Talk:Self-tapping screw

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this article seems to contradict itself, second sentence "Self-tapping screws are commonly used with sheet metal and plastic components." last sentence "Self tapping screws are most useful when doing metal and wood work." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.0.144.113 (talk) 02:19, 26 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Self-tappers aren't intended for use in wood. Those are woodscrews, and are different. This article confuses self tappers (originally for sheetmetal) with the broader abstract group of thread-forming screws (which includes woodscrews, self-tappers, and threads like pentalobe Taptite screws that self-form a thread in ductile metals, but need a pilot hole to do so).
 * This is also complicated by modern parallel-thread woodscrews, developed for use in man-made boards, as these strongly resemble self-tappers to the naked eye (the shape is identical but the thread profile is different). Andy Dingley (talk) 15:48, 30 December 2013 (UTC)

Home Improvement StackExchange is criticising this article's choice of images
2A00:23C5:FE0B:700:21C2:3906:554E:213E (talk) 20:08, 22 February 2020 (UTC)
 * Welcome to Wikipedia. Rule #1 of image use is that we have to either work with what we have, or photograph some new ones. We can't just magic up the perfect image. OK, it's only screws – we have screws to hand, we can do some new photos. But still, it's more work to do that than to use what's already there.

It's not a great photo - it would be better if it showed the tips. But these are self-tappers. As the article describes, they're self-tappers for ductile materials. They're not self-cutting (with flutes), Taptite (non-circular), or self-drilling (with drill points), but they are still the basic self-tapper.

They're not machine screws, or bolts (most of which can be used as screws). Nor are they the traditional (tapered thread) woodscrew (although modern woodscrews for man-made boards are parallel-threaded and almost indistinguishable).

This, "just regular sheet metal screws" is odd because that's exactly what they are: screws used in sheetmetal are self-tappers (sometimes sheetmetal work uses inserted nuts, but that's less common). But then clearly StackExchange doesn't have much of a clue on screws, and certainly doesn't rely on robust off-site sourcing.

If you want a better image, then fine (we could use one). But we'd have to start by finding one, not just removing the existing one. Andy Dingley (talk) 21:31, 22 February 2020 (UTC)

This file (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Self_tapping_screw.tif) which is already on the Wikimedia Commons seems like a better representation and is similar to what people were showing on the stackexchange thread, I went ahead and changed it for now. Is everyone happy with the new photo? O0factuallycorrect0o (talk) 20:03, 23 February 2020 (UTC)
 * No (and it's already reverted) because they're self-drilling self-tappers (which is a sub-group within self tappers) and it's untrue in the added text that self-tappers are all also self-drilling. Many of them, require existing holes. Most of them need holes in some materials (such as sheetmetal) but can pierce their own holes in something softer, such as plastics. Andy Dingley (talk) 20:16, 23 February 2020 (UTC)