Drywall Anchor as a Drill Depth Stop
A trimmed plastic anchor over the bit shank that physically bottoms out, unlike a tape mark.
Drive Screw Hooks With Another Hook Chucked in Your Drill
Start the cup hook by hand, then chuck a second, identical hook in your drill and interlock the two — the drill spins the first hook home in seconds, no wrist-cranking or screwdriver-through-the-loop.
install cup hooks fast, screw in eye hooks without hurting fingers, hang bikes from garage ceiling, put up plant hooks
The Problem
Screw hooks — cup hooks, ceiling hooks, bicycle hooks — have no drive head. The standard install is threading a screwdriver through the loop and cranking a quarter-turn at a time, or twisting by hand until your fingers give out. On a ladder, doing it one-handed, it's slower still.
The Technique
- Start the hook by hand — a couple of turns, just enough that it bites and stands on its own. Drill a pilot hole first in hardwood.
- Chuck a second hook of the same style into your drill, hook end out.
- Interlock the chucked hook with the one in the wall and run the drill. The hooks transfer the rotation, and the drill spins the hook fully home.
- Unhook, and move to the next one — one starter twist and a second of drill time each.
Pro tip: Ease off the trigger as the hook seats — a drill has enough torque to keep going past snug and strip the threads out of the wood, especially in softwood or drywall-anchored hooks.
DIYsolvr helps you find the best DIY videos. Browse all 526 techniques