Screw

An assortment of screws

A screw is a type of fastener, sometimes

similar to a bolt (see Differentiation
between bolt and screw below), typically
made of metal, and characterized by a
helical ridge, known as a male thread
(external thread) or just thread.

Explanation
A screw is an inclined plane wrapped
around a nail. Some screw threads are
designed to mate with a complementary
thread, known as a female thread (internal
thread), often in the form of a nut or an
object that has the internal thread formed
into it. Other screw threads are designed
to cut a helical groove in a softer material
as the screw is inserted. The most
common uses of screws are to hold
objects together and to position objects.
A screw will usually have a head on one
end that contains a specially formed
shape that allows it to be turned, or driven,
with a tool. Common tools for driving
screws include screwdrivers and
wrenches. The head is usually larger than
the body of the screw, which keeps the
screw from being driven deeper than the
length of the screw and to provide a
bearing surface. There are exceptions; for
instance, carriage bolts have a domed
head that is not designed to be driven; set
screws often have a head smaller than the
outer diameter of the screw; J-bolts have a
J-shaped head which is not designed to be
driven, but rather is usually sunk into
concrete allowing it to be used as an
anchor bolt. The cylindrical portion of the
screw from the underside of the head to
the tip is known as the shank; it may be
fully threaded or partially threaded.[1] The
distance between each thread is called the
"pitch".

The majority of screws are tightened by

clockwise rotation, which is termed a right-
hand thread; a common mnemonic device
for remembering this when working with
screws or bolts is "righty-tighty, lefty-
loosey." Another rule is this: curl the
fingers of your right hand around the
screw with your thumb pointing is the
direction you want the screw to go. If the
screw is right-handed (most screws are)
and you turn the screw in the direction of
your fingers the screw will move in the
direction of your thumb. Screws with left-
hand threads are used in exceptional
cases. For example, when the screw will
be subject to counterclockwise torque
(which would work to undo a right-hand
thread), a left-hand-threaded screw would
be an appropriate choice. The left side
pedal of a bicycle has a left-hand thread.

More generally, screw may mean any

helical device, such as a clamp, a
micrometer, a ship's propeller or an
Archimedes' screw water pump.

Differentiation between bolt

and screw

A carriage bolt with a square nut

A structural bolt with a hex nut and washer

There is no universally accepted

distinction between a screw and a bolt. A
simple distinction that is often true,
although not always, is that a bolt passes
through a substrate and takes a nut on the
other side, whereas a screw takes no nut
because it threads directly into the
substrate (a screw screws into something,
a bolt bolts several things together). So, as
a general rule, when buying a packet of
"screws" you would not expect nuts to be
included, but bolts are often sold with
matching nuts. Part of the confusion over
this is likely due to regional or dialectical
differences. Machinery's Handbook
describes the distinction as follows:

A bolt is an externally threaded

fastener designed for insertion
through holes in assembled parts,
and is normally intended to be
tightened or released by torquing
a nut. A screw is an externally
threaded fastener capable of
being inserted into holes in
assembled parts, of mating with a
preformed internal thread or
forming its own thread, and of
being tightened or released by
torquing the head. An externally
threaded fastener which is
prevented from being turned
during assembly and which can
be tightened or released only by
torquing a nut is a bolt. (Example:
round head bolts, track bolts,
 plow bolts.) An externally
threaded fastener that has thread
form which prohibits assembly
with a nut having a straight
thread of multiple pitch length is
a screw. (Example: wood screws,
tapping screws.)[2]

This distinction is consistent with ASME

B18.2.1 and some dictionary definitions
for screw[3][4] and bolt.[5][6][7]

The issue of what is a screw and what is a

bolt is not completely resolved with
Machinery's Handbook distinction,
however, because of confounding terms,
the ambiguous nature of some parts of the
distinction, and usage variations.[8] Some
of these issues are discussed below:

Machine screws

ASME standards specify a variety of

"Machine Screws"[9] in diameters ranging
up to 0.75 in (19.05 mm). These fasteners
are often used with nuts but also often
driven into tapped holes (without nuts).
They might be considered a screw or a
bolt based on the Machinery's Handbook
distinction. In practice, they tend to be
mostly available in smaller sizes and the
smaller sizes are referred to as screws or
less ambiguously as machine screws,
although some kinds of machine screw
can be referred to as stove bolts.

Hex cap screws

ASME standard B18.2.1-1996 specifies

Hex Cap Screws whose size range is
0.25–3 in (6.35–76.20 mm) in diameter.
These fasteners are very similar to hex
bolts. They differ mostly in that they are
manufactured to tighter tolerances than
the corresponding bolts. Machinery's
Handbook refers parenthetically to these
fasteners as "Finished Hex Bolts".[10]
Reasonably, these fasteners might be
referred to as bolts, but based on the US
government document Distinguishing Bolts
from Screws, the US government might
classify them as screws because of the
tighter tolerance.[11] In 1991 responding to
an influx of counterfeit fasteners Congress
passed PL 101-592[12] "Fastener Quality
Act" This resulted in the rewriting of
specifications by the ASME B18
committee. B18.2.1[13] was re-written and
as a result they eliminated the "Finished
Hex Bolts" and renamed them the "Hex
Cap Screw"—a term that had existed in
common usage long before, but was now
also being codified as an official name for
the ASME B18 standard.

