This type of gritted mortar rake has a shank that is hollow and cylindrical, with an internal ‘female’ thread. This style of shank is designed to screw onto the spindle of an angle grinder.
Here is a close-up of the type of shank suitable for an angle grinder’s spindle.
Alternatively, you can buy mortar rakes with external threads, that screw into a mortar rake adaptor. The adaptor has a female thread that also twists onto an angle grinder spindle.
Shanks suitable for power drills
This type of mortar rake is solid and is designed to fit into the chuck of a drill and be gripped by the chuck’s jaws.
The width of the shank should be provided in the product spec, however, you could find out by measuring across the flats with a tape measure.
Shanks suitable for SDS plus drills
This type of mortar rake is designed for an SDS Plus Drill. The shank is designed to fit onto an adaptor which then fits into the drill’s chuck.
Although the shank is the same style as those of mortar rakes for angle grinders, its width is a lot smaller. Therefore it is important to double check which power tool/adaptor your mortar rake is designed for.
What is a collet nut?
Mortar rakes such as this one fit into a collet nut, often referred to as just a collet.
Collets act in a similar way to adaptors, however instead of using threads, they hold the mortar rake by exerting a strong clamping force when tightened.
This type of mortar rake fits into the ‘X’ shaped slot in the collet, which then grips the mortar rake, once tightened.
At the bottom of the collet is an internal female thread. This fits around the external male thread of the spindle of an angle grinder. In this way the collet nut forms the shank.