Screw hooks are a simple and effective way to hang tools, cords, or other items in your garage or workshop. But twisting them in by hand can be time-consuming and frustrating. Luckily, there’s an easy trick to install them quickly using a power drill.
Steps to Power-Drive Screw Hooks
- Drill a pilot hole slightly smaller than the screw hook’s shank to prevent splitting the wood.
- Start the screw hook by twisting it a few turns into the hole by hand.
- Use a screw eye and drill:
- Insert a screw eye into the drill chuck and tighten it.
- Slide the screw eye over the curved part of the screw hook.
- Drive the hook in using the drill at a low speed, stopping when it’s fully seated.
Bonus Tip: You can use this same method in reverse to install screw eyes by chucking a screw hook into the drill instead. This simple trick saves time and effort, making it a must-know hack for any DIYer.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Joe Truini: Screw hooks are great for hanging up all sorts of items around the shop, the garage, even the basement. Simply a big steel hook with wood threads. The challenge is if you have more than one or two of these hooks to drive in how do you do it quickly and without tiring your arms or your wrists?
The first trick is to always bore a pilot hole first, just drill a hole slightly smaller in diameter than the shaft. And then, to drive it all the way in, we’re going to use a screw eye, which is simply an enclosed eye, not a hook, that you can chuck into a drill.
We’re going to power drive that hook right into the wall. Tighten it up, and then use the eye. So just hook it on to the hook, pull back slightly, and run the drill in a forward direction. There you go.
And it’s okay that it’s not perfectly vertical because you can come back with a screwdriver and straighten it right out. And these come in all different sizes, so you can hang up pretty much anything.
