Metallics JTSF10 4 x 1/2 in. Flat Head Phillips Tapping Screws - Steel Zinc - Each

The Metallics JTSF10 is a Type A tapping screw with a gimlet point, meaning it comes to a sharp tip and forms its own thread as it drives into sheet metal or soft materials. The gimlet point lets it start in a punched or drilled hole in thin stock without tapping it first. For harder or thicker material you still want a pilot hole sized to the thread.

No. The JTSF10 tapping screws are not Buy American compliant and are not ARRA compliant, and the country of origin is listed as multiple. For a job with domestic sourcing requirements you'll need a documented domestic fastener instead.

It's a self tapping screw, not a machine screw. Type A threads are coarse and spaced for forming their own mating thread in sheet material, and they will not run into a tapped machine screw hole or take a nut. If you need a nut or a tapped boss, order a #4-40 machine screw instead.

Use a #1 Phillips bit. The #4 x 1/2 in. flat head has a small recess, 0.122 in. diameter and 0.081 in. deep, so a #2 bit will cam out and chew the recess. Keep a #1 bit on the driver when you're running these.

Zinc plated steel is a mild corrosion coating, fine for indoor panels, device boxes, duct and mechanical rooms. It is not a marine or sustained wet exposure finish. For direct weather or washdown, specify stainless instead.

They ship in a jar of 100, which is the order minimum. One jar is the smallest quantity available.

Yes. The JTSF10 is case hardened to Rockwell C28-38 from AISI 1016-1024 steel, which is what lets the gimlet point form a thread in sheet metal and light gauge stock rather than stripping out.

Metallics lists them for the electrical, plumbing, heating and air conditioning trades. Typical use is fastening device plates, straps, brackets, and sheet metal into light gauge material where a flush head is wanted.