}</ref>

Nowadays, one of the most common designs for light loads is the split-ribbed plastic anchor. It consist of two halves that noticeably increase their separation (split) as the screw penetrates between them. As its name suggests, this type of anchor also has ribs on the outside to prevent the anchor from slipping out of the hole as the screw is driven in. This type of anchor is also known as a ''conical screw anchor''.<ref name="Huth2015">{{cite book|author=Mark W. Huth|title=Residential Construction Academy: Basic Principles for Construction|year=2015|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-1-305-53729-3|page=215}}</ref>

One of the first of these mixtures was produced by Rawlplug and was composed of dry [[white asbestos]] fibres, sold loose in a tin. The user wetted some into a ball (usually by spitting on them) and pushed this plug of putty into the hole. A small tamper and spike was supplied with the kit. This putty worked very well, but the [[Asbestos fibers|hazard of the asbestos fibres]] means that the product is no longer available.

{{Commons category|wallWall plugs|lcfirst=yes}}