Metallics PDS1B 6 x 7/16 in. Pan Head Phillips Self-Drilling & Tapping Framing Screws - Steel Black Phosphate - Each

The PDS1B is a #6 diameter by 7/16 inch pan head Phillips framing screw with a self-drilling drill point, so it bores and taps its own hole in light gauge steel framing without a pilot hole. The short 7/16 inch length is meant for metal-to-metal work like fastening track to stud, not for hanging drywall board.

No pilot hole. The PDS carries a #2 drill point that cuts through the steel ahead of the threads, then taps as it seats. Run it with a #2 Phillips driver at a moderate speed and let the point finish drilling before the threads pull down, or you will spin the hole out.

A pan head does not countersink. Head height on the PDS1B runs 0.098 to 0.114 inch and head width 0.263 to 0.295 inch, so it stands proud of the steel. That is fine for framing connections buried in the wall, but if the fastener falls where board will lay over it you want a low profile wafer or bugle head instead so the panel sits flat.

No. The PDS1B is not Buy American compliant and is not ARRA compliant, with multiple countries of origin. If your specification carries a domestic sourcing clause, this fastener will not satisfy it and you need a domestically produced self-drilling screw instead.

The PDS1B ships as a 15,000 piece box, sold by the each. That is a stocking quantity for a framing crew or a shop bin, not a one job handful. Three power bits come in the box with the screws.

Keep it dry. Black phosphate is a mild corrosion and friction coating on carbon steel, not a weather finish, so the PDS1B belongs in interior framing, ceiling grid, and concealed work. For exterior walls, unconditioned space, or anywhere it sees moisture, move to a zinc plated or coated exterior rated self-drilling screw.

The PDS is rated to a 24 lb-in minimum torsional strength and case hardened to HV 270-450, made from AISI 1018 steel. That hardness is what lets the point cut the stud while the shank takes driver torque. Snapping on a #6 usually means the gun is set too high or you kept driving after the head seated, not the screw.

It is carried for the electrical, plumbing, and HVAC trades as much as for framing. Typical use is fastening straps, boxes, brackets, and light hangers to metal stud and channel where the connection is metal to metal. The 7/16 inch length limits it to thin stack ups, so check that your bracket plus the stud flange is inside that grip before you commit a box.

A #2 Phillips. The recess depth runs 0.086 to 0.106 inch, so a worn bit will cam out and strip the head before the point finishes drilling. Three power bits are included with the box, and swapping to a fresh one part way through a large run is normal on a screw this size.

42.3 lbs for the box. Worth knowing if you are staging material on a scaffold or carrying it up to a floor by hand, because a 15,000 count box of #6 screws is a two hand lift, not something to toss on a cart edge.