Lug bolts and head bolts

These terms refer to fasteners that are

designed to be threaded into a tapped hole
that is in part of the assembly and so
based on the Machinery's Handbook
distinction they would be screws. Here
common terms are at variance with
Machinery's Handbook distinction.[14][15]

Lag screw
Lag screws, also called lag bolts

Lag screws (US) or coach screws (UK,

Australia, and New Zealand) (also referred
to as lag bolts or coach bolts, although
this is a misnomer) are large wood
screws. Square-headed and hex-headed
lag screws are covered by ASME B18.2.1
standards, and the head is typically an
external hex. A typical lag screw can range
in diameter from 1⁄4 in (6.35 mm) to
11⁄4 in (31.75 mm), and lengths from 1⁄4
to 6 in (6.35 to 152.40 mm) or longer, with
the coarse threads of a wood-screw or
sheet-metal-screw threadform (but larger).

The materials are usually carbon steel

substrate with a coating of zinc
galvanization (for corrosion resistance).
The zinc coating may be bright
(electroplated), yellow (electroplated), or
dull gray hot-dip galvanized. Lag screws
are used to lag together lumber framing, to
lag machinery feet to wood floors, and for
other heavy carpentry applications. The
adjective lag came from an early principal
use of such fasteners: the fastening of
lags such as barrel staves and other
similar parts.[16]

These fasteners are "screws" according to

the Machinery's Handbook criteria, and the
obsolescent term "lag bolt" has been
replaced by "lag screw" in the
Handbook.[17] However, in the minds of
many tradesmen, they are "bolts", simply
because they are large, with hex or square
heads.

United States government

standards

The federal government of the United

States made an effort to formalize the
difference between a bolt and a screw,
because different tariffs apply to each.[18]
The document seems to have no
significant effect on common usage and
does not eliminate the ambiguous nature
of the distinction between screws and
bolts for some threaded fasteners. The
document also reflects (although it
probably did not originate) significant
confusion of terminology usage that
differs between the
legal/statutory/regulatory community and
the fastener industry. The
legal/statutory/regulatory wording uses
the terms "coarse" and "fine" to refer to the
tightness of the tolerance range, referring
basically to "high-quality" or "low-quality",
but this is a poor choice of terms, because
those terms in the fastener industry have a
different meaning (referring to the
steepness of the helix's lead).

Historical issue

Old USS and SAE standards defined cap

screws as fasteners with shanks that were
threaded to the head and bolts as
fasteners with shanks that were partially
unthreaded.[19] The relationship of this rule
to the idea that a bolt by definition takes a
nut is clear (because the unthreaded
section of the shank, which is called the
grip, was expected to pass through the
substrate without threading into it). This is
now an obsolete distinction, although
large bolts still often have unthreaded
sections of shank.

Although there is no reason to consider

this definition obsolete, because it is far
from clear that "a bolt by definition takes a
nut" . Using a coach "bolt" as an example
(and it has been a 'bolt' for a very long
time). It was not originally intended to
receive a nut, but did have a shank. Its
purpose was not to pass through the entire
substrate but only one piece of it, while the
threaded portion bit into the other in order
to draw, and clamp the materials together.
The 'carriage' bolt was derived from this
and was employed more to speed up
manufacturing than achieve a different
function. The carriage bolt passes through
both pieces of materials and employs a
nut to provide the clamping force. Both are
still, however, bolts.

Controlled vocabulary versus

natural language

The distinctions above are enforced in the

controlled vocabulary of standards
organizations. Nevertheless, there are
sometimes differences between the
controlled vocabulary and the natural
language use of the words by machinists,
auto mechanics and others. These
differences reflect linguistic evolution
shaped by the changing of technology over
centuries. The words bolt and screw have
both existed since before today's modern
mix of fastener types existed, and the
natural usage of those words has evolved
retronymously in response to the
technological change. (That is, the use of
words as names for objects changes as
the objects change.) Non-threaded
fasteners predominated until the advent of
practical, inexpensive screw-cutting in the
early 19th century. The basic meaning of
the word screw has long involved the idea
of a helical screw thread, but the
Archimedes screw and the screw gimlet
(like a corkscrew) preceded the fastener.

The word bolt is also a very old word, and

it was used for centuries to refer to metal
rods that passed through the substrate to
be fastened on the other side, often via
nonthreaded means (clinching, forge
welding, pinning, wedging, etc.). The
connection of this sense to the sense of a
door bolt or the crossbow bolt is apparent.
In the 19th century, bolts fastened via
screw threads were often called screw
bolts in contradistinction to clench bolts.
In common usage, the distinction (not
rigorous) is often that screws are smaller
than bolts, and that screws are generally
tapered while bolts are not. For example,
cylinder head bolts are called "bolts" (at
least in North American usage) despite the
fact that by some definitions they ought to
be called "screws". Their size and their
similarity to a bolt that would take a nut
seem linguistically to overrule any other
factors in this natural word choice
proclivity.

Other distinctions
Bolts have been defined as headed
fasteners having external threads that
meet an exacting, uniform bolt thread
specification (such as ISO metric screw
thread M, MJ, Unified Thread Standard UN,
UNR, and UNJ) such that they can accept
a non-tapered nut. Screws are then defined
as headed, externally threaded fasteners
that do not meet the above definition of
bolts. These definitions of screw and bolt
eliminate the ambiguity of the Machinery's
handbook distinction. And it is for that
reason, perhaps, that some people favor
them. However, they are neither compliant
with common usage of the two words nor
are they compliant with formal
specifications.

A possible distinction is that a screw is

designed to cut its own thread; it has no
need for access from or exposure to the
opposite side of the component being
fastened to. This definition of screw is
further reinforced by the consideration of
the developments of fasteners such as
Tek Screws, with either round or hex
heads, for roof cladding, self-drilling and
self-tapping screws for various metal
fastening applications, roof batten screws
to reinforce the connection between the
roof batten and the rafter, decking screws
etc. On the other hand, a bolt is the male
part of a fastener system designed to be
accepted by a pre-equipped socket (or nut)
of exactly the same thread design.

