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Engineering quick reference

Tap Drill Chart

Tap drill sizes for UNC, UNF, and metric coarse/fine threads — major diameter, pitch/TPI, and recommended tap drill. NPT and BSP pipe threads included.

True Precision Machining
Section view of a tapped hole drawn to scale for 1/4-20 UNC: a hatched block cut by a number 7 tap drill with 60 degree thread teeth on both walls. Dimension arrows mark the basic minor diameter, the tap drill diameter giving about 75 percent thread, and the major diameter. An inset fundamental triangle shows thread height H with the 75 percent engagement zone shaded. MINOR Ø .196 — BASIC FORM (REF) TAP DRILL Ø .201 — ≈75% THREAD MAJOR Ø .250 SHOWN TO SCALE: 1/4-20 UNC · #7 DRILL (.2010) TAPPED HOLE — SECTION VIEW Tap drill — sized for ~75% thread engagement: stronger than it looks, far easier on taps than 100%. RULE OF THUMB INCH: DRILL = MAJOR − 0.974 / TPI METRIC: DRILL ≈ MAJOR − PITCH both give ≈75% thread engagement THREAD HEIGHT H — 60° V-FORM 60° ≈75% THD 100% THD P H = 0.866 × P 75% VS 100% ENGAGEMENT The drill sets the crest; the tap cuts the flanks & root. Past ~75%, tap torque climbs fast for little strength gain.

KEYØ diameter · TPI threads per inch · #N / A–Z number & letter gauge drills · fractions & plain decimals = inches · mm = millimeters · ( ) = decimal-inch equivalent · G = BSP parallel pipe

UNC — Unified National Coarse

18 sizes
Designation Pitch Major dia Tap drill
#1-64 64 0.0730 #53 (0.0595)
#2-56 56 0.0860 #50 (0.0700)
#4-40 40 0.1120 #43 (0.0890)
#5-40 40 0.1250 #38 (0.1015)
#6-32 32 0.1380 #36 (0.1065)
#8-32 32 0.1640 #29 (0.1360)
#10-24 24 0.1900 #25 (0.1495)
#12-24 24 0.2160 #16 (0.1770)
1/4-20 20 0.2500 #7 (0.2010)
5/16-18 18 0.3125 F (0.2570)
3/8-16 16 0.3750 5/16 (0.3125)
7/16-14 14 0.4375 U (0.3680)
1/2-13 13 0.5000 27/64 (0.4219)
9/16-12 12 0.5625 31/64 (0.4844)
5/8-11 11 0.6250 17/32 (0.5313)
3/4-10 10 0.7500 21/32 (0.6563)
7/8-9 9 0.8750 49/64 (0.7656)
1-8 8 1.0000 7/8 (0.8750)

UNF — Unified National Fine

19 sizes
Designation Pitch Major dia Tap drill
#0-80 80 TPI 0.0600 3/64 (0.0469)
#1-72 72 0.0730 #53 (0.0595)
#2-64 64 0.0860 #50 (0.0700)
#3-56 56 0.0990 #45 (0.0820)
#4-48 48 0.1120 #42 (0.0935)
#5-44 44 0.1250 #37 (0.1040)
#6-40 40 0.1380 #33 (0.1130)
#8-36 36 0.1640 #29 (0.1360)
#10-32 32 0.1900 #21 (0.1590)
1/4-28 28 0.2500 #3 (0.2130)
5/16-24 24 0.3125 I (0.2720)
3/8-24 24 0.3750 Q (0.3320)
7/16-20 20 0.4375 25/64 (0.3906)
1/2-20 20 0.5000 29/64 (0.4531)
9/16-18 18 0.5625 33/64 (0.5156)
5/8-18 18 0.6250 37/64 (0.5781)
3/4-16 16 0.7500 11/16 (0.6875)
7/8-14 14 0.8750 13/16 (0.8125)
1-12 12 1.0000 59/64 (0.9219)

Metric — Coarse (ISO)

