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Unified Fine (UNF) · 1 1/4-12 UNF

1 1/4"-12 UNF Thread — Dimensions, Tap Drill & Clearance

The tap drill for 1 1/4"-12 UNF is 1 — 1.0000 in (25.400 mm) — which leaves 230.9% thread engagement with a cut tap. Basic pitch diameter is 1.1959 in (30.376 mm) and basic minor diameter is 1.1598 in (29.459 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 Fine (UNF)
Designation
1 1/4-12 UNF
TPI
12
Standard
ASME B1.1

Tap drill · 230.9% thread · cut tap

1

Drill Ø
1.0000in
Drill Ø
25.400mm
Clearance (normal)
1

Assumes 75% thread engagement with a cut tap and a class 2B hole. That drill actually leaves 230.9% thread.

Basic Thread Dimensions for 1 1/4"-12 UNF

Basic thread dimensions — 1 1/4"-12 UNF
PropertyInchMillimetre
Basic major diameter1.250031.750
Threads per inch12
Pitch0.08332.117
Basic pitch diameter1.195930.376
Basic minor diameter1.159829.459
External thread root diameter1.150829.230
Sharp V thread height (H)0.07221.834

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 1 1/4"-12 UNF

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.

Tap drill sizes by thread engagement — 1 1/4"-12 UNF, cut tap
PropertyTarget hole ØNearest standard drillProperty
Thread %inmmDrillinmmActual thread %
50%1.195930.37611.000025.400230.9
60%1.185030.09911.000025.400230.9
65%1.179629.96211.000025.400230.9
70%1.174229.82511.000025.400230.9
75%default1.168829.68811.000025.400230.9
80%1.163429.55011.000025.400230.9
85%1.158029.41311.000025.400230.9

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 1 1/4"-12 UNF

The through-hole a 1 1/4"-12 UNF fastener passes freely, not the tapped hole.

Clearance hole sizes — 1 1/4"-12 UNF
PropertyPropertyHole ØProperty
FitDrillinmmUse
Close11.279532.499Located joints, dowelled assemblies
Normal11.342534.100General assembly — the default
Loose11.437036.500Slotted 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 1 1/4"-12 UNF

Manufacturing limits for classes 2B, 3B, 2A, 3A. A gauge reading outside these bands is a reject, not a judgement call.

External thread (bolt / screw) limits — 1 1/4"-12 UNF
PropertyClass 2AClass 3A
Limitinmminmm
Major Ø max1.248231.7041.250031.750
Major Ø min1.236731.4121.238631.460
Pitch Ø max1.194030.3281.195930.376
Pitch Ø min1.187930.1731.191330.259
Pitch Ø tolerance0.00620.1580.00460.117
Minor Ø max1.139928.9531.141728.999
Minor Ø min1.133728.7961.137128.882
Allowance0.00180.0460.00000.000
Internal thread (nut / tapped hole) limits — 1 1/4"-12 UNF
PropertyClass 2BClass 3B
Limitinmminmm
Major Ø max1.270032.2581.268032.207
Major Ø min1.250031.7501.250031.750
Pitch Ø max1.203930.5791.201930.528
Pitch Ø min1.195930.3761.195930.376
Pitch Ø tolerance0.00800.2030.00600.152
Minor Ø max1.177829.9161.169829.713
Minor Ø min1.159829.4591.159829.459
Allowance0.00000.0000.00000.000

Tensile Stress Area of 1 1/4"-12 UNF

The effective cross-section used to size a 1 1/4"-12 UNF fastener against a load. Multiply it by the material's allowable stress — the area itself carries no strength assumption.

Tensile stress area — 1 1/4"-12 UNF
Propertyin²mm²
Tensile stress area1.07295692.22

The formula this value comes from is in the sources section below.

Sources and Method for 1 1/4"-12 UNF

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 this data is built and checked →

How to Cite This 1 1/4"-12 UNF Reference

Citation

ShopMath. "1 1/4"-12 UNF Thread — Dimensions, Tap Drill & Clearance." ShopMath, verified August 1, 2026, https://shopmath.org/threads/unf/1-1-4-12

BibTeX

@misc{shopmath-threads-unf-1-1-4-12,
  title        = {1 1/4"-12 UNF Thread — Dimensions, Tap Drill & Clearance},
  author       = {{ShopMath}},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://shopmath.org/threads/unf/1-1-4-12}},
  note         = {Data verified 2026-08-01}
}

Permanent URL

https://shopmath.org/threads/unf/1-1-4-12

Common Questions About 1 1/4"-12 UNF

What is the tap drill size for 1 1/4"-12 UNF?

The tap drill for 1 1/4"-12 UNF is 1 — 1.0000 in (25.400 mm). That leaves 230.9% thread engagement with a cut tap.

What is the pitch diameter of 1 1/4"-12 UNF?

The basic pitch diameter of 1 1/4"-12 UNF is 1.1959 in (30.376 mm). For a class 2B thread it runs 1.1959 in (30.376 mm) to 1.2039 in (30.579 mm).

What is the minor diameter of 1 1/4"-12 UNF?

The basic minor diameter of 1 1/4"-12 UNF is 1.1598 in (29.459 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 1 1/4"-12 UNF?

1 1/4"-12 UNF has 12 threads per inch, a pitch of 0.0833 in (2.117 mm).

What size clearance hole does a 1 1/4"-12 UNF fastener need?

close fit 1 (1.2795 in (32.499 mm)), normal fit 1 (1.3425 in (34.100 mm)), loose fit 1 (1.4370 in (36.500 mm)). The normal fit is the general-assembly default.

What is the tensile stress area of 1 1/4"-12 UNF?

The tensile stress area of 1 1/4"-12 UNF is 1.07295 in² (692.22 mm²). Multiply it by the fastener material's allowable stress to get a load.

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