Metallics SP178 Screws 6-32 X 1/2 Ov Sl Wall Plt St-zn (Clam 100)

Yes. The SP178 is a 6-32 x 1/2 inch wall plate screw, and 6-32 is the standard machine thread used on the mounting ears of switches, receptacles and device plates in North America. Thread count is 32 threads per inch, so it threads straight into the device strap without chasing or tapping.

At 1/2 inch, the SP178 covers the normal case: plate against a device whose ears are at or near the drywall face. If the box is recessed behind thick tile, a mud ring or furred-out wall, the device sits deeper and 1/2 inch will not reach, so you want a longer 6-32 machine screw or a 6-32 extension. Metallics does make other sizes and quantities in this screw on request.

No. The SP178 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, these will not satisfy it and you need a domestically sourced 6-32 plate screw instead.

The head is antique black, so it blends with black, dark bronze and oil-rubbed style plates rather than standing out the way a bare zinc screw does. The screw itself is steel with a zinc finish, then plated and painted for the black head, so the shank is protected underneath the color.

They ship 100 to a clamshell pack, and the order minimum is one box of 100. That is a sensible truck-stock quantity for a service van or a punch-list cart doing plate swaps across a building.

Metallics lists this screw for the electrical, plumbing, heating and air conditioning trades, so it works anywhere a short 6-32 machine screw into a tapped ear or strap is called for, not just device plates. It will not work as a sheet metal or wood screw: it is a machine thread and needs an existing 6-32 tapped hole.

The packed clamshell of 100 weighs 0.26 lbs and measures 3.75 by 2.75 by 1.5 inches. It is a visual plastic hanging box, so it pegs on a retail or shop display rail without repackaging.