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Molly setting tool vs screwdriver for metal sleeves

Updated: 22 October 2026

You already own metal hollow-wall anchors, and a screwdriver is on the bench. Molly setting tool vs screwdriver asks whether that driver will set them or spin them. The pliers pull the screw head straight out. A driver turns the screw, and in soft plasterboard it can turn the anti-rotation lugs with it. Use the pliers for several sleeves. Use a driver only when the maker allows it, with a turning stop. The cards are on the [hollow wall anchor setting tool comparison](/hub/screws-and-accessories/hollow-wall-anchor-setting-tool). Peter F. compared maker guides, not a lab.

You already own metal hollow-wall anchors, and a screwdriver is on the bench. Molly setting tool vs screwdriver asks whether that driver will set them or spin them. The pliers pull the screw head straight out.

Our top picks

TOPWAY TOPWAY molly gun

Best overall

TOPWAY TOPWAY molly gun
9.2/10about £9.79
View offer
Philoch Philoch M4-M6 gun

Alternative

Philoch Philoch M4-M6 gun
9.0/10about £7.99
View offer
NERDON NERDON cavity gun

Alternative

NERDON NERDON cavity gun
8.8/10about £9.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Why the sleeve spins
  2. 2.When a screwdriver is enough
  3. 3.When the setting tool is the better buy
  4. 4.Fixings that do not use either argument

Why the sleeve spins

A metal cavity anchor stays still while it collapses because lugs or a barbed collar bite the plasterboard face. Those lugs are an anti-rotation device, not a load rating. They grip paper and gypsum, which is soft. A screwdriver applies torsion. If that torsion reaches the sleeve, the lugs plough a circle, the hole opens, and the anchor spins. Wonkee Donkee describes the same failure once the legs are back: the driver turns the barbs, and the hole is too big to reuse. You feel a screw that keeps turning and never tightens. More force on the driver makes the spin worse, because the force is still rotation. A second anchor will not recover plaster you have already cut into a circle.

When a screwdriver is enough

A screwdriver can set one anchor, or two, if you stop at the first hint of spin and the maker allows that method. Rawlplug's Interset steps let you pull the head with a screwdriver or with the setting tool. Fischer's HM family lets you use installation pliers, or drive the screw with the fixture, or with a plate no thicker than 6 mm, as a turning stop. That plate clamps the flange so the sleeve cannot rotate while the screw draws the legs up. A nut and two washers is a homemade version of the same pull. It can work for one or two anchors. It is a poor plan for a run of rails, because each anchor needs the nut stacked and then removed.
TOPWAY TOPWAY molly gun

Testsieger

TOPWAY TOPWAY molly gun
9.2/10about £9.79
View offer

When the setting tool is the better buy

The pliers change torsion into a straight pull, so the lugs stay put while the sleeve collapses. Use them for several metal cavity anchors. TIMco recommends a setting tool for several cavity anchors, and treats a spring toggle as a different fixing. A tool-only card here starts at £7.99: Philoch, then TOPWAY at £9.79 and NERDON at £9.99. That price avoids the spin. It is not a quality grade. Which card is worth owning is on best plasterboard fixing gun. The order of work is in how to use a hollow wall anchor setting tool.

Fixings that do not use either argument

A spring toggle folds through the hole and opens in the void. You tighten a screw. There is no sleeve to collapse, so these pliers do not belong. DuoHM is set with a cordless driver and no setting tool. A pop-rivet gun snaps a mandrel, while a hollow-wall anchor keeps its screw. If the nose only accepts a rivet mandrel, it will not hook a screw head. A qualifying amazon.co.uk purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Common questions

Can I set a molly with a screwdriver only?
Sometimes, for one anchor, and not as the default for a row. Interset allows a screwdriver or the setting tool. Fischer HM allows a driver if a fixture, or a plate no thicker than 6 mm, stops the sleeve turning. Without that stop the barbs turn and the hole is scrap. Several sleeves in soft board are the case for the pliers.
What is a turning stop?
It is something hard against the flange that stops the sleeve rotating while the screw is driven. Fischer names the fixture itself, or a plate no thicker than 6 mm. The plate takes the twist so the lugs do not have to. A bare screwdriver, with only the plasterboard holding the barbs, is not a turning stop. If you cannot rig that plate, use the pliers.
Is a nut and two washers a real alternative?
It can pull one or two anchors. You stack the washers and the nut on the proud screw and tighten so the sleeve draws up without a dedicated gun. On a run of shelf uprights it is slow, because each anchor needs the stack fitted and then removed. Treat it as an improvisation you already understand, not as a replacement for pliers when you have a box of sleeves to set. Take the nut off before you hang the item.
Do I need the gun for one picture hook?
Not always. One metal sleeve, set with a driver and a turning stop, can be enough if you stop when the lugs start to move. You still risk the hole. If the hook is a spring toggle, or a plug the maker sets with a plain driver, you do not need this gun at all. The pliers earn their place when the next job is several cavity anchors, not a single light hook.
Does a DuoHM or a spring toggle use this plier?
No. DuoHM is installed with a cordless driver and needs no setting tool. The 20 kg line on 12.5 mm gypsum plasterboard is that plug's printed figure, not a molly rating. A spring toggle opens its wings in the void and never uses these pliers. Buy the plug you mean to fit, then the tool that plug actually requires.
Will a pop-rivet gun do this job?
No. A rivet gun breaks a mandrel. A molly needs a jaw that pulls a screw and leaves that screw in the sleeve. A similar handle is why some titles say riveter. The tool-only route in this set is Philoch at £7.99, TOPWAY at £9.79 or NERDON at £9.99. The cheapest handle is not a strength claim.

Related pages

Hollow wall anchor setting tool buying guide

Plasterboard cavity fixing gun

Hollow wall anchor setting tool

Best plasterboard fixing gun: sleeves or tool only

How to use a hollow wall anchor setting tool safely

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, used for this page in October 2026. Prices, stars and review counts are from the ten amazon.co.uk listings captured on 19 October 2026. There is no laboratory test. A 65 lb listing line is not a safe working load.

  1. Fischer UK, metal cavity fixing HM (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. Fischer UK, cavity fixing DuoHM (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. Rawlplug, SM Interset (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. Rawlplug, AT-88 setting tool (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. British Gypsum Site Book (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. Wonkee Donkee, metal anchor expansion tools (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Rapid, how hollow wall anchors work (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 19 October 2026)