Types of screws and bolts

Threaded fasteners either have a tapered
shank or a non-tapered shank. Fasteners
with tapered shanks are designed to either
be driven into a substrate directly or into a
pilot hole in a substrate. Mating threads
are formed in the substrate as these
fasteners are driven in. Fasteners with a
non-tapered shank are designed to mate
with a nut or to be driven into a tapped
hole.

Fasteners with a tapered shank

 American name British name Description

Similar to a drywall screw except that it has

a thinner shank and provides better
chipboard screw resistance to pull-out in particle board, while
particle board screw offset against a lower shear strength. The
threads on particle board screws are
asymmetrical.

A stainless or carbon steel screw for

fastening wood, metal, or other materials to
concrete or masonry. Concrete screws are
concrete screw
commonly blue in color, with or without
Tapcons
corrosion coating.[20] They may either have
masonry screw
a Phillips flat head or a slotted hex washer
confast screw
head. Nominal (thread) sizes range from
multi-material screw
0.1875 to 0.375 in (4.763 to 9.525 mm) and
blue screw
lengths from 1.25 to 5 in (32 to 127 mm).
self-tapping masonry screw
Typically an installer uses a hammer drill to
Titen
make a pilot hole for each concrete screw
and a powered impact driver to drive the
screw.

Similar to drywall screw except that it has

improved corrosion resistance and is
generally supplied in a larger gauge. Most
deck screws have a type-17 (auger type)
deck screw
thread cutting tip for installation into
decking materials. They have bugle heads
that allows the screw to depress the wood
surface without breaking it.

Similar to a wood screw but with two

pointed ends and no head, used for making
double ended screw hidden joints between two pieces of wood.
dowel screw handrail bolt A hanger bolt has wood screw threads on
hanger bolt one end and machine threads on the other.
A hanger bolt is used when it is necessary
to fasten a metal part to a wood surface.
drive screw Chiefly used for attaching manufacturers
hammer drive screw data plates to equipment. Smooth round or
mushroom headed with a multi-start thread
on the shank, beneath which is reduced
diameter shank that acts as a pilot. The
screw is fastened by hitting the head with a
hammer and is not intended for removal.[21]

Specialized screw with a bugle head that is

designed to attach drywall to wood or metal
studs, however it is a versatile construction
drywall screw
fastener with many uses. The diameter of
drywall screw threads is larger than the grip
diameter.

Screw with a looped head. Larger ones are

sometimes called lag eye screws. Designed
to be used as attachment point, particularly
for something that is hung from it.
eye screw A vine eye (in the UK at least) is similar to a
screw eye eye bolt screw eye, except that it has a
vine eye proportionally longer shank and smaller
looped head. As the term suggests vine
eyes are often used for attaching wire lines
across the surface of buildings so that
climbing plants can attach themselves.

lag bolt coach screw Similar to a wood screw except that it is

lag screw[22] generally much larger running to lengths up
to 15 in (381 mm) with diameters from
0.25–0.5 in (6.35–12.70 mm) in commonly
available (hardware store) sizes (not
counting larger mining and civil engineering
lags and lag bolts) and it generally has a
hexagonal drive head. Lag bolts are
designed for securely fastening heavy
timbers (post and beams, timber railway
trestles and bridges) to one another, or to
 fasten wood to masonry or concrete. The
German standard is DIN 571, Hexagon head
wood screws.

Lag bolts are usually used with an

expanding insert called a lag in masonry or
concrete walls, the lag manufactured with a
hard metal jacket that bites into the sides of
the drilled hole, and the inner metal in the
lag being a softer alloy of lead, or zinc
alloyed with soft iron. The coarse thread of
a lag bolt and lag mesh and deform slightly
making a secure near water tight anti-
corroding mechanically strong fastening.

This is a flat-head wood screw with a

tapped hole in the head, which receives a
mirror screw
screw-in chrome-plated cover. It is usually
used to mount a mirror.

Has sharp threads that cut into a material

such as sheet metal, plastic or wood. They
are sometimes notched at the tip to aid in
chip removal during thread cutting. The
sheet metal screw shank is usually threaded up to the head.
Sheet metal screws make excellent
fasteners for attaching metal hardware to
wood because the fully threaded shank
provides good retention in wood.

A Twinfast screw is a type of screw with

two threads (i.e. a twin-start screw), so that
it can be driven twice as fast as a normal
Twinfast screw (i.e. single-start) screw with the same
pitch.[23] Dry wall screws designated as fine
are the most common screws to use the
twinfast style of threads.[24]

wood screw A metal screw with a sharp point designed

 to attach two pieces of wood together.
Wood screws are commonly available with
flat, pan or oval-heads. A wood screw
generally has a partially unthreaded shank
below the head. The unthreaded portion of
the shank is designed to slide through the
top board (closest to the screw head) so
that it can be pulled tight to the board to
which it is being attached. Inch-sized wood
screws in the U.S. are defined by ANSI-
B18.6.1-1981(R2003), while in Germany
they are defined by DIN 95 (Slotted raised
countersunk (oval) head wood screws), DIN
96 (Slotted round head wood screws), and
DIN 97 (Slotted countersunk (flat) head
wood screws).

These screws are use for security purposes

and where vandalism and/or theft is likely.
The head of this type of screw is impossible
to reverse. It requires special tools or
Security head screw
mechanisms like spanners, tri-wings, torxes,
square drivers, etc. In some screws, the
head can be removed by breaking it after
installing the screw.

Fasteners with a non-tapered

shank
 American name British name Description

A special type of bolt that is set in wet

anchor bolt concrete, with the screw threads protruding
above the concrete surface.

