Unified Coarse (UNC) · 7/16-14 UNC
7/16"-14 UNC Thread — Dimensions, Tap Drill & Clearance
https://shopmath.org/threads/unc/7-16-14 · data verified August 1, 2026
The tap drill for 7/16"-14 UNC is U — 0.3680 in (9.347 mm) — which leaves 74.9% thread engagement with a cut tap. Basic pitch diameter is 0.3911 in (9.934 mm) and basic minor diameter is 0.3602 in (9.149 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
- 7/16-14 UNC
- TPI
- 14
- Standard
- ASME B1.1
Tap drill · 74.9% thread · cut tap
U
- Drill Ø
- 0.3680in
- Drill Ø
- 9.347mm
- Clearance (normal)
- 29/64
Assumes 75% thread engagement with a cut tap and a class 2B hole. That drill actually leaves 74.9% thread.
Basic Thread Dimensions for 7/16"-14 UNC
| Property | Inch | Millimetre |
|---|---|---|
| Basic major diameter | 0.4375 | 11.113 |
| Threads per inch | 14 | — |
| Pitch | 0.0714 | 1.814 |
| Basic pitch diameter | 0.3911 | 9.934 |
| Basic minor diameter | 0.3602 | 9.149 |
| External thread root diameter | 0.3524 | 8.951 |
| Sharp V thread height (H) | 0.0619 | 1.572 |
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 7/16"-14 UNC
Cut taps, from 50% to 85% thread engagement. The shop default is 75% — a U 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% | 0.3911 | 9.934 | 25/64 | 0.3906 | 9.922 | 50.5 |
| 60% | 0.3818 | 9.698 | W | 0.3860 | 9.804 | 55.5 |
| 65% | 0.3772 | 9.581 | V | 0.3770 | 9.576 | 65.2 |
| 70% | 0.3725 | 9.461 | 3/8 | 0.3750 | 9.525 | 67.4 |
| 75%default | 0.3679 | 9.345 | U | 0.3680 | 9.347 | 74.9 |
| 80% | 0.3633 | 9.228 | 23/64 | 0.3594 | 9.128 | 84.2 |
| 85% | 0.3586 | 9.108 | T | 0.3580 | 9.093 | 85.7 |
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.
Clearance Hole Sizes for 7/16"-14 UNC
The through-hole a 7/16"-14 UNC fastener passes freely, not the tapped hole.
| Property | Property | Hole Ø | Property | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fit | Drill | in | mm | Use |
| Close | 7/16 | 0.4528 | 11.501 | Located joints, dowelled assemblies |
| Normal | 29/64 | 0.4685 | 11.900 | General assembly — the default |
| Loose | 15/32 | 0.4843 | 12.301 | Slotted or adjustable joints, weldments |
Clearance holes per ISO 273 (metric) and ASME B18.2.8 (inch). The drill column is the nearest standard drill at or above the specified hole diameter.
Thread Class Limits for 7/16"-14 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 | 0.4361 | 11.077 | 0.4375 | 11.113 |
| Major Ø min | 0.4258 | 10.815 | 0.4272 | 10.851 |
| Pitch Ø max | 0.3897 | 9.898 | 0.3911 | 9.934 |
| Pitch Ø min | 0.3850 | 9.779 | 0.3876 | 9.845 |
| Pitch Ø tolerance | 0.0047 | 0.119 | 0.0035 | 0.089 |
| Minor Ø max | 0.3433 | 8.720 | 0.3447 | 8.755 |
| Minor Ø min | 0.3386 | 8.600 | 0.3412 | 8.666 |
| Allowance | 0.0014 | 0.036 | 0.0000 | 0.000 |
| Property | Class 2B | Class 3B | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Limit | in | mm | in | mm |
| Major Ø max | 0.4539 | 11.529 | 0.4524 | 11.491 |
| Major Ø min | 0.4375 | 11.113 | 0.4375 | 11.113 |
| Pitch Ø max | 0.3972 | 10.089 | 0.3957 | 10.051 |
| Pitch Ø min | 0.3911 | 9.934 | 0.3911 | 9.934 |
| Pitch Ø tolerance | 0.0061 | 0.155 | 0.0046 | 0.117 |
| Minor Ø max | 0.3760 | 9.550 | 0.3717 | 9.441 |
| Minor Ø min | 0.3602 | 9.149 | 0.3602 | 9.149 |
| Allowance | 0.0000 | 0.000 | 0.0000 | 0.000 |
Tensile Stress Area of 7/16"-14 UNC
The effective cross-section used to size a 7/16"-14 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 | 0.10631 | 68.59 |
The formula this value comes from is in the sources section below.
Sources and Method for 7/16"-14 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 7/16"-14 UNC Reference
Citation
ShopMath. "7/16"-14 UNC Thread — Dimensions, Tap Drill & Clearance." ShopMath, verified August 1, 2026, https://shopmath.org/threads/unc/7-16-14
BibTeX
@misc{shopmath-threads-unc-7-16-14,
title = {7/16"-14 UNC Thread — Dimensions, Tap Drill & Clearance},
author = {{ShopMath}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://shopmath.org/threads/unc/7-16-14}},
note = {Data verified 2026-08-01}
}Permanent URL
https://shopmath.org/threads/unc/7-16-14
Common Questions About 7/16"-14 UNC
What is the tap drill size for 7/16"-14 UNC?
- The tap drill for 7/16"-14 UNC is U — 0.3680 in (9.347 mm). That leaves 74.9% thread engagement with a cut tap.
What is the pitch diameter of 7/16"-14 UNC?
- The basic pitch diameter of 7/16"-14 UNC is 0.3911 in (9.934 mm). For a class 2B thread it runs 0.3911 in (9.934 mm) to 0.3972 in (10.089 mm).
What is the minor diameter of 7/16"-14 UNC?
- The basic minor diameter of 7/16"-14 UNC is 0.3602 in (9.149 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 7/16"-14 UNC?
- 7/16"-14 UNC has 14 threads per inch, a pitch of 0.0714 in (1.814 mm).
What size clearance hole does a 7/16"-14 UNC fastener need?
- close fit 7/16 (0.4528 in (11.501 mm)), normal fit 29/64 (0.4685 in (11.900 mm)), loose fit 15/32 (0.4843 in (12.301 mm)). The normal fit is the general-assembly default.
What is the tensile stress area of 7/16"-14 UNC?
- The tensile stress area of 7/16"-14 UNC is 0.10631 in² (68.59 mm²). Multiply it by the fastener material's allowable stress to get a load.