Metallics JTSP39 6 x 2 in. Pan Head Phillips Sharp Point Tapping Screws - Steel Zinc - Each

No countersink needed. Pan head screws bear on the surface, so the head sits proud on top of the material. On the JTSP39 the head measures 0.256 to 0.270 in. across and 0.087 to 0.097 in. high, so figure roughly a quarter inch of head diameter and under a tenth of an inch of stand-off when you are checking clearance behind a cover or device plate. If you need the head flush with the surface, you need a flat head screw and a countersunk hole instead.

Metallics lists the JTSP39 as both Buy American compliant and ARRA compliant, with country of origin China. If your contract runs on a Buy America (not Buy American) domestic-melt clause, read the two codes carefully against your spec language before you submit them.

The Metallics JTSP39 is a Type A tapping screw, meaning it has a gimlet (sharp) point and a coarse 18 threads per inch thread that cuts its own thread as it drives. That combination is for thin sheet metal and resinous plywood work, not for machine-threaded holes and not for structural fastening. On electrical jobs it is the screw used for sheet metal enclosures, boxes, straps and backing where you are driving into light-gauge metal or wood without pre-tapping. If the hole is already tapped, you want a machine screw instead.

A #2 Phillips bit. The JTSP39 has a Phillips recess 0.153 to 0.166 in. in diameter and 0.091 in. deep, which is the standard #2 driver profile. Using a #1 will cam out and chew the recess; a #3 will not seat.

The JTSP39 is zinc plated carbon steel, which is a dry-location, indoor-grade finish. It handles normal interior humidity and handling, but in wet locations, exterior work, or anywhere near chlorides it will corrode. For those openings specify a stainless fastener rather than zinc.

Head and recess dimensions on the JTSP39 follow ASME B18.6.3-2013, and the thread follows ASME B18.6.4, the tapping screw standard. One caveat Metallics states outright: dimensions for #9 diameter screws in this family are independent of ASME B18.6.4. For the submittal, the governing pair is B18.6.3-2013 dimensional and B18.6.4 thread, with AISI 1016 to 1024 steel.

Two inches of length will reach a stud through 1/2 in. drywall with plenty of thread left, and the gimlet point will start in wood without a pilot. But understand what the JTSP39 is: a Type A tapping screw with 18 threads per inch, built for thin metal and resinous plywood. It is not a drywall screw and it is not a wood screw, and the zinc plated head is not bugle shaped so it will not set below a paper face. For hanging a strap or box to a stud it works; for finishing drywall it is the wrong fastener.

The JTSP39 ships in a jar of 100, and 100 count is the order minimum, so one jar is the smallest buy. The packed jar weighs 0.66 lbs. Metallics also makes other diameters and lengths in the JTSP series available by request if a 2 in. #6 is not the length you need.