Metallics JTS47 14 x 3 in. Pan Head Combo Sharp Point Tapping Screws - Steel Zinc - Each

The JTS47 is a Type A tapping screw with a gimlet (sharp) point, so it taps its own thread in a pilot hole in thin sheet metal, or drives directly into wood and soft material. It does not drill its own hole in steel. For heavier gauge metal with no pre-drilled hole you want a self-drilling (Type TEK) screw instead. At 3 in. long with 10 threads per inch, this one is sized for anchoring boxes, straps, and brackets through to a substrate rather than for thin-to-thin metal joints.

Rated torsional strength is 125 lb-in minimum, and most cordless impacts put out well above that, so a 3 in. #14 screw can be twisted off if you bury the trigger, particularly in dense wood or a tight pilot. Drive it on a clutched driver or at reduced impact and seat the #3 bit fully. Case hardness is Rockwell C28 to 38, hard enough to tap its thread but not a structural screw.

A #3 Phillips bit drives it, and the head is a combo recess (slotted and Phillips), so a flat blade works too. The Phillips recess measures 0.274 in. diameter with a recess penetration gaging depth of 0.118 to 0.144 in.; the slot is 0.064 to 0.075 in. wide and 0.06 to 0.085 in. deep. Keep the bit seated, a #2 will cam out of a recess this size.

The JTS47 is carbon steel with a zinc plated finish, which is a mild corrosion coating meant for dry interior and protected work. For sustained exterior exposure, wet locations, or treated lumber contact, specify stainless or a heavier hot dip coating instead. Base steel is AISI 1016 to 1024, case hardened to Rockwell C28 to 38.

They ship in a jar of 100 count, and 100 is the order minimum, so that jar is the smallest purchasable unit. The jar runs 3.19 lbs filled.

The JTS47 is flagged compliant for both ARRA and Buy American, and country of origin is China. On federally funded work, hand those two flags plus the origin to your compliance reviewer, since the governing clause on your contract (Buy American Act versus Build America, Buy America) decides whether a compliant-flagged imported fastener clears.

Head and recess dimensions follow ASME B18.6.3-2013 and the thread form follows ASME B18.6.4, which is the tapping screw thread standard. Minimum torsional strength is 125 lb-in. If a submittal calls out tapping screws to B18.6.4 thread, the JTS47 answers it directly.

Pilot size depends on the gauge you are tapping, so work from the screw geometry: the JTS47 is a #14 diameter with 10 threads per inch and a gimlet point. In sheet metal the pilot should clear the root but let the thread bite, and in wood or particle board the gimlet point will start on its own in soft stock while harder stock needs a pilot to keep the shank from splitting the material or shearing the screw.

The JTS series is offered in other diameters and lengths beyond the #14 x 3 in. JTS47, available by request, so a quote on a different size in the same pan head combo sharp point configuration can be put together. Note one exception the manufacturer calls out: dimensions for the #9 diameter are independent of ASME B18.6.4.