# Tek / self-drilling screw drill points #1 to #5: how thick a steel each point drills (four sources, shown side by side)

> Which self-drilling (Tek) screw point number do I need for 14 gauge or 1/4 in steel, and how thick can a #3, #4 or #5 point drill?

- Category: Hardware › Fasteners
- Kind: Standard part
- Basis: ITW Buildex's TEKS selector, AFT Fasteners' material-thickness table, Albany County Fasteners' point guide and HB Bolt's Tek 4 / 5 cut sheet; the four sources disagree and are shown as printed; numbers only
- Page: https://xemstudio.com/objects/tek-self-drilling-screw-drill-points/ · JSON: https://xemstudio.com/api/geometry?object=tek-self-drilling-screw-drill-points · Plain text: https://xemstudio.com/objects/tek-self-drilling-screw-drill-points/sheet.txt
- License: dimension sheet CC BY 4.0 (Xem Studio); files CC BY 4.0 or their publisher's license
- Use in every chat: add https://xemstudio.com/mcp as a connector (https://xemstudio.com/use-with-ai/)

**Exact dimensions.** True size, with no tolerance added.

## Notes

- There is no free standard table for Tek drill points: the numbers below are what each seller prints. They disagree. For a #2 point: Buildex .036 – .100 in (8-18) and .036 – .175 in (10-24); AFT .035 – .110 in overall (#6 to #10); Albany 0.060 in maximum. For a #3 point: Buildex .036 – .175 in; AFT .110 – .210 in (starting where #2 stops); Albany 0.125 in maximum. For a #5 point all of AFT and Albany print 0.5 in. A '#1' point is .018 – .095 in on Buildex and 0.015 in maximum on Albany.
- Use the maker's chart for the screw you buy, and test the stack. The point number increases with the thickness of steel drilled; the drilling range depends on screw size, point length and the material strength.
- ITW Buildex's page only lists points #1, #2 and #3; the gauge column is the page's gauge-to-thickness mapping with approximations where the page's values (.095, .100, .175 in) are not exact gauges. 'Drill-and-tap capacity' and 'max material attachment' are Buildex's own column names; the page does not define them beyond that, so they are shown as printed. The AFT table gives 'overall thickness range' per point and a 'material thickness' per screw size; its '5/6-18' reads as a typo for 5/16-18.
- HB Bolt prints a 'drilling capacity' of up to 6 in for #4 and #5 points (for example 1/4-14 #5: 1.5 thru 6 in). Those values cannot be steel thicknesses (a #5 point drills about 0.5 in of steel in the other sources), so the column is not used as a steel limit here; the sheet does not say what it measures. Its major and minor diameters are labelled and are shown; its three further unlabelled max / min pairs and the CDE Fasteners sheet (garbled column headers) are not used.
- Screw diameters (basic): #6 0.138, #8 0.164, #10 0.190, #12 0.216, 1/4 0.250, 5/16 0.3125, 3/8 0.375 in (Grabber's table). Head dimensions of metric self-drilling screws (hex washer head, pan head): self-drilling-screws-din-7504-heads. Thread-forming sheet-metal screws: self-tapping-screws-iso-7049-pan-head.
- No file: a drill point's flute and tip geometry are not published as numbers in the sources read. Inch hex-washer-head dimensions (ASME B18.6.4) were not found on a page that could be read.

## Sizes

| source | point | screw size / sizes | drilling range or maximum (steel thickness unless noted) | as printed with it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ITW Buildex TEKS selector | #1 | 10-16 × 3/4 HWH; 1/4-14 × 7/8 HWH | .018 – .095 in | 26 ga to about 14 ga (page's gauge table); drill-and-tap capacity .220 and .380 in; max attachment 5/16 and 3/8 in |
| ITW Buildex TEKS selector | #2 | 8-18 × 1/2 HWH | .036 – .100 in | 20 ga to about 14 ga; drill-and-tap .205 in; max attachment 1/4 in |
| ITW Buildex TEKS selector | #2 | 10-24 × 3/4 HWH | .036 – .175 in | 20 ga to beyond 12 ga; drill-and-tap .200 in; max attachment 5/16 in |
| ITW Buildex TEKS selector | #3 | 10-16 × 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, 1, 1-1/4, 1-1/2 HWH | .036 – .175 in | 20 ga to beyond 12 ga; drill-and-tap .150 / .200 / .325 / .575 / .825 / 1.075 in by length; max attachment 5/16 in |
| AFT Fasteners guideline | #2 | #6 / #8 / #10 | .035 – .090 / .035 – .100 / .035 – .110 in | overall thickness range .035 – .110 in |
| AFT Fasteners guideline | #3 | #10 | .110 – .175 in | overall range .110 – .210 in |
| AFT Fasteners guideline | #3 | #12 / #14 / 5/16-18 (printed 5/6-18) | .110 – .210 in | overall range .110 – .210 in; '5/6-18' on the page reads as a typo for 5/16-18 |
| AFT Fasteners guideline | #4 | #12-1/4 | .187 – .312 in | 'Heavy Duty .187 – .500 in' |
| AFT Fasteners guideline | #4.5 | #12 | .187 – .375 in | 'Heavy Duty .187 – .500 in' |
| AFT Fasteners guideline | #5 | #12-1/4 | .187 – .500 in | 'Heavy Duty .187 – .500 in'; page says a 5 point drills 0.5 in (12.7 mm) steel |
| Albany County Fasteners guide | Tek 1 | — | 0.015 in max (0.38 mm) | 29 – 20 gauge |
| Albany County Fasteners guide | Tek 2 | — | 0.060 in max (1.52 mm) | 16 – 14 gauge |
| Albany County Fasteners guide | Tek 3 | — | 0.125 in max (3.18 mm) | 11 – 7 gauge |
| Albany County Fasteners guide | Tek 4 | — | 0.187 in max (4.75 mm) | 7 – 3 gauge |
| Albany County Fasteners guide | Tek 5 | — | 0.500 in max (12.7 mm) | 1/2 in thick |
| HB Bolt cut sheet (as printed under 'drilling capacity') | #4 | 12-14 (major .215 / .209, minor .164 / .157) | 7/8 thru 1.25 in | see note: values exceed steel thickness, so the column is not a steel-thickness limit |
| HB Bolt cut sheet | #5 | 12-14 (major .215 / .209, minor .164 / .157) | 3/4 thru 4 in | same |
| HB Bolt cut sheet | #4 | 1/4-14 (major .246 / .240, minor .192 / .185) | 7/8 thru 3.5 in | same |
| HB Bolt cut sheet | #5 | 1/4-14 (major .246 / .240, minor .192 / .185) | 1.5 thru 6 in | same |
| HB Bolt cut sheet | #4 | 5/16-12 (major .315 / .307, minor .272 / .263) | 1 thru 1.5 in | same |
| HB Bolt cut sheet | #5 | 5/16-12 (major .315 / .307, minor .244 / .236) | 1 thru 3 in | same |

