Industry knowledge:
A screw’s values encompass diameter, thread spacing and length. This is the second set of information you’ll need to consider when determining what kind of screws you have or choosing the right kind of screws for your project.
Values can appear in either metric or imperial (standard) measurement.
Imperial values usually have a three-value identifier, such as #3–35 x ½. Metric values sometimes have only two values, or they may appear in a way that is similar to this example: M3–0.5 x 5. The first value of the sets indicate the diameter, the second value indicates the thread spacing, and the last is the length.