How To Use Sheet Metal Screws

Self drilling or self tapping metal screws increase productivity by reducing the number of steps required to screw together pieces of metal.

How to use sheet metal screws.

Be careful not to over tighten the screw since the metal can be damaged or the screw can break. What is a sheet metal screw. This allows you to skip pre drilling a hole into thinner gauges of sheet metal. Stabilize the screw so it doesn t tilt as it goes in and twist the screw into the metal.

Unlike wooden rivets which are threaded only partially the above mentioned screw s shank is entirely threaded. Self tapping screws come with a notched tip that acts as a drill bit to drive the screw and keep thin metal from denting. A self drilling screw has a chisel tip similar to a drill bit. Let it turn until it goes all the way through as the threads and the sharp point make their own hole.

The metal thickness that you are drilling into needs to be thinner than the length of the drilling point of the screw. To use self tapping screws place the screw directly on the aluminum sheet. If these screws are being used the screw can merely be fitted to the drill bit and driven.