On Mon, 7 Jun 2010 09:19:38 -0400, "Existential Angst"
wrote:

Awl --

Yeah, I know, a sheetmetal screw.....

But are there designs esp. good for semi-heavy loads attached to 16 ga metal
frames? At least I think they are 16 ga....

The problem I have with traditional sheet metal screws is that the ratio of
the major to the minor diameter seems kind of small, ie, there doesn't seem
to be enough thread "behind" the sheet metal.

Is the idea for the thread to grab the 16 ga material in the minor diameter
and sort of wedge it, or to thread/cut into the material? Apropos of the
latter, are chassis screws viable? Still made?

Are sheetrock screws a no-no? I like coarse SR screws, bec they seem to have
a large root/major diam ratio.

Sources for the "right kind" of fastener for this app?

There are threaded inserts that you "set" with a pop rivet gun. They
then take standard machine screws of various sizes.