A breakaway bolt is a bolt with a hollow

threaded shank, which is designed to break
away upon impact. Typically used to fasten
breakaway bolt
fire hydrants, so they will break away when hit
by a car. Also used in aircraft to reduce
weight.

cap screw The term cap screw refers to many different

things at different times and places.
Currently, it most narrowly refers to a style of
head (see the gallery below). More broadly,
Narrow and more commonly, it refers to the group of
definition
screws: shoulder screws, hex heads, counter-
sunk heads, button heads, and fillister heads.
In the United States, cap screws are defined
by ASME B18.6.2 and ASME B18.3.[25][26] In
the past, the term cap screw, in general,
referred to screws that were supposed to be
used in applications where a nut was not
Wide
used, however the characteristics that
definition
differentiated it from a bolt vary over time. In
1910, Anthony defined it as screw with a hex
head that was thicker than a bolt head, but
the distance across the flats was less than a
bolt's.[27] In 1913, Woolley and Meredith
defined them like Anthony, but gave the
following dimensions: hex head cap screws
up to and including 7⁄16 inch (11.1125 mm)
have a head that is 3⁄16 inch (4.7625 mm)
larger than the shank diameter; screws
greater than 1⁄2 inch (12.7 mm) in diameter
have a head that is 1⁄4 inch (6.35 mm) larger
than the shank. Square head cap screws up
to and including 3⁄4 inch (19.05 mm) have a
head 1⁄8 inch (3.175 mm) larger than the
shank; screws larger than 3⁄4 inch
(19.05 mm) have a head 1⁄4 inch (6.35 mm)
larger than the shank.[28] In 1919, Dyke
defined them as screws that are threaded all
the way to the head.[19]

A socket cap screw, also known as a socket

head capscrew, socket screw, or Allen bolt, is
a type of cap screw with a cylindrical head
and hexagonal drive hole. The term socket
head capscrew typically refers to a type of
threaded fastener whose head diameter is
nominally 1.5 times that of the screw shank
(major) diameter, with a head height equal to
the shank diameter (1960 series design).
Forged heat-treated alloy examples are high
strength fasteners intended for the most
demanding mechanical applications, with
special alloy formulations available that are
capable of maintaining strength at
temperatures in excess of 1000 degrees F
(587 degrees C).

In addition to the 1960 series design, other

head designs include low head, button head
and flat head, the latter designed to be
seated into countersunk holes. A hex key
(sometimes referred to as an Allen wrench or
Allen key) or hex driver is required to tighten
or loosen a socket screw. Socket head
capscrews are commonly used in assemblies
that do not provide sufficient clearance for a
conventional wrench or socket.
carriage bolt cup head bolt, A carriage bolt, also known as a coach bolt,
coach bolt has a domed or countersunk head, and the
shank is topped by a short square section
under the head. The square section grips into
the part being fixed (typically wood),
preventing the bolt from turning when the nut
is tightened. Carriage bolts are used to
provide a smooth finish on automobile metal
bumper exteriors, the square section aligning
with a square hole in the bumper to provide
anti-rotation. A rib neck carriage bolt has
several longitudinal ribs instead of the square
section, to grip into a metal part being fixed.

An elevator bolt is a bolt similar to a carriage

bolt, except the head is thin and flat. There
are many variations. Some do not have a
elevator bolt
square base, but rather triangular sections of
the flat head are folded down to form "fangs"
that cut into wood and hold it secure.[29]

eye bolt An eye bolt is a bolt with a looped head.

A hex cap screw is a cap screw with a

hexagonal head, designed to be driven by a
wrench (spanner). An ASME B18.2.1
compliant cap screw has somewhat tighter
tolerances than a hex bolt for the head height
hex cap screw
and the shank length. The nature of the
hex bolt
tolerance difference allows an ASME B18.2.1
hex cap screw to always fit where a hex bolt
is installed but a hex bolt could be slightly too
large to be used where a hex cap screw is
designed in.

Fine adjustment The term fine adjustment screw typically

screw refers to screws with threads from 40–100
TPI (Threads Per Inch) (0.5mm to 0.2mm
pitch) and ultra fine adjustment screw has
 been used to refer to 100–254 TPI (0.2mm to
0.1mm pitch). These screws are most
frequently used in applications where the
screw is used to control fine motion of an
object.

A machine screw is generally a smaller

fastener (less than 1⁄4 inch (6.35 mm) in
diameter) threaded the entire length of its
shank that usually has a recessed drive type
machine screw
(slotted, Phillips, etc.). Machine screws are
also made with socket heads (see above), in
which case they may be referred to as socket
head machine screws.

A plow bolt is bolt similar to a carriage bolt,

except the head is flat or concave, and the
underside of the head is a cone designed to
fit in a countersunk recess. Plow bolts
provide a smooth surface for attaching a
plow moldboard to its beam, where a raised
head would suffer from soil abrasion. There
are many variations, with some not using a
square base, but rather a key, a locking slot,
plow bolt plough bolt
or other means. The recess in the mating
Plow
bolts in part must be designed to accept the
use particular plow bolt. ASME B18.9 standard
recommends a No. 3 head (round
countersunk head square neck) plow bolts
and No. 7 head (round countersunk reverse
key head) plow bolts for new designs. The
necessary dimensions for the head styles
can be found in the standard.[30][31][32]

self-drilling screw Similar to a sheet metal screw, but it has a

Teks screw drill-shaped point to cut through the
substrate to eliminate the need for drilling a
pilot hole. Designed for use in soft steel or
 other metals. The points are numbered from
1 through 5, the larger the number, the thicker
metal it can go through without a pilot hole. A
5-point can drill a 0.5 in (12.7 mm) of steel,
for example.

