Metallics JQK23V 10 x 2 in. 1/4 Hex Head Slotted Sharp Point Self-Piercing & Tapping Screws - Steel Zinc - Each

No pilot hole needed in thin sheet metal. The JQK23V is a sharp point self-piercing and tapping screw, so it pierces and forms its own thread as it drives. The twin lead threads cut driving torque, which helps when you are running a lot of them. For heavier structural steel a self-drilling point screw is the better choice.

Both the ARRA and Buy American compliance flags on the JQK23V are marked compliant. Country of origin is listed as multiple, so if your specification requires documented domestic melt and manufacture, get the mill paperwork for the lot you receive.

A 1/4 inch hex driver or nut setter. The head is hex type with a width across flats of 0.244 to 0.25 in. and a head height of 0.096 to 0.11 in. It is also slotted, with a slot width of 0.045 to 0.054 in. and slot depth of 0.052 to 0.074 in., so a flat blade screwdriver works for hand starts or tight spots.

They ship in a jar of 500 count, which is also the order minimum. This is a bulk fastener for production work, not a small blister pack, so plan on the full jar. Filled jar weight is 6.25 lbs.

It is a #10 diameter screw, 2 inches long, at 12 threads per inch. The 2 inch length gives you room to go through furring, strapping or stacked sheet and still get thread bite in the metal below. The undercut beneath the head adds usable thread engagement compared with a standard tapping screw head.

Case hardness runs Rockwell C28-38 on AISI 1018-1022 steel, which is what lets the point pierce and form threads rather than deform. The finish is zinc plating, suitable for dry interior electrical and sheet metal work. Zinc plate is not a marine or sustained-wet finish.

There is an integral washer face under the hex head, listed at 0.384 to 0.414 in. outside diameter and 0.019 to 0.031 in. thick. That is a metal bearing surface for load spread, not a rubber or EPDM sealing washer, so it is not a weatherproofing screw for exterior roof or panel work.

Not necessarily. Metallics notes that head dimensions on self-piercing screws differ from standard tapping screws, and there is no single industry standard for self-piercing screw dimensions. The published values are a guide and deviations occur. If the head has to sit inside a counterbore or under a fixed cover, check against the 0.244 to 0.25 in. head width and 0.096 to 0.11 in. head height before committing to a full jar.