Metallics TS34B 12 x 1 in. Pan Head Combo Sharp Point Tapping Screws - Steel Zinc - Each

The TS34B is a Type A tapping screw with a gimlet (sharp) point, so it taps its own thread in pre-punched or pre-drilled sheet metal, but it does not drill its own hole. If you need the screw to cut through solid metal without a pilot hole, you want a self-drilling (Type TEK) screw instead. The thread is 11 threads per inch to ASME B18.6.4, which is the coarse spacing Type A uses for thin gauge sheet.

It has a combo head, so a #3 Phillips bit or a flat blade both work. The Phillips recess is 0.252 inch in diameter with a gaging depth of 0.098 to 0.124 inch; the slot runs 0.056 to 0.067 inch wide and 0.055 to 0.077 inch deep. Crews that mix drivers on a job can run either without swapping tips.

The TS34B is carbon steel with a zinc finish. Zinc plating handles indoor and dry-location work, which is most panel, box, strut and raceway fastening. For sustained exposure to weather, masonry contact or coastal air, a stainless or hot dip galvanized fastener is the better call.

Metallics lists the TS34B as both ARRA compliant and Buy American compliant. Country of origin is recorded as multiple, so for a submittal that needs a single origin named per lot, have the mill or packing documentation pulled for the specific lot you receive.

They ship in a box of 5,000 pieces, ordered by the thousand with a 5,000 minimum. The full box weighs 36.24 lbs and measures 8.12 x 8.5 x 6.37 inches, which matters if you are staging material on a cart or a shelf in a shop crib.