Look what I Found

Back in the mid 70's had to mount a modem on a shelf in the cargo shed at Frankfurt airport.
Had arrived well-prepared with a pistol-drill, masonry bits and fixings - no chance.
One of the guys went to the stores and came back with a Kango drill and bits - also no chance.
Eventually we had to wait for a guy with a permit for a cartridge gun to set the anchors in -
Bang x4 - job done.
Tried a cartridge gun for myself some time later and found out the hard way that one needed
to choose the correct coloured cartridge otherwise the fixing would disappear 25mm below the surface
With the possible exception of MikePoole's Mum's bungalow, that was the hardest surface I ever found,
suspect the concrete panels had been chilled.
DaveD

Edited By Meunier on 20/05/2020 19:16:20

After I bought my first hammer drill I gathered up all the star drills in my possession and binned them. I do have an adapter for an air chisel to take the A taper bits. I haven' gotten around to pitching it. It is free to anyone who will pay the postage.

On the subject of nail guns it reminds me of when I was with the Cambridgeshire Ambulance Service. One Sunday morning we had a call to a local cement works where some outside contractors were doing some maintenance. One of them fired a nail into some wood, it went clean through, ricocheted off the floor and went through the scrotum and up into the lower abdomen of his mate. This was in the early 1970's when "Elf" and Safety did not seem to apply to some.

Rawlplastic, and slivers of wood, have an advantage over plastic plugs when the hole is in slightly the wrong place. Enlarge the hole and insert the packing offset so that the 'hole' is where you want it.

The star drills that started this are also great for starting holes in glazed ceramic tiles. Tap away gently until you are through the glaze. You can tap at angle to steer the hole. Then get out the power tools.