Metallics JTSP85 12 x 1-1/2 in. Pan Head Phillips Sharp Point Tapping Screws - Steel Zinc - Each

Type A tapping screws are sharp, gimlet-point screws with a wide, coarse thread meant to cut their own thread as they drive. At 11 threads per inch, the JTSP85 is made for thin sheet metal, sheet-metal boxes and enclosures, and resilient materials where you want the screw to form the thread rather than tap a hole first. It is not a machine screw, so it will not thread into a pre-tapped hole of standard pitch.

Use a #3 Phillips bit. The recess runs 0.246 to 0.259 inch in diameter and 0.141 inch deep, so a #2 bit will sit shallow in it and cam out or chew the recess under torque. The screws will take 83 lb-in minimum of torsional strength, so the bit fit is what usually limits you, not the screw.

No. The JTSP85 tapping screws are not Buy American compliant and are not ARRA compliant, with multiple countries of origin. If your contract carries domestic sourcing requirements, these will not satisfy them.

Pan head screws seat on a flat bearing surface and stand proud of the material, so no countersinking is needed. The head on the JTSP85 measures 0.407 to 0.425 inch across and 0.139 to 0.151 inch high, which gives good clamping area over an oversize or slotted hole. If you need the head flush with the surface, a flat head screw and a countersunk hole is the right call instead.

They come in a jar of 100, and 100 count is the minimum order quantity. Other sizes and quantities are available by request.

These are carbon steel with a zinc finish, which handles indoor and dry or lightly damp service. Zinc plating is a sacrificial coating, not a stainless substitute, so for sustained exposure to weather, washdown, or coastal air, specify a stainless or hot dip galvanized fastener instead.

Head and recess dimensions follow ASME B18.6.3-2013, and the thread follows ASME B18.6.4. The steel is AISI 1016 to 1024, case hardened to Rockwell C28 to 38, which is what lets the gimlet point cut its own thread in sheet metal without the tip rolling over.

Probably, yes. The 1-1/2 inch length on the JTSP85 is meant for going through a bracket, strap, or standoff into sheet metal, where you need real thread engagement past the stack. For attaching directly to a thin steel enclosure wall, that much shank protrudes inside and can foul conductors, so a shorter #12 in the same JTSP series is the better pick. Other lengths are available by request.