A self-tapping machine screw is similar to a

machine screw except the lower part of the
shank is designed to cut threads as the
self-tapping screw is driven into an untapped hole. The
machine screw advantage of this screw type over a self-
drilling screw is that, if the screw is
reinstalled, new threads are not cut as the
screw is driven.

A bolt that is threaded all the way to the

head. An ASME B18.2.1 compliant set/tap
set bolt tap bolt
bolt has the same tolerances as an ASME
B18.2.1 compliant hex cap screw.

A set screw is generally a headless screw but

can be any screw used to fix a rotating part to
a shaft, such as a line shaft or countershaft.
The set screw is driven through a threaded
set screw grub screw
hole in the rotating part until it is tight against
the shaft. The most often used type is the
socket set screw, which is tightened or
loosened with a hex key.

shoulder bolt stripper bolt A shoulder screw differs from machine

shoulder screw screws in that the shank is held to a precise
diameter, known as the shoulder, and the
threaded portion is smaller in diameter than
the shoulder. Shoulder screw specifications
call out the shoulder diameter, shoulder
length, and threaded diameter; the threaded
length is fixed, based on the threaded
diameter, and usually quite short. Shoulder
screws can be manufactured in many
 materials such as alloy heat-treated steel for
maximum strength and wear resistance and
stainless steel for its corrosion-resistance
and non-magnetic properties. Common
applications for shoulder screws include
rotating mechanism joints, linkage pivots,
and guides for the stripper plate of a metal
forming die set. In the latter application, the
term stripper bolt is often substituted.
Stainless steel shoulder screws are used with
linear motion devices such as bearings, as
guides and as pivots in electronic and other
critical mechanical applications.

A stove bolt is a type of machine screw that

has a round or flat head and is threaded to
the head. They are usually made of low grade
stove bolt gutter bolt
steel, have a slot or Phillips drive, and are
used to join sheet metal parts using a hex or
square nut.[33]

A tension control bolt (TC bolt) is a heavy

tension control bolt
duty bolt used in steel frame construction.
The head is usually domed and is not
designed to be driven. The end of the shank
has a spline on it which is engaged by a
special power wrench which prevents the bolt
from turning while the nut is tightened. When
the appropriate torque is reached the spline
shears off.

thread rolling These have a lobed (usually triangular) cross-

screws section. They form threads in a pre-existing
hole in the mating workpiece by pushing the
material outward during installation. In some
cases the properly prepared hole in
sheetmetal uses an extruded hole. The
extrusion forms a lead-in and extra thread
 length for improved retention. Thread rolling
screws are often used where loose chips
formed by a thread cutting operation cannot
be tolerated.

Fasteners with built in washers

A fastener with a built in washer is called a

SEM or SEMS, short for pre-
asSEMbled.[34][35] It could be fitted on
either a tapered or non-tapered shank.

Other threaded fasteners

Superbolt, or multi-jackbolt
tensioner

A superbolt, or multi-jackbolt tensioner is

an alternative type of fastener that retrofits
or replaces existing nuts, bolts, or studs.
Tension in the bolt is developed by
torquing individual jackbolts, which are
threaded through the body of the nut and
push against a hardened washer. Because
of this, the amount of torque required to
achieve a given preload is reduced.
Installation and removal of any size
tensioner is achieved with hand tools,
which can be advantageous when dealing
with large diameter bolting applications.

Bone screws

The field of screws and other hardware for

internal fixation within the body is huge
and diverse. Like prosthetics, it integrates
the industrial and medicosurgical fields,
causing manufacturing technologies (such
as machining, CAD/CAM, and 3D printing)
to intersect with the art and science of
medicine. Like aerospace and nuclear
power, this field involves some of the
highest technology for fasteners, as well
as some of the highest prices, for the
simple reason that performance, longevity,
and quality have to be excellent in such
applications. Bone screws tend to be
made of stainless steel or titanium, and
they often have high-end features such as
conical threads, multistart threads,
cannulation (hollow core), and proprietary
screw drive types (some not seen outside
of these applications).

List of abbreviations for types

of screws

These abbreviations have jargon currency

among fastener specialists (who, working
with many screw types all day long, have
need to abbreviate repetitive mentions).
The smaller basic ones can be built up into
the longer ones; for example, if you know
that "FH" means "flat head", then you may
be able to parse the rest of a longer
abbreviation containing "FH".
These abbreviations are not universally
standardized across corporations; each
corporation can coin their own. The more
obscure ones may not be listed here.

The extra spacing between linked terms

below helps the reader to see the correct
parsing at a glance.
Abbreviation Expansion Comment

BH button head

BHCS button head cap screw

BHMS button head machine screw

CS cap screw

FH flat head

FHP flat head Phillips

FHSCS flat head socket cap screw

FHPMS flat head Phillips machine screw

FT full thread

HHCS hex head cap screw

Hexalobular
HSHCS
socket head cap screws

MS machine screw

OH oval head

PH Phillips head

RH round head

RHMS round head machine screw

RHP round head Phillips

RHPMS round head Phillips machine screw

SBHCS socket button head cap screw

SBHMS socket button head machine screw

Although "socket head" could logically refer

to almost any female drive, it refers by
SH socket head
convention to hex socket head unless further
specified

SHCS socket head cap screw

SHSS socket head set screw

SS set screw The abbreviation "SS" more often means

stainless steel. Therefore, "SS cap screw"
 means "stainless steel cap screw" but
"SHSS" means "socket head set screw". As
with many abbreviations, users rely on
context to diminish the ambiguity, although
this reliance does not eliminate it.

