Hex Washer Head Self Drilling Sheet Metal Screws

How To: Installing Self Drilling TEK Screws In Metal | Fasteners 101

Installing Self Drilling TEK Screws In Metal Transcript

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Bob: Welcome back to Albany County Fasteners - Fasteners 101. I'm Bob and today we're going to talk about TEK (drilling point) screws, self drillers. So let's get started.

I have five different kinds of TEK screws here. The most common is the Hex Head that everybody uses. This has what they call a self-driller. The point is a TEK 3. Basically, that's the type of steel it can go through. This can typically go through about 12-gauge steel and I’ll demonstrate that today. I have some galvanized channel we're going to test on. These are the same but basically different heads.

We got a flat head here with a TEK (point) on it. If you're using it for wood, attaching wood to metal. This is a pan head, a Phillips pan head, same thing: a TEK 3 on there. Then I have a TEK 5. You can see this drill point is substantially longer. This is made to drill through structural steel and we're going to demonstrate that also today and it has very very tight threads. These are #12-24. There is a little relief cut in there. That's what starts the threading in the steel. And I also have a 410, I'm sorry, an alloy Buildex TEK 5. This TEK 5 is a USA-made product. It has a chem-seal on the outside to prevent rusting.

These here that I just showed you are 410 stainless. 410 stainless has more alloy in it and less nickel. As you can see this is a magnet; they're very magnetized. So, in a saltwater application, these will attract surface rust. If you use any of these screws where you have saltwater in the air, in other words at the beach. You will see, eventually, rust. Accumulation on the surface.

So, let's get started on testing these screws. I have a piece of Kindorf here. This is approximately 12-gauge channel. It's used on many construction sites. This is hot dip galvanized alloy 12 gauge. I have a hex self-driller TEK screw here. This is the most widely used screw in the industry. This is a number 10 x 1” with a number 3 point. I'm gonna demonstrate right now, installing this screw in the Kindorf. I have a hammer drill here with a magnetic holder. Let's see how this does.

This is 410 stainless going into 12 gauge. I gotta make sure my vise is tight here. You don't want to go too fast, it's not a good thing. You want to keep consistent pressure. If you go over 2,300 RPM you'll burn the tip out and it just won't drill. You'll grab another one and you'll have to put another screw in. We're almost there. There we go.

Now that's pretty heavy, 12-gauge, this is 410 stainless. If you're going into 14 gauge it'll track and stud very easily. This will go through. I wanted to test it on a heavier gauge because once you go below 12 you're now going into structural steel. We're going to test on structural steel, but I don't think that this is going to do so well on it. You're really gonna have to work that screw to get it in. it in.

We're also now going to try a TEK 5. Which, this is also made for structural steel that's why it has such a long drill point. That went a lot faster. That's a TEK5 for you and that is 410 stainless. Now I’m gonna test a TEK5 alloy Buildex which is an American made product. These both (the two TEK self-drilling screws already installed) are imports from Taiwan.

Again, you don't want to run the drill too fast. You go to fast? You'll burn the point out. So, I would say, that the import did just as well as the USA brand product. Now I'm gonna switch and we're gonna try the structural steel. So I have my 3/8" structural steel here: it's my test piece. We're gonna test this standard TEK 3 going into the structural steel. Of course, structural steel has different makeups, they have higher PSI. It depends on the structural steel you're going through there's harder structural steel vs softer structural steel and you're gonna get a result that'll be different.

I haven't tested this yet. This is the first time. So, let’s give it a whirl and see how far we get into this. Whoops. Gotta grab my screw. I'm applying a little too much pressure, but it seems to be doing a pretty good job. Not bad. I'm pretty impressed with that.

Now I'm going to drive another TEK 5 stainless steel 410; We're gonna test this one also. It did excellent. Perfect. Another thing you have to think about with TEK 5: TEK 5's are always longer so you can’t use them in tight spots. TEK 5s are a minimum of 1-1/4" long and can go all the way up to 4 inches. You can get them.

Now I'm going to use the USA brand product which is alloy with the (Buildex) coating. This is a TEK 5 also. Oops (dropped it). I have another one here. The key to these screws is that you don't have to pre-drill a hole and then thread the hole for the screw to go in. It does it all in one shot. So, as I demonstrated for you, you can see that a TEK 3 and a TEK 5 can go straight through structural steel. There is the possibility with the TEK 3 that you will have the screw heat up and possibly bust. But a TEK 5? They're actually made for this application.

If you are going into metal studs, let’s just say, 16-gauge, 14-gauge, 20-gauge; These screws will go through there like butter. I'm showing you an application where you're going through much heavier pieces of steel and if you can go through this you, you can go through anything lighter much easier.

Thanks for Watching!