Metallics TS3612 Anchors 3/8-16 X 6-1/2 Wedge Ancr St-zn (Box 50)

The TS3612 is a 3/8 inch diameter wedge anchor, so it goes into a 3/8 inch hole drilled with a carbide hammer-drill bit. Wedge anchors are sized so the anchor diameter equals the bit size, and the anchor is driven through the fixture into the hole. Drill the hole deeper than the embedment you need so drill dust can settle at the bottom.

6-1/2 inches is the overall anchor length, not embedment. On a wedge anchor, part of that length sticks out of the concrete to carry the fixture thickness, the washer and the nut, and the rest is embedded. A 6-1/2 inch anchor in a 3/8 inch diameter is the one you reach for when you are fastening through something thick, a thick base plate, a sill plate, grout or a shim stack, and still need meaningful embedment below it.

No. Wedge anchors like the TS3612 are for solid concrete only. They work by expanding a clip against the wall of the drilled hole, which needs the uniform strength of poured concrete. In hollow block, brick or mortar joints the hole wall crushes and the anchor will not hold, and in drywall it has nothing to grip at all. Use a sleeve anchor or a screw anchor rated for masonry in block and brick, and a toggle in hollow wall.

3/8-16 is the thread size and pitch on the anchor stud, so any 3/8-16 nut threads onto it. The TS3612 ships with its nut and washer assembled on the threaded end, which is standard for wedge anchors, and that nut is what you torque to set the clip. If you lose one on the job, replace it with a 3/8-16 nut in a matching zinc finish rather than a 3/8-24 fine thread, which will not run on.

Steel with zinc plating, which is the standard indoor and dry-location finish. Zinc plating handles incidental moisture but it is not a weathering finish. For exterior exposure, wet locations, or anywhere in contact with treated lumber, step up to a stainless or hot dip galvanized wedge anchor in the same 3/8 inch diameter instead.

Length is driven by what you are clamping, not by the load alone. A 3/8 inch wedge anchor in a short length only has room for a thin bracket or strut channel before it runs out of thread. The 6-1/2 inch TS3612 gives you enough stud to pass through a thick base plate, leveling grout, a shim pack or fire-stop material and still bury the expansion clip well down in sound concrete. If you are only mounting strut or a light bracket flat to a slab, a shorter 3/8 inch anchor is the cheaper and easier choice.

No. Once the nut is torqued, the clip on a wedge anchor flares permanently against the concrete, so it cannot be backed out and reset. You can remove the nut and the fixture, but the anchor body stays in the slab. Where you need a removable fastening, use a drop-in anchor or a threaded insert with a machine bolt instead so the bolt comes out and the anchor remains in the concrete.

Wedge anchors are commonly used overhead in solid concrete for strut, trapeze and conduit support, and the 3/8-16 thread takes standard 3/8 inch rod couplings and strut fittings. Two cautions: the hole has to be blown or vacuumed clean before the anchor is driven, since overhead dust falls back into the hole, and many jurisdictions require anchors in overhead sustained-load applications to be specifically approved for that use, so confirm against the drawings and the local code for your facility.

The TS3612 is packed 50 anchors to a box, each with nut and washer. That is a working quantity for an electrical or mechanical rough-in, strut and trapeze hanger runs, panel and transformer mounting, or equipment base plates, rather than a handful for a single repair.