Unified Coarse (UNC) · 4-4 UNC
4"-4 UNC Thread — Dimensions, Tap Drill & Clearance
https://shopmath.org/threads/unc/4-4 · data verified August 1, 2026
The tap drill for 4"-4 UNC is 1 — 1.0000 in (25.400 mm) — which leaves 923.8% thread engagement with a cut tap. Basic pitch diameter is 3.8376 in (97.475 mm) and basic minor diameter is 3.7294 in (94.727 mm). Tapped-hole figures on this page assume a class 2B thread; drill sizes for 50–85% engagement are in the tap drill table below.
- Series
- Unified Coarse (UNC)
- Designation
- 4-4 UNC
- TPI
- 4
- Standard
- ASME B1.1
Tap drill · 923.8% thread · cut tap
1
- Drill Ø
- 1.0000in
- Drill Ø
- 25.400mm
Assumes 75% thread engagement with a cut tap and a class 2B hole. That drill actually leaves 923.8% thread.
Basic Thread Dimensions for 4"-4 UNC
| Property | Inch | Millimetre |
|---|---|---|
| Basic major diameter | 4.0000 | 101.600 |
| Threads per inch | 4 | — |
| Pitch | 0.2500 | 6.350 |
| Basic pitch diameter | 3.8376 | 97.475 |
| Basic minor diameter | 3.7294 | 94.727 |
| External thread root diameter | 3.7023 | 94.038 |
| Sharp V thread height (H) | 0.2165 | 5.499 |
Threads per inch has no millimetre counterpart — metric threads are specified by pitch instead. Basic dimensions are the theoretical values before any tolerance class is applied.
Tap Drill Sizes for 4"-4 UNC
Cut taps, from 50% to 85% thread engagement. The shop default is 75% — a 1 drill. Deeper engagement means more holding strength and more torque on the tap.
| Property | Target hole Ø | Nearest standard drill | Property | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thread % | in | mm | Drill | in | mm | Actual thread % |
| 50% | 3.8376 | 97.475 | 1 | 1.0000 | 25.400 | 923.8 |
| 60% | 3.8051 | 96.650 | 1 | 1.0000 | 25.400 | 923.8 |
| 65% | 3.7889 | 96.238 | 1 | 1.0000 | 25.400 | 923.8 |
| 70% | 3.7727 | 95.827 | 1 | 1.0000 | 25.400 | 923.8 |
| 75%default | 3.7564 | 95.413 | 1 | 1.0000 | 25.400 | 923.8 |
| 80% | 3.7402 | 95.001 | 1 | 1.0000 | 25.400 | 923.8 |
| 85% | 3.7240 | 94.590 | 1 | 1.0000 | 25.400 | 923.8 |
Target hole Ø is the theoretical hole for the stated engagement. The drill column is the nearest size in the standard number/letter/fractional/metric index, and actual thread % is what that real drill produces — the number that matters at the machine. Values are for cut taps. Tapped-hole figures assume a class 2B hole.
Thread Class Limits for 4"-4 UNC
Manufacturing limits for classes 2B, 3B, 2A, 3A. A gauge reading outside these bands is a reject, not a judgement call.
| Property | Class 2A | Class 3A | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Limit | in | mm | in | mm |
| Major Ø max | 3.9966 | 101.514 | 4.0000 | 101.600 |
| Major Ø min | 3.9728 | 100.909 | 3.9762 | 100.996 |
| Pitch Ø max | 3.8342 | 97.389 | 3.8376 | 97.475 |
| Pitch Ø min | 3.8229 | 97.102 | 3.8291 | 97.259 |
| Pitch Ø tolerance | 0.0113 | 0.287 | 0.0085 | 0.216 |
| Minor Ø max | 3.6718 | 93.264 | 3.6752 | 93.350 |
| Minor Ø min | 3.6605 | 92.977 | 3.6667 | 93.134 |
| Allowance | 0.0034 | 0.086 | 0.0000 | 0.000 |
| Property | Class 2B | Class 3B | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Limit | in | mm | in | mm |
| Major Ø max | 4.0508 | 102.890 | 4.0471 | 102.796 |
| Major Ø min | 4.0000 | 101.600 | 4.0000 | 101.600 |
| Pitch Ø max | 3.8524 | 97.851 | 3.8487 | 97.757 |
| Pitch Ø min | 3.8376 | 97.475 | 3.8376 | 97.475 |
| Pitch Ø tolerance | 0.0147 | 0.373 | 0.0111 | 0.282 |
| Minor Ø max | 3.7669 | 95.679 | 3.7594 | 95.489 |
| Minor Ø min | 3.7294 | 94.727 | 3.7294 | 94.727 |
| Allowance | 0.0000 | 0.000 | 0.0000 | 0.000 |
Tensile Stress Area of 4"-4 UNC
The effective cross-section used to size a 4"-4 UNC fastener against a load. Multiply it by the material's allowable stress — the area itself carries no strength assumption.
| Property | in² | mm² |
|---|---|---|
| Tensile stress area | 11.08257 | 7150.03 |
The formula this value comes from is in the sources section below.
