Metallics JDS163 6 x 1 in. 1/4 Indented Hex Head Slotted Sharp Point Tapping Screws - Steel Zinc - Each

The Metallics JDS163 is a #6 x 1 inch Type A tapping screw with a gimlet (sharp) point, meant for light metal assembly such as electrical outlets, framing and other sheet metal work. The sharp point starts in a pilot hole in thin sheet and forms its own thread as it drives, so you do not need to pre-tap. For thicker steel or structural connections, a self-drilling or machine screw is the better call.

Threads run 18 per inch on a #6 diameter, formed to ASME B18.6.4, the tapping screw thread standard. That is a Type A tapping thread, coarser than a #6-32 machine screw thread, so it will not chase into a hole that was tapped 6-32. Use these in a plain drilled or punched pilot hole in sheet metal and let them form their own thread.

No. The JDS163 tapping screw is not Buy American compliant and is not ARRA compliant, with multiple countries of origin. If your contract carries a domestic sourcing clause, this part will not satisfy it.

Either works. The head is an indented hex measuring 0.244 to 0.25 inches across the flats, so a 1/4 inch nut driver or magnetic hex bit seats on it, and the slotted drive gives you a flat blade option when the nut driver will not reach. Slot width runs 0.039 to 0.048 inches with a depth of 0.033 to 0.046 inches, so use a thin cabinet-tip blade rather than a wide taper.

There is an integral washer under the hex head with an outside diameter of 0.302 to 0.328 inches and a thickness of 0.015 to 0.025 inches. That spreads the load over thin sheet so the head does not pull through, and it covers slightly oversized or slotted holes in outlet boxes and bracket work. Head height itself is 0.08 to 0.093 inches, so it sits low.

They ship in a jar of 100, and 100 is the order minimum, so you are buying by the jar rather than by the piece. A full jar weighs 0.43 lbs.

The JDS163 is steel with a zinc plating, which suits dry interior and protected locations, panels, boxes, framing and general sheet metal. Zinc plating is a light sacrificial coating, not a marine finish, so for wet, coastal or chemically aggressive locations go to a stainless or hot dip galvanized fastener instead.

Case hardness on the JDS163 is Rockwell C28-38 with a minimum torsional strength of 24 lb-in. That is enough to form thread in sheet metal, but a #6 body is small, so drive them with a drill/driver on a low clutch setting rather than an impact. Overdriving past seating is what strips the formed thread or twists the head off.

Head and body dimensions follow ASME B18.6.3-2010, with threads to ASME B18.6.4, and the steel is AISI 1016 to 1024. Width across the hex corners is 0.272 inches. One note for spec writers: dimensions for the #9 diameter in the JDS family fall outside ASME B18.6.4.

At 1 inch of length under a low-profile indented hex washer head, the JDS163 gives plenty of thread engagement for bracket, strap and frame work, but it will protrude well past a single thickness of sheet. If you are landing into shallow work or a box where the point cannot stick through, step down to a shorter length in the same JDS Type A family.