What thread are they? I'd guess at American Coarse or UNC. They seem to cost about a couple of quid for a packet of twenty on Ebay - must be cheaper to buy a hundred elsewhere?
Hard Disc fixing screws.
May 14, 2012
19 Replies
Never had to buy any, they just seem to accumulate in the oddments tray
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course you always use them up on friends' computers so your own discs end up fitted with just 2 or 3 screws.
Varies older discs I have (>5 years) are probably UNC. More recent discs seem to have machine screw thread tapped holes possibly metric.
There seem to be at least two common sizes. Some take the normal case diameter screws, and others need the smaller ones that are closer to M3.
Three 3.5" drives to hand all take the "case" screws (both for side and bottom mounting) but a 2.5" one takes smaller ...
Hitachi website says M3 (max thread length 2.5mm) for those.
I'd be ok if they were metric - got vast stocks of those in the common sizes. So it's the larger ones commonly used on 3.5" HDs and desktop cases.
Mine seems to empty faster than it fills...
American (or National) coarse 6-32
I you're in no particular hurry for some ...
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UNC 6/32
About 0.135 inch or 3.4mm according to my callipers...
A 6-32 UTC thread apparently:
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used to be in the 99p corner in the offer leaflets from time to time. (I've not noticed them recently, but I stopped getting the leaflets for about 6 months and they only just started coming again).
Google Shopping has a few listed as "£1 free shipping" but I suspect the free shipping won't apply for such a tiny order if you actually get as far as the checkout ...
I think 2.5" drives have different sized holes for mounting.. the ones the OP is talking about fit the holes in the side. there are different holes in the face but I don't recall what size.
Those are the M3 size.
I had a suspicion the ones on the face of the disc were smaller than the ones on the edge, but I checked, and the "case" screws fit all mounting points on a 3.5"
UTS = Unified Thread Standard, which is a generic term that encompasses both UNC and UNF threads. As you say UTS 6-32 is also UNC 6-32.
Colin Bignell
It does if you remember to tick the correct box - it defaults to charging you for first class postage. But VAT ain't included.
6/32 is the same thread as used to fix power outlets in australia
The UK used BA up until about '70, then changed to M3.5.
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