14 sizes
Designation Pitch Major dia Tap drill
M1.6 × 0.35 0.35 mm 1.60 (0.0630) 1.25 mm (0.0492)
M2 × 0.4 0.40 2.00 (0.0787) 1.6 mm (0.0630)
M2.5 × 0.45 0.45 2.50 (0.0984) 2.05 mm (0.0807)
M3 × 0.5 0.50 3.00 (0.1181) 2.5 mm (0.0984)
M4 × 0.7 0.70 4.00 (0.1575) 3.3 mm (0.1299)
M5 × 0.8 0.80 5.00 (0.1969) 4.2 mm (0.1654)
M6 × 1.0 1.00 6.00 (0.2362) 5.0 mm (0.1969)
M8 × 1.25 1.25 8.00 (0.3150) 6.8 mm (0.2677)
M10 × 1.5 1.50 10.00 (0.3937) 8.5 mm (0.3346)
M12 × 1.75 1.75 12.00 (0.4724) 10.2 mm (0.4016)
M14 × 2.0 2.00 14.00 (0.5512) 12.0 mm (0.4724)
M16 × 2.0 2.00 16.00 (0.6299) 14.0 mm (0.5512)
M20 × 2.5 2.50 20.00 (0.7874) 17.5 mm (0.6890)
M24 × 3.0 3.00 24.00 (0.9449) 21.0 mm (0.8268)

Metric — Fine

10 sizes
Designation Pitch Major dia Tap drill
M3 × 0.35 0.35 mm 3.00 (0.1181) 2.65 mm (0.1043)
M4 × 0.5 0.50 4.00 (0.1575) 3.5 mm (0.1378)
M5 × 0.5 0.50 5.00 (0.1969) 4.5 mm (0.1772)
M6 × 0.75 0.75 6.00 (0.2362) 5.25 mm (0.2067)
M8 × 1.0 1.00 8.00 (0.3150) 7.0 mm (0.2756)
M10 × 1.25 1.25 10.00 (0.3937) 8.8 mm (0.3465)
M12 × 1.5 1.50 12.00 (0.4724) 10.5 mm (0.4134)
M14 × 1.5 1.50 14.00 (0.5512) 12.5 mm (0.4921)
M16 × 1.5 1.50 16.00 (0.6299) 14.5 mm (0.5709)
M20 × 1.5 1.50 20.00 (0.7874) 18.5 mm (0.7283)

NPT — National Pipe Thread (tapered)

7 sizes
Designation Pitch Major dia Tap drill
1/16-27 27 TPI 0.3125 C (0.2420)
1/8-27 27 0.4050 R (0.3390)
1/4-18 18 0.5400 7/16 (0.4375)
3/8-18 18 0.6750 37/64 (0.5781)
1/2-14 14 0.8400 23/32 (0.7188)
3/4-14 14 1.0500 59/64 (0.9219)
1-11.5 11.5 1.3150 1-5/32 (1.1563)

BSP — British Standard Pipe (parallel)

6 sizes
Designation Pitch Major dia Tap drill
G1/8 (28 TPI) 28 9.728 mm 8.7 mm
G1/4 (19 TPI) 19 13.157 mm 11.7 mm
G3/8 (19 TPI) 19 16.662 mm 15.2 mm
G1/2 (14 TPI) 14 20.955 mm 18.6 mm
G3/4 (14 TPI) 14 26.441 mm 24.2 mm
G1 (11 TPI) 11 33.249 mm 30.5 mm

Pitch shown as TPI for inch series, mm for metric. Major diameter in inches (UNC/UNF/NPT) or mm with decimal-inch equivalent (metric). Tap drills are typical for ~75% thread engagement; reduce engagement for harder materials. NPT is tapered (1°47′) and seals by interference. Heli-Coil / STI inserts need an oversize pre-drill per the insert manufacturer’s chart. For a searchable, filterable version of these sizes, see the tap-drill calculator; for the full series reference, see the thread spec library.

Free engineering reference from True Precision Machining
trueprecisionmachining.com · 805-964-4545 · Buellton, CA · AS9100 / ISO 9001 / ITAR
Typical ~75% thread-engagement tap drills per ASME B1.1 / ISO 261 / ISO 262 — verify against current standards for design-critical work. · September 2026