Metallics DWC9B 8 x 3 in. Bugle Head Phillips Drywall Screws - Steel Black Phosphate - Coarse Threads - Each

Coarse thread is the wood-stud screw, and that is what the DWC9B is: UNC coarse threads at 8 to 10 threads per inch with a sharp point, so it bites into wood framing without a pilot hole. Fine thread screws are for light gauge steel studs. If your framing is metal, this is the wrong screw.

For a single layer of 1/2 in. board on wood studs, 3 in. is much more screw than you need. The DWC9B at #8 x 3 in. earns its length on double layer board, thick backing, furring over existing wall, and wood to wood work like cabinet hanging and blocking, which is exactly the range of jobs it is listed for. For plain single layer board, drop to a shorter #6 drywall screw.

No on both counts. The DWC9B is not Buy American compliant and is not ARRA compliant, with country of origin listed as multiple. On a federally funded project with domestic sourcing requirements, you need a domestically manufactured screw instead.

A #2 Phillips bit. The DWC9B has a Phillips drive with a recess diameter of 0.176 to 0.201 in. and a recess depth of 0.124 in., which is standard #2 territory. Three power bits ship with the box, so a crew can start without sourcing bits separately.

That is what the bugle head is for. The DWC9B head measures 0.315 to 0.363 in. across with a head height of 0.020 to 0.039 in., so the curved underside compresses the board and seats just below the surface instead of cutting through the paper. Run it with a depth-setting attachment and it dimples clean for mud.

The DWC9B is a 2,000 piece box, and 2,000 each is the order minimum. It ships as a box weighing 22.25 lbs. Metallics does build other sizes and quantities in the JDWC and DWC drywall screw series on request if 2,000 of a 3 in. screw is more than the job needs.

The DWC9B is heat treated to Rockwell C45-64 on AISI 1018 steel. That hardness is what lets a sharp point self-drill into wood framing at speed. The trade off is the same one every hardened drywall screw carries: it is brittle in shear, so it is a fastener for holding board and trim, not for structural or load bearing connections.

Metallics lists the DWC9B for wood to wood and cabinet installations as well as drywall to wood, and the 3 in. length reaches through a cabinet rail and board into solid stud. For hanging upper cabinets most installers still prefer a washer head or structural cabinet screw, since a bugle head pulls into the rail and the hardened steel has limited shear strength.

Close, but not to the thousandth. There is no single industry standard for bugle head or drywall screw dimensions, so Metallics publishes the DWC9B head width of 0.315 to 0.363 in. and head height of 0.020 to 0.039 in. as ranges and notes that slight deviations are acceptable. For mixing with another brand on the same wall it makes no practical difference; for an automated feed tool, check the head against your collation.