Metallics QTEKD8V 12 x 1 in. 5/16 Head Quadrive Self-Drilling & Tapping Screws - #3 Drill Point - Domestic Steel Zinc - Each

Two options with the QTEKD8V: it has a 5/16 inch hex washer head, so a 5/16 inch nut setter in a drill or impact driver is the usual way to run it, and that is what most electricians and metal framers use. The Quadrive recess in the top of the head also takes a square drive bit, which is handy when you are working at an angle or in a spot where a nut setter will not seat squarely.

Zinc plating on the QTEKD8V is a general corrosion coating for dry interior work: electrical boxes, strut, conduit straps, metal framing, interior duct and panel work. It is not a marine or sustained-wet coating. For exterior exposure, roof decking, treated lumber contact, or washdown areas, go to a stainless or a coated exterior-rated self-drilling screw instead.

Yes. The Metallics QTEKD8V is made in the USA from domestic steel, zinc plated, which is what government, school, and other publicly funded jobs are usually looking for when the spec calls out domestic fasteners.

No pilot hole needed. The QTEKD8V is a self-drilling and self-tapping screw, so the point cuts the hole and the threads form in the same pass. Keep steady pressure and a moderate speed so the point cuts rather than work-hardens the steel, and let the drill point fully penetrate before the threads start pulling.

Order it as Metallics QTEKD8V. That number covers the #12 diameter, 1 inch long, 5/16 inch hex head Quadrive self-drilling and tapping screw with a #3 drill point in domestic zinc plated steel.