Metallics WDW4B 8 x 1-1/4 in. Wafer Head Phillips Sharp Point Drywall Screws - Steel Zinc - Each

No. The WDW4B is not Buy American compliant and is not ARRA compliant, with country of origin listed as multiple. If your job carries a domestic content requirement, this screw will not satisfy it.

A #2 Phillips bit. The WDW4B uses a Phillips drive and the spec calls for a #2 driver size, which is the standard bit for a #8 drywall screw. Three power bits come with the box, so a crew can start without pulling bits from stock.

The wafer head sits low and spreads load over a large bearing surface, which is what you want when you are fastening sheet material or a bracket flat against framing without the head pulling through. Head width on the WDW4B runs 0.426 to 0.446 in. with a head height of 0.082 to 0.098 in. A bugle head is the one that self-countersinks into drywall paper without tearing it, so if you are hanging board for a finished, taped surface, bugle is the usual pick.

They ship as a box of 10,000 pieces, which is the order minimum on the WDW4B. That is a jobsite or stockroom quantity, not a handful, so it suits contractors and MRO buyers standardizing on one #8 x 1-1/4 in. wafer head screw across a building.

They are case hardened to Rockwell C28-38 and rated for 45 Kg/cm minimum torsional strength, made from AISI 1018-1022 steel. That is the range a drywall screw needs to tap its own thread without the Phillips recess camming out or the shank twisting off under a screw gun.

Keep them dry. The WDW4B is zinc plated steel, which handles indoor humidity and construction exposure but is not a coating for exterior or wet service. For outdoor work or treated lumber, go to a hot dip galvanized or stainless fastener.

Treat them as a guide. Metallics notes there is no single standard for self-piercing screw dimensions, so the published head height of 0.082 to 0.098 in. and head width of 0.426 to 0.446 in. are ranges and small deviations can occur. If a fastener has to fit a machined counterbore or a tight clearance hole, test one before committing the box.

Shipping weight is 61.05 lbs for the box, with carton dimensions of 11.5 x 11.5 x 10.75 in. Worth knowing before it goes on a lift gate or gets carried up to a floor.

Metallics lists the WDW series for electrical, plumbing, heating and air conditioning work. In practice that is hanging straps and clips, fastening plates and light brackets to wood framing, and anchoring sheet material where the low profile head cannot stick up into a fixture or a duct run. The 1-1/4 in. length covers single layer board plus bite into framing.