Metallics JSPM12SS 8-32 x 3/8 in. Pan Head Slotted Machine Screws - 18-8 Stainless - Each

8-32 is the standard thread for device and cover mounting in steel boxes, and the Metallics JSPM12SS is an 8-32 UNC screw at 32 threads per inch. The 3/8 in. length suits tapped box ears and plaster rings where you only need a few threads of engagement. For deeper stack-ups, such as mounting through a raised ring plus an extension, you will want a longer 8-32 rather than this 3/8 in. size.

18-8 stainless is the austenitic 300-series grade used where plated steel screws would rust, so it holds up in wet locations, exterior boxes, coastal jobs, and washdown areas. The tradeoff is strength: minimum tensile is 80,000 psi, with hardness reported on the Rockwell B scale, which is well below a hardened alloy steel screw. For a corrosive environment the stainless is the right call; for high-torque structural fastening it is not.

A #2 slotted driver is the called-out size. The slot runs 0.045 to 0.054 in. wide and 0.045 to 0.058 in. deep, so a cabinet-tip or keystone blade that matches that width will seat fully without camming out the edges of the slot. There is no Phillips recess on these; the drive is slotted only.

Yes. The screws are made to ASME B18.6.3-2010, the dimensional standard for inch-series machine screws, with threads to SAE material standard practice. That means head and thread dimensions interchange with any other B18.6.3 8-32 pan head slotted screw on the job.

They ship in a jar with a 100-count order minimum, so the buying unit is a 100-piece jar rather than loose pieces. The filled jar weighs 0.36 lbs. Metallics does list other lengths and quantities in the SPM line by request if 3/8 in. or 100 pieces is not what the job needs.

The JSPM12SS is flagged as both Buy American compliant and ARRA compliant in the Metallics product record. Country of origin is listed as multiple, which is common for fastener lines drawn from more than one mill. For a federally funded job, cite the compliance flags and keep the documentation with the submittal.

These are machine screws, not self-tapping screws. The 8-32 UNC thread mates with an existing tapped 8-32 hole or an 8-32 nut, so the hole has to be tapped first or the part has to be pre-threaded. Drilling into untapped sheet metal and driving one of these will strip rather than hold.

The rating on record is 80,000 psi minimum tensile, but Metallics notes that tensile values for stainless screws are approximations because there is no single performance standard for stainless machine screws. Treat it as a guide for general device and enclosure mounting, not as a design load for anything structural or life-safety.