Metallics JTS84 8 x 2-1/2 in. Pan Head Phillips Sharp Point Tapping Screws - Steel Zinc - Each

Type A is a sharp gimlet point tapping screw, meaning it forms its own thread as it drives rather than needing a tapped hole. The JTS84 has a gimlet point and 15 threads per inch, a coarse spacing suited to thin sheet metal, wood, and similar soft substrates. If you are fastening into concrete, masonry, or thick steel plate, this is the wrong screw type for the job.

Both flags come back compliant on the JTS84: Buy American compliant and ARRA compliant. Country of origin is listed as multiple, so if your contract requires a single named origin on the submittal, that is the detail to pin down with the order.

A #2 Phillips bit. The recess is a Phillips drive with a 0.169 to 0.182 inch recess diameter and 0.108 inch depth, so a #2 seats fully. Using a #1 will cam out and chew the recess.

The pan head measures 0.306 to 0.322 inch across and 0.105 to 0.115 inch tall. That is a low, rounded profile that sits on the surface rather than countersinking, so it will stand roughly an eighth of an inch proud. If you need the head flush or under a tight cover plate, a flat head countersunk screw is the better choice.

The JTS84 is zinc plated carbon steel, made from AISI 1016 to 1024 material. Zinc plating is a dry or protected indoor coating; it handles incidental moisture but will corrode in sustained wet or coastal exposure. For permanent exterior or damp locations, specify a stainless steel screw instead.

Head and recess dimensions follow ASME B18.6.3-2013, and the thread conforms to ASME B18.6.4, the tapping screw standard. Worth noting for anyone matching a submittal: the manufacturer states that dimensions for #9 diameter screws in the JTS line fall outside ASME B18.6.4. The JTS84 is a #8 diameter, so the standard applies.

At 2-1/2 inches of overall length, a #8 Type A screw passes through 1/2 inch drywall with roughly 2 inches of thread left to bite into framing, which is ample for mounting boxes, straps, and brackets. The gimlet point taps its own thread in wood framing, so no pilot hole is required in soft lumber.

They ship in a jar of 100, which is also the order minimum, counted in each. Jar packaging keeps them contained on a service van or a parts cart rather than loose in a bin.