STS self-tapping screw

Materials
Screws and bolts are usually made of
steel. Where great resistance to weather or
corrosion is required, like in very small
screws or medical implants, materials
such as stainless steel, brass, titanium,
bronze, silicon bronze or monel may be
used.

Galvanic corrosion of dissimilar metals

can be prevented (using aluminum screws
for double-glazing tracks for example) by a
careful choice of material. Some types of
plastic, such as nylon or
polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), can be
threaded and used for fastenings requiring
moderate strength and great resistance to
corrosion or for the purpose of electrical
insulation.

Often a surface coating is used to protect

the fastener from corrosion (e.g. bright
zinc plating for steel screws), to impart a
decorative finish (e.g. japanning) or
otherwise alter the surface properties of
the base material.
Selection criteria of the screw materials
include: size, required strength, resistance
to corrosion, joint material, cost and
temperature.

Bolted joints

Rusty hexagonal bolt heads

The American Institute of Steel

Construction (AISC) 13th Edition Steel
Design Manual section 16.1 chapter J-3
specifies the requirements for bolted
structural connections. Structural bolts
replaced rivets due to the decreasing cost
and increasing strength of structural bolts
in the 20th century. Connections are
formed with two types of joints: slip-
critical connections and bearing
connections. In slip-critical connections,
movement of the connected parts is a
serviceability condition and bolts are
tightened to a minimum required
pretension. Slip is prevented through
friction of the "faying" surface, that is the
plane of shear for the bolt and where two
members make contact. Because friction
is proportional to the normal force,
connections must be sized with bolts
numerous and large enough to provide the
required load capacity. However, this
greatly decreases the shear capacity of
each bolt in the connection. The second
(and more common type) of connection is
a bearing connection. In this type of
connection, the bolts carry the load
through shear and are only tightened to a
"snug-fit". These connections require fewer
bolts than slip-critical connections and
therefore are a less expensive alternative.
Slip-critical connections are more
common on flange plates for beam and
column splices and moment critical
connections. Bearing type connections are
used in lightweight structures and in
member connections where slip is not
important and prevention of structural
failure is the design constraint. Common
bearing type connections include: shear
tabs, beam supports, gusset plates in
trusses.

Mechanical classifications
The numbers stamped on the head of the
bolt are referred to the grade of the bolt
used in certain application with the
strength of a bolt. High-strength steel bolts
usually have a hexagonal head with an ISO
strength rating (called property class)
stamped on the head. And the absence of
marking/number indicates a lower grade
bolt with low strength. The property
classes most often used are 5.8, 8.8, and
10.9. The number before the point is the
ultimate tensile strength in MPa divided by
100. The number after the point is the
multiplier ratio of yield strength to ultimate
tensile strength. For example, a property
class 5.8 bolt has a nominal (minimum)
ultimate tensile strength of 500 MPa, and
a tensile yield strength of 0.8 times
ultimate tensile strength or 0.8(500) = 400
MPa.
Ultimate tensile strength is the tensile
stress at which the bolt fails. Tensile yield
strength is the stress at which the bolt will
yield in tension across the entire section of
the bolt and receive a permanent set (an
elongation from which it will not recover
when the force is removed) of 0.2% offset
strain. Proof strength is the usable
strength of the fastener. Tension testing of
a bolt up to the proof load should not
cause permanent set of the bolt and
should be conducted on actual fasteners
rather than calculated.[36] If a bolt is
tensioned beyond the proof load, it may
behave in plastic manner due to yielding in
the threads and the tension preload may
be lost due to the permanent plastic
deformations. When elongating a fastener
prior to reaching the yield point, the
fastener is said to be operating in the
elastic region; whereas elongation beyond
the yield point is referred to as operating in
the plastic region of the bolt material. If a
bolt is loaded in tension beyond its proof
strength, the yielding at the net root
section of the bolt will continue until the
entire section is begins to yield and it has
exceeded its yield strength. If tension
increases, the bolt fractures at its ultimate
strength.
Mild steel bolts have property class 4.6,
with is 400 MPa ultimate strength and
0.6*400=240 MPa yield strength. High-
strength steel bolts have property class
8.8, which is 800 MPa ultimate strength
and 0.8*800=640 MPa yield strength or
above.

The same type of screw or bolt can be

made in many different grades of material.
For critical high-tensile-strength
applications, low-grade bolts may fail,
resulting in damage or injury. On SAE-
standard bolts, a distinctive pattern of
marking is impressed on the heads to
allow inspection and validation of the
strength of the bolt.[37] However, low-cost
counterfeit fasteners may be found with
actual strength far less than indicated by
the markings. Such inferior fasteners are a
danger to life and property when used in
aircraft, automobiles, heavy trucks, and
similar critical applications.[38]

Inch

There are many standards governing the

material and mechanical properties of
imperial sized externally threaded
fasteners. Some of the most common
consensus standards for grades produced
from carbon steels are ASTM A193, ASTM
A307, ASTM A354, ASTM F3125, and SAE
J429. Some of the most common
consensus standards for grades produced
from corrosion resistant steels are ASTM
F593 & ASTM A193.
 Head markings and properties for inch-system hex-head cap screws[39]

Nominal Proof Tensile strength,

Head Grade, material and size Yield strength, min.
strength min.
marking condition range
(in) ksi MPa ksi MPa ksi MPa

SAE Grade 0[40] Strength and hardness is not specified

SAE grade 1 1⁄ –
4
ASTM A307[41] 1
33 230 60 410
1- ⁄2
Low carbon steel

ASTM A307 - Grade 60 410

B[41] 1⁄ –4
minimum minimum
4
Low or medium carbon 100 690
steel maximum maximum

1⁄ –3⁄ 55 380 57 390 74 510

SAE grade 2 4 4

Low or medium carbon

Greater
steel 33 230 36 250 60 410
than 3⁄4

SAE grade 4[43] 1⁄ –

4
Medium carbon steel; 1
100 690 115 790
1- ⁄2
cold worked

SAE grade 3[41]

