Metallics JTSF23 8 x 1-1/2 in. Flat Head Phillips Tapping Screws - Steel Zinc - Each

The Metallics JTSF23 is a Type A tapping screw with a gimlet point, meaning it comes to a sharp tapered tip and cuts its own thread as it drives. Type A with a gimlet point is made for thin sheet metal and soft materials, where a pilot hole is drilled in metal but the screw forms the thread itself rather than needing a tapped hole. At 15 threads per inch it is a coarse thread, which is what you want in sheet steel, sheet aluminum, and wood-backed work rather than thick structural stock.

No. The JTSF23 is not Buy American compliant and is not ARRA compliant, with country of origin listed as multiple. On a job with domestic sourcing requirements you will need a domestically produced tapping screw instead.

A #2 Phillips bit is the correct driver. The recess measures 0.182 in. in diameter, 0.11 in. deep, with a 0.03 in. recess width, which is standard #2 Phillips geometry. Running a #1 will cam out and a #3 will not seat, so stock #2 bits if you are driving these in volume.

They ship 100 to a jar, and the jar is the order minimum. If you need a different count or a different length in the same JTSF flat head Phillips tapping screw family, other sizes and quantities are available by request.

Torsional strength on the JTSF23 is rated at 39 lb-in minimum, with the steel heat treated to Rockwell C28-38 from AISI 1016-1024 stock. That is adequate for normal powered driving in sheet metal, but 39 lb-in is not much margin on an unregulated impact driver, so a clutched drill-driver or a low torque setting is the safer way to run them.

The JTSF23 is carbon steel with a zinc plated finish. Zinc plating handles indoor and protected use, which is where these belong: electrical, plumbing, and HVAC work such as box mounting, strap and clamp fastening, and duct and panel attachment. For direct weather exposure, wet locations, or treated lumber contact, specify stainless rather than zinc plated steel.