Metallics JSHC3812 3/8-16 x 1/2 in. Socket Head Hex Cap Screws - Alloy Steel Black - Each

A 5/16 inch hex key. The JSHC3812 is internally wrenched with a hex drive socket, and 5/16 is the standard key size for a 3/8 inch socket head cap screw built to ASME B18.3. Socket depth is 0.182 inch, so make sure the key bottoms out before you load it.

Size the counterbore off the head: 0.55 to 0.562 inch across the head width and 0.368 to 0.375 inch head height on the JSHC3812. That is the main reason to use a socket head here instead of a hex head cap screw, since there is no wrench flat clearance to allow for, only the bore and room for the key.

In this case yes. The JSHC3812 alloy steel socket head cap screw runs 180,000 psi minimum tensile and 162,000 psi minimum yield, which is above equivalent sizes of Grade 5 or Grade 8 hex head cap screws. Hardness is Rockwell C39. That strength, plus the smaller head footprint, is why it gets specified on machine mounts and bracketry where there is no room for a wrench.

Yes. 3/8-16 is UN thread form at 16 threads per inch, the standard coarse pitch for 3/8 inch, so it mates with any 3/8-16 tapped hole or nut. At 1/2 inch length there is very little usable thread engagement past a washer or a thin plate, so it is intended for thin-section clamping into a tapped hole, not for stacking material.

Treat it as an indoor, dry-location fastener. The material is alloy steel with a black finish, which is an oil or oxide type appearance coating rather than a plated corrosion barrier, so it offers little protection in damp or exterior work. For wet or exterior mounting, specify a zinc plated or stainless cap screw instead.

They ship in a jar of 100, and 100 is the order minimum. Shipping weight of the jar is 2.91 lbs. Other sizes and quantities can be had by request if 1/2 inch length or 3/8-16 is not what your job calls for.

No. The JSHC3812 is listed as not Buy American compliant and not ARRA compliant, with multiple countries of origin. If your contract carries a domestic sourcing clause, this is not the fastener to submit.

That is the intended use. Metallics lists the field application as the electrical, plumbing, heating and air conditioning industries, which covers panel and enclosure hardware, strut and bracket assemblies, and equipment mounting where a flush, internally wrenched head is needed. The dimensional standard is ASME B18.3-2012, so it interchanges with any other B18.3 socket head cap screw of the same size.