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Counterbore, countersink & clearance

A socket head cap screw seats in a counterbore just over its head diameter — an M6 SHCS has a Ø10 head, so it takes an Ø11 counterbore deep enough to sink the head below flush, over a clearance hole picked from the fine/medium/coarse (metric) or close/normal (inch) series. Type or pick the screw below; on the Joint tab, choose a socket head in a counterbore, a flat head in its countersink, or a hex head on the face, and the hole series: the seat is drawn with its screw seated and its dimensions listed, metric and inch.

Drawings often specify these implicitly — “C’BORE FOR M6 SHCS” — and the inspector needs the numbers the note implies. That implied dimension is exactly what the Joint tab gives you, for the size you pick.

Reading the callout…

Close, normal, or loose clearance — which do I use?

The clearance series trades assembly forgiveness against location control. Close fits suit doweled or precisely located joints where the screw shouldn’t float; normal is the default for general work; loose absorbs stack-up across patterns of many fasteners or painted/coated parts. If the drawing just says “drill thru for M6”, normal clearance is the customary reading — but confirm against the note or your customer’s drawing-interpretation flow-down when position tolerances are tight.