## Where the files are

- ITW Buildex: [TEKS self-drilling fasteners product data: point selector (#1, #2, #3) with drill range, drill-and-tap capacity and maximum material attachment for HWH screws](https://www.buildsite.com/pdf/itwbuildex/TEKS-Self-Drilling-Fasteners-Product-Data-661414.pdf) — web — Maker product data; numbers only
- AFT Fasteners: [Self-drilling screws / Tek screws: material thickness guidelines by point size (#2, #3, #4, #4.5, #5) and screw size](https://www.aftfasteners.com/self-drilling-screws/) — web — Distributor technical table; numbers only
- Albany County Fasteners: [Self-drilling screw point guide: Tek 1 to Tek 5 maximum steel thickness and gauge range](https://www.albanycountyfasteners.com/media/g0/f1/0e/1764617820/self-drilling-screw-point-guide.pdf) — web — Distributor guide; numbers only
- HB Bolt: [Tek 4 and Tek 5 point self-drilling screws: size, point, 'drilling capacity' (thickness, in) and diameters, 12-14, 1/4-14, 5/16-12](https://www.hbbolt.com/_Product_Cut_Sheets/Tek4&5InfoPage.pdf) — web — Distributor cut sheet; numbers only; column pairs after the minor diameter are unlabelled and not used
- Grabber Construction Products: [Self-drilling screw selection guide: basic screw diameter by normal size, 0 to 3/8 in (cross-check of #8 and #10 diameters)](https://www.grabberpro.com/userfiles/documents/TechnicalDocuments/Manuals/Self-Drilling-Screw-Selection-Guide.pdf) — web — Maker guide; numbers only

## Questions

**How thick a steel does a #3 Tek point drill?**

Buildex prints .036 – .175 in; AFT .110 – .210 in; Albany 0.125 in maximum. The sources disagree; check the screw maker's chart.

**What is the maximum thickness for a #5 self-drilling point?**

0.500 in (12.7 mm) on both the AFT guideline and the Albany guide.

**Which Tek point for 14 gauge steel?**

A 14 gauge sheet is about .075 in on Buildex's gauge table: Buildex's #1, #2 and #3 ranges all include it; Albany's Tek 2 range (16 – 14 gauge) is the one aimed at it.

## Fits with

- [Self-drilling screws DIN 7504: hexagon washer head (type K) and pan / countersunk heads (N, P), ST2.2–ST6.3: head diameter, height, drill-point diameter, drilling depth](https://xemstudio.com/objects/self-drilling-screws-din-7504-heads/)
- [Self-tapping (sheet metal) screws: ISO 7049 pan head ST2.2–ST6.3 and ASME B18.6.4 Type AB thread #2 to 3/8](https://xemstudio.com/objects/self-tapping-screws-iso-7049-pan-head/)
- [Sheet metal screw pilot holes: drill size and hole diameter for Types AB, A and 1/23/F, by sheet thickness (#2 to 1/2)](https://xemstudio.com/objects/sheet-metal-screw-pilot-holes/)
- [Rivet nuts (blind threaded inserts), flat head: hole size, grip range, body and flange dimensions, M3–M12 and #6-32 to 3/8-16](https://xemstudio.com/objects/rivet-nuts-flat-head/)
- [Hex head screws, M3–M8 (ISO 4017)](https://xemstudio.com/objects/hex-head-screws-metric/)