Metallics JDS179 14 x 2 in. 3/8 Indented Hex Head Slotted Sharp Point Tapping Screws - Steel Zinc - Each

The Metallics JDS179 is a Type A sharp point (gimlet point) tapping screw in a #14 diameter with 10 threads per inch. Type A means it cuts its own thread as it drives into a pilot hole in light sheet metal, so you drill a clearance hole sized to the screw's root diameter rather than tapping it first. The sharp gimlet point is what starts the screw in thin stock without a punch.

Either works. The JDS179 has a combination Hex/Slotted drive with an indented hex head measuring 0.367 to 0.375 in. across the flats, so a 3/8 in. nut driver or socket seats on it, and the slot gives you a flat blade backup in tight spots where you cannot get a driver square on the head. Slot width runs 0.064 to 0.075 in. and slot depth 0.083 to 0.101 in. Width across corners is 0.409 in., which is what you need to clear when driving inside a box or channel.

That's the intended use. Metallics lists the field application as light metal assembly including electrical outlets, framing and other sheet metal work. At 2 in. long with a #14 diameter, it's sized for running through a device or box into light steel stud or metal backing.

Yes, it's an indented hex washer head. The integral washer runs 0.480 to 0.520 in. outside diameter with a thickness of 0.030 to 0.050 in., and overall head height is 0.172 to 0.19 in. That washer face spreads the load on thin sheet and covers a slightly oversized hole without adding a loose washer to the assembly.

The JDS179 ships in a jar of 100 and that jar is the order minimum, so 100 pieces is the smallest quantity. The packed jar weighs 2.45 lbs. Metallics offers other sizes and quantities by request.

The JDS179 is carbon steel with a zinc finish, made from AISI 1016 to 1024 steel. Zinc plating is a mild corrosion coating suited to dry interior work, which is what the light metal and electrical outlet application implies. For sustained wet exposure or exterior use, a stainless or hot dip galvanized fastener is the right call instead.

Minimum torsional strength on the JDS179 is 125 lb-in, with case hardness at Rockwell C28-38. That's enough to let it form its own thread in light gauge steel, but it also means a high torque impact driver will twist the head off before the screw stops turning. Drive it with a clutch set or a nut driver and back off once the washer seats.

No. The JDS179 is not Buy American compliant and is not ARRA compliant, with country of origin listed as multiple. If your project has domestic sourcing requirements written into the spec, this screw will not satisfy them.

Type A, like the JDS179, has a gimlet point that starts in a pre-punched or pre-drilled hole in light sheet metal and forms its own thread as it goes. It does not drill. If you need the fastener to cut through unpunched steel in one pass, you want a self-drilling point instead. For electrical box, outlet and light framing work where the hole is already there, the sharp point Type A drives faster and with less torque.

Head and body dimensions are built to ASME B18.6.3-2010, and the thread conforms to ASME B18.6.4. Metallics notes that dimensions for the #9 diameter in this family are independent of ASME B18.6.4, but that caveat does not apply to the #14 size.