Metallics JTS61 14 x 1-1/2 in. Pan Head Combo Sharp Point Tapping Screws - Steel Zinc - Each

Either works. The JTS61 has a combination slotted/Phillips pan head, so you can run it with a #3 Phillips driver or finish it by hand with a flat blade. The Phillips recess measures 0.274 inch in diameter with a gaging depth of 0.118 to 0.144 inch, and the slot is 0.064 to 0.075 inch wide and 0.06 to 0.085 inch deep, so a standard cabinet-tip flat blade seats fine.

That is exactly what it is for. The JTS61 is a Type A tapping screw with a gimlet (sharp) point and 10 threads per inch, so it pierces and forms its own thread in sheet metal through a pilot hole, with no tapping operation. Coarse 10 TPI threading is what gives it bite in thin stock. It is not a self-drilling screw, so you still need a pilot hole sized to the material.

No. The JTS61 is not Buy American compliant and is not ARRA compliant, with country of origin listed as multiple. If your spec carries a domestic sourcing clause, this part will not satisfy it.

The pan head runs 0.457 to 0.476 inch across and 0.156 to 0.169 inch high, so it stands proud of the surface rather than sitting flush. Fine under a raised device cover or against a strap, but if you need the head buried you want a flat or oval head instead, since nothing about a pan head countersinks.

It is case hardened to Rockwell C28-38 with a minimum torsional strength of 125 lb-in, made from AISI 1016-1024 steel. That is the hardness range that lets a Type A point form thread without the screw shearing off in the hole. Keep the driver fully seated and torque off before you stall it and heads hold up fine.

Zinc plated steel is a mild indoor corrosion finish. The JTS61 is steel with zinc plating, which suits dry interior electrical, plumbing, and HVAC work. For exterior, damp, or washdown locations, go to stainless rather than zinc plated carbon steel.

The JTS61 ships in a jar of 100, which is also the order minimum. Figure roughly 1.84 lbs for the jar. Other sizes and quantities in the JTS series can be had by request.

Head and recess dimensions are built to ASME B18.6.3-2013, and the thread form follows ASME B18.6.4, the tapping screw standard. Material is AISI 1016-1024 steel. One caveat from the manufacturer: dimensions for the #9 diameter sizes in the series fall outside ASME B18.6.4.

The JTS61 is a #14 diameter at 1-1/2 inches long, so after a strap or box flange you still have well over an inch of thread in the substrate. Bear in mind it is a Type A sheet metal tapping screw with a gimlet point, intended to form thread in sheet metal. It will drive into wood, but a dedicated wood or lag screw is the better choice for structural pull-out in lumber.