Metallics TP131SFC Screws 10-32 x 1-1/2 FH Hx Pin TR MS (100 pcs)

It's a hex head with a center pin, so a standard hex key or Torx bit will not drive it. You need a pin-in-hex (hex-pin) security bit sized to the recess, which has a hole bored in the center to clear the pin. That pin is the whole point: it blocks a plain hex wrench from seating, which is what makes the screw tamper resistant.

10-32 is the thread used for grounding screws and device/cover mounting in standard electrical boxes, so the thread matches. Length is the thing to check: at 1-1/2 inches this is a long screw, meant for deep plaster rings, extension rings, or stacked spacers rather than flush cover mounting. On a flush plate, 1-1/2 inches will bottom out or leave excess thread. The flat head seats in a countersunk hole so it finishes flush with the plate face.

No. The TP131SFC is a machine screw in steel (the MS in the call-out is machine screw), not stainless. For wet, coastal, or exterior installs where corrosion is the concern, specify a stainless tamper-resistant machine screw in the same 10-32 x 1-1/2 size instead.

On openings the public can reach, transit shelters, school corridors, detention areas, restrooms, and exposed exterior fixtures, a Phillips or slotted screw comes out with whatever is in someone's pocket. The hex-pin head on the TP131SFC requires a matching security bit, which keeps covers, plates, and guards in place without welding or adhesive and still lets maintenance service the device. The trade-off is that your techs have to carry the bit.

No. A 10-32 machine screw has a blunt, uniform machine thread and needs a pre-tapped hole, a nut, or a threaded insert. It will not cut its own thread in sheet metal, wood, or drywall. If the substrate is untapped, drill and tap to 10-32 first (a #21 drill is the standard tap drill for 10-32), or use a nut on the back side.

One hundred screws per box. That is a practical quantity for a multi-family or institutional standardization job where you are converting a run of cover plates or guards over to tamper-resistant fasteners at once, and it keeps a single security bit matched to every opening in the building.

Order Metallics TP131SFC. That part number covers the 10-32 x 1-1/2 flat head hex-pin tamper-resistant machine screw in the 100-piece box, so repeat orders across a facility stay identical and one security bit continues to fit.