Metallics JSTS24 10 x 1-1/2 in. Pan Head Slotted Tapping Screws - 18-8 Stainless - Each

The JSTS24 is a #10 x 1-1/2 inch Type A tapping screw with a pan head and a slotted drive, made from 18-8 stainless steel. It has a gimlet point, so it bites and forms its own thread in sheet metal or soft materials without a pre-tapped hole. Thread count is 12 per inch.

You can, but be aware of the galvanic risk. Fastening stainless steel parts to aluminum or steel can set up a galvanic couple and cause corrosion in some environments. Outdoors, in damp mechanical rooms, or anywhere with salt exposure, that matters. For dry indoor work it is generally a non-issue, and the 18-8 stainless itself resists rust better than a plated carbon screw.

No. The JSTS24 is not Buy American compliant and is not ARRA compliant, and country of origin is listed as multiple. If your spec carries a domestic sourcing requirement, this screw will not satisfy it.

Minimum torsional strength is 48 lb-in. Stainless tapping screws are softer than hardened carbon steel, so drive them with a clutch or a low-torque setting rather than running an impact driver on them. Snapping heads on a run of boxes usually means too much torque, not a bad screw.

Dimensionally they follow ASME B18.6.3-2013, and the thread conforms to ASME B18.6.4, the tapping screw thread standard. One caveat from Metallics: dimensions for the #9 diameter in the JSTS family fall outside ASME B18.6.4. The #10 diameter JSTS24 is not affected by that note.

They ship in a jar of 100, and 100 is the order minimum. Jar weight is listed at 0.98 lbs. If you need a different count or a different diameter and length in the JSTS series, Metallics states other sizes and quantities are available by request.

No tapping is needed. A Type A screw with a gimlet point forms its own thread as it drives, so you only need a pilot hole sized for the thread in sheet metal or similar thin material. That is the difference between this and a machine screw, which requires a pre-tapped hole or a nut.

Metallics lists the JSTS series for the electrical, plumbing, heating and air conditioning industries. In practice that is sheet metal duct, enclosures, straps, hangers, and brackets where you are threading into thin stock rather than a tapped hole. The 1-1/2 inch length gives enough reach for stacked sheet and spacers; for thin single-wall sheet a shorter screw leaves less protruding point behind the work.