Medium carbon steel; 1⁄ –1 85 590 100 690
4
cold worked
1⁄ –1
SAE grade 5 4
85 590 92 630 120 830
Medium carbon steel; (inc.)
quench and tempered 1–1-1⁄2 74 510 81 560 105 720

ASTM A449 - Type 1–1-1⁄2

74 510 105 720
1[41] (inc.)
Medium carbon steel;
1-1⁄2–3 55 380 90 620
quench and tempered

SAE grade 5.1[44] No. 85 590 120 830

Low or medium carbon 6–1⁄2
 steel; quench and
tempered

SAE grade 5.2[44]

Low carbon
martensitic steel;
quench and tempered
1⁄ –1 85 590 120 830
ASTM A449 - Type 4

2[44]
Low carbon
martensitic steel;
quench and tempered

ASTM A325 - Type 1⁄ –1

2
85 590 92 630[43] 120 830
1[41] (inc.)
or
Medium carbon steel;
quench and tempered 1–1-1⁄2 74 510 82 570[43] 105 720

ASTM A325 - Type

1⁄ –1 85 590 92 630[43] 120 830
3[41] 2

Atmospheric corrosion
[45] resistant steel; quench 1–1-1⁄
2 74 510 82 570[43] 105 720
and tempered

ASTM A354 - Grade 1⁄ –

4
BC[41] 1
2- ⁄2 105 720 109 750[43] 125 860
Medium carbon alloy (inc.)
steel; quench and
tempered 2-1⁄2–4 95 660 99 680[43] 115 790

SAE grade 7
Medium carbon alloy 1⁄ –
4
1
105 720 115 790 133 920
steel; quench and 1- ⁄2
tempered

SAE grade 8
Medium carbon alloy 1⁄ –
4
1
120 830 130 900 150 1,000
steel; quench and 1- ⁄2
tempered
 ASTM A354 - Grade 1⁄ – 120 830 130 900[46] 150 1,000
4
BD[46] 1
2- ⁄2
(inc.)

2-1⁄2–4 105 720 115 790[46] 140 970

SAE grade 8.2[42]

Medium carbon boron
martensitic steel; fully 1⁄ –1 120 830 150 1,000
4
kilned, fine grain,
quench and tempered

ASTM A490 - Type

1[41]
Medium carbon alloy
steel; quench and 150 1,000
tempered 1⁄ –
2 minimum minimum
1
120 830 130[43] 900
ASTM A490 - Type 1- ⁄2 170 1,200
3[41] maximum maximum
Atmospheric corrosion
[45] resistant steel; quench
and tempered

40 280
1⁄ –5⁄ minimum minimum 100–125 690–860
4 8

18/8 Stainless (inc.) 80–90 550–620 typical typical

Stainless steel with typical typical

17–19% chromium and 5⁄ –1 100 690

8 40 280
8–13% nickel (inc.) minimum minimum typical typical
45–70 310–480 80–90 550–620
over 1
typical typical typical typical

Metric
The international standards for metric
externally threaded fasteners are ISO 898-
1 for property classes produced from
carbon steels and ISO 3506-1 for property
classes produced from corrosion resistant
steels.
 Head markings and properties for metric hex-head cap screws[47]

Nominal Proof Tensile strength,

Grade, Yield strength, min. Core
Head size strength min.
material and hardness
marking range
condition (Rockwell
(mm) MPa ksi MPa ksi MPa ksi

Class 3.6[48] 1.6–36 180 26 190 28 330 48 B52–95

Class 4.6
Low or
5–100 225 32.6 240 35 400 58 B67–95
medium
carbon steel

Class 4.8
Low or
medium
carbon 1.6–16 310 45 340 49 420 61 B71–95
steel; fully or
partially
annealed

Class 5.8
Low or
medium
5–24 380 55 420 61 520 75 B82–95
carbon
steel; cold
worked

Class 8.8[39] Under

580 84 640 93 800 120
Medium 16 (inc.)
carbon 17–72 600 87 660 96 830 120 C23–34
steel;
quench and
tempered

Class 8.8
low carbon
Low carbon
boron steel;
quench and
tempered

Class
8.8.3[49]
Atmospheric
corrosion
resistant
steel;
quench and
tempered

ASTM
A325M -
Type 1[50][51]
Medium
carbon
steel;
quench and
tempered

ASTM 12–36
A325M -
Type 3[50][51]
Atmospheric
corrosion
resistant
steel;
quench and
tempered

Class 9.8 1.6–16 650 94 720 104 900 130 C27–36

Medium
carbon
steel;
quench and
tempered

Class 9.8
low carbon
Low carbon
boron steel;
quench and
tempered

Class 10.9 830 120 940 136 1,040 151 C33–39

Alloy steel;
quench and
tempered

Class 10.9
low carbon
Low carbon
boron steel;
quench and
5–100
tempered

Class
10.9.3[49]
Atmospheric
corrosion
resistant
steel;
quench and
tempered

ASTM 12–36
A490M -
Type 1[50][52]
Alloy steel;
quench and
tempered

ASTM
A490M -
Type 3[50][52]
Atmospheric
corrosion
resistant
steel;
quench and
tempered

Class 12.9
Alloy steel;
1.6–100 970 141 1,100 160 1,220 177 C38–44
quench and
tempered

