Metallics WDW45B 8 x 1-1/4 in. Wafer Head Phillips Sharp Point Drywall Screws - Steel Zinc - Each

Sharp point is the right choice for wood framing and light gauge steel only. The WDW45B is a self-piercing and tapping screw with a sharp point, so it pierces thin material on its own without a pilot hole. For heavier gauge steel studs you want a drill point (self-drilling) screw instead, because a sharp point will walk or burn out on thick steel.

A wafer head gives you low clearance with a much larger bearing surface than a bugle head, so it clamps sheet material down flat instead of countersinking into it. That is what you want when the screw head has to sit close to flush under a panel, trim, or track rather than being mudded over. If you are hanging board to be finished with joint compound, a bugle head is the usual pick.

A #2 Phillips. The screws take a Phillips drive at #2 driver size, and three power bits ship with the box so you are not hunting for one on site.

The WDW45B ships as a 5,000 piece box, which is the order minimum. Metallics does offer other sizes and quantities in the WDW series by request if 5,000 of this size is more than the job needs.

They run Rockwell C28-38 case hardness with a minimum torsional rating of 45 Kg/cm, made from AISI 1018-1022 steel. That is the range that lets a self-piercing screw tap its own thread without the shank twisting off at gun speed.

Zinc plated steel is a dry interior finish. The WDW45B is steel with a zinc coating, which handles normal interior humidity but is not a coating you want on an exterior wall, a wet area, or anywhere in contact with treated lumber. For those, go to a coated or stainless fastener.

Metallics lists the WDW45B as both ARRA compliant and Buy American compliant, with country of origin recorded as multiple. If your specification has a domestic content clause, that is the pairing your submittal package needs to reflect.

The box runs 34 lbs and measures 9 x 9 x 6.13 inches. Worth knowing if you are staging multiple boxes on a lift or carrying them up floors.

Not necessarily. There is no single industry standard governing self-piercing screw dimensions, so the head width, head height, and length figures published for the WDW45B are a guide and minor deviations can occur. If you are matching an existing fastener on a visible surface, check a sample head against what is already installed.