Sources and Method for 4"-4 UNC
- Basic dimensionscomputed
NBS Handbook H28 (1969) Part I §§6-7 (public domain, 17 U.S.C. 105); normative modern reference ASME B1.1; series membership: Series membership: threadlib UIS_thread.csv (BSD-3-Clause); cross-checked against NBS H28 (1969) Part I Table 2.21; clearance holes: ISO 273 (metric) and ASME B18.2.8 (inch) via FreeCAD FeatureHole.cpp (LGPL-2.1+), cross-checked against bd_warehouse clearance_hole_sizes.csv (Apache-2.0)
Verified against NBS H28 (1969) Part I, Table 2.21 (public domain); cross-checked against FreeCAD CAM thread tables (LGPL-2.1+) — 1064 checks passed at 0.0001 in
Computed from the standard's formulas, then checked against published tables.
- Tap drill sizescomputed
Machinery's Handbook %-thread formula (geometry-derived); nearest-standard-drill-to-75% rule verified at 36/39 published chart rows in docs/research/data-sourcing.md §3.4
Verified against Wikipedia Unified Thread Standard, preferred cutting tap drill size columns (CC BY-SA 4.0) — 36/39 published UNC+UNF rows reproduced
Computed from the standard's formulas, then checked against published tables.
- Class limitscomputed
NBS Handbook H28 (1969) Part I §§6-7 (public domain, 17 U.S.C. 105); normative modern reference ASME B1.1
Verified against NBS H28 (1969) Part I, Table 2.21 (public domain); cross-checked against FreeCAD CAM thread tables (LGPL-2.1+) — 1064 checks passed at 0.0001 in
Computed from the standard's formulas, then checked against published tables.
- Formula
Tap drill hole diameter, inch threads
hole Ø = D − (%thread ÷ 100) × (1.29904 ÷ n) D = basic major diameter (in) n = threads per inch
1.29904 = 2 × 0.64952, twice the engaged thread height per side on the 60° Unified profile.
Actual thread engagement of the chosen drill
%thread = (D − drill Ø) × n ÷ 1.29904 × 100
The drill column rounds to a real drill; this is the engagement that drill actually leaves.
Tensile stress area, Unified inch threads
At = 0.7854 × (D − 0.9743 ÷ n)²
ASME B1.1 / NBS H28 form. Reproduces the stored value exactly for this thread.
- Assumptions
- The headline tap drill assumes 75% thread engagement, the general shop default. Every other engagement from 50% to 85% is in the tap drill table — change the assumption and the number moves.
- Tap drill figures are for cut taps. Drill diameters are nominal; a worn or run-out drill cuts oversize and reduces engagement further.
- Tapped-hole figures assume a class 2B internal thread, the general-purpose fit.
- Dataset scope: Le = 1D for UNC/UNF, 9P for UNEF — determined empirically against H28 Table 2.21, resolving data-sourcing.md open item 5. EXCLUDED: form (roll) tap drills, class 1A/1B limits, class 1AR allowances, constant-pitch UN series.
- Data last verified
- August 1, 2026
How to Cite This 4"-4 UNC Reference
Citation
ShopMath. "4"-4 UNC Thread — Dimensions, Tap Drill & Clearance." ShopMath, verified August 1, 2026, https://shopmath.org/threads/unc/4-4
BibTeX
@misc{shopmath-threads-unc-4-4,
title = {4"-4 UNC Thread — Dimensions, Tap Drill & Clearance},
author = {{ShopMath}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://shopmath.org/threads/unc/4-4}},
note = {Data verified 2026-08-01}
}Permanent URL
https://shopmath.org/threads/unc/4-4
Common Questions About 4"-4 UNC
What is the tap drill size for 4"-4 UNC?
- The tap drill for 4"-4 UNC is 1 — 1.0000 in (25.400 mm). That leaves 923.8% thread engagement with a cut tap.
What is the pitch diameter of 4"-4 UNC?
- The basic pitch diameter of 4"-4 UNC is 3.8376 in (97.475 mm). For a class 2B thread it runs 3.8376 in (97.475 mm) to 3.8524 in (97.851 mm).
What is the minor diameter of 4"-4 UNC?
- The basic minor diameter of 4"-4 UNC is 3.7294 in (94.727 mm). That is the theoretical root of the internal thread, not the drilled hole size — see the tap drill table for the hole to drill.
What is the thread pitch of 4"-4 UNC?
- 4"-4 UNC has 4 threads per inch, a pitch of 0.2500 in (6.350 mm).
What is the tensile stress area of 4"-4 UNC?
- The tensile stress area of 4"-4 UNC is 11.08257 in² (7150.03 mm²). Multiply it by the fastener material's allowable stress to get a load.