A2[39]
Stainless
210 30 500 73
steel with
minimum minimum minimum minimum
17–19% up to 20
450 65 700 100
chromium
typical typical typical typical
and 8–13%
nickel

ISO 3506-1
A2-50
304
stainless 210 30 500 73
steel-class
50
(annealed)

ISO 3506-1
A2-70
304
stainless 450 65 700 100
steel-class
70 (cold
worked)

ISO 3506-1
A2-80
304
600 87 800 120
stainless
steel-class
80
Screw head shapes

(a) pan, (b) dome (button), (c) round, (d) truss

(mushroom), (e) flat (countersunk), (f) oval (raised
head)

Combination flanged-hex/Phillips-head screw used in

computers

Pan head
A low disc with a rounded, high outer
edge with large surface area[53]
Button or dome head
Cylindrical with a rounded top
Round head
A dome-shaped head used for
decoration.[54]
Mushroom or Truss head
Lower-profile dome designed to prevent
tampering
Countersunk or flat head
Conical, with flat outer face and tapering
inner face allowing it to sink into the
material. The angle of the screw is
measured as the full angle of the cone.
Oval or raised head
A decorative screw head with a
countersunk bottom and rounded top.[54]
Also known as "raised countersunk"
(UK)
Bugle head
Similar to countersunk, but there is a
smooth progression from the shank to
the angle of the head, similar to the bell
of a bugle
Cheese head
Disc with cylindrical outer edge, height
approximately half the head diameter
Fillister head
Cylindrical, but with a slightly convex top
surface. Height to diameter ratio is
larger than cheese head.
 Flanged head
A flanged head can be any of the above
head styles (except the countersunk
styles) with the addition of an integrated
flange at the base of the head. This
eliminates the need for a flat washer.

Some varieties of screw are manufactured

with a break-away head, which snaps off
when adequate torque is applied. This
prevents tampering and also provides an
easily inspectable joint to guarantee
proper assembly. An example of this is the
shear bolts used on vehicle steering
columns, to secure the ignition switch.
Types of screw drives
Part of a series on

Screw drive types

Slot

Cross

Phillips
PH

Frearson

French Recess

JIS B 1012

Mortorq

Pozidriv
Pozidriv
PZ

SupaDriv
SupaDriv
PZ
 Square

Robertson

Hex

12-point flange

Hex socket
(Allen)

Security hex
socket (pin-in-
hex-socket)

Torx
T & TX

Security Torx
TR

Torx Plus
TR

TA
 Tri-point

Tri-groove

Tri-wing

Torq-set

Spanner head
(pig nose)
TH

Clutch
A

Clutch
G

One-way

Double-square

Triple-square
XZN

Polydrive
 Spline drive

Double hex

Bristol

Phillips/Slotted

Quadrex

Pentalobe

External Torx

Line male

Line female

Line female
tamper

This box: view talk edit

Modern screws employ a wide variety of

drive designs, each requiring a different
kind of tool to drive in or extract them. The
most common screw drives are the slotted
and Phillips in the US; hex, Robertson, and
Torx are also common in some
applications, and Pozidriv has almost
completely replaced Phillips in Europe.
Some types of drive are intended for
automatic assembly in mass-production of
such items as automobiles. More exotic
screw drive types may be used in
situations where tampering is undesirable,
such as in electronic appliances that
should not be serviced by the home repair
person.

Tools
 Play media
An electric driver screws a self-tapping phillips head
screw into wood

The hand tool used to drive in most

screws is called a screwdriver. A power
tool that does the same job is a power
screwdriver; power drills may also be used
with screw-driving attachments. Where the
holding power of the screwed joint is
critical, torque-measuring and torque-
limiting screwdrivers are used to ensure
sufficient but not excessive force is
developed by the screw. The hand tool for
driving hex head threaded fasteners is a
spanner (UK usage) or wrench (US usage),
while a nut setter is used with a power
screw driver.

Thread standards
There are many systems for specifying the
dimensions of screws, but in much of the
world the ISO metric screw thread
preferred series has displaced the many
older systems. Other relatively common
systems include the British Standard
Whitworth, BA system (British
Association), and the Unified Thread
Standard.

ISO metric screw thread

The basic principles of the ISO metric

screw thread are defined in international
standard ISO 68-1 and preferred
combinations of diameter and pitch are
listed in ISO 261. The smaller subset of
diameter and pitch combinations
commonly used in screws, nuts and bolts
is given in ISO 262. The most commonly
used pitch value for each diameter is the
coarse pitch. For some diameters, one or
two additional fine pitch variants are also
specified, for special applications such as
threads in thin-walled pipes. ISO metric
screw threads are designated by the letter
M followed by the major diameter of the
thread in millimeters (e.g. M8). If the
thread does not use the normal coarse
pitch (e.g. 1.25 mm in the case of M8),
then the pitch in millimeters is also
appended with a multiplication sign (e.g.
"M8×1" if the screw thread has an outer
diameter of 8 mm and advances by 1 mm
per 360° rotation).

The nominal diameter of a metric screw is

the outer diameter of the thread. The
tapped hole (or nut) into which the screw
fits, has an internal diameter which is the
size of the screw minus the pitch of the
thread. Thus, an M6 screw, which has a
pitch of 1 mm, is made by threading a
6 mm shank, and the nut or threaded hole
is made by tapping threads into a hole of
5 mm diameter (6 mm - 1 mm).

Metric hexagon bolts, screws and nuts are

specified, for example, in British Standard
BS 4190 (general purpose screws) and
BS 3692 (precision screws). The following
table lists the relationship given in these
standards between the thread size and the
maximal width across the hexagonal flats
(wrench size):
 ISO
metric M1.6 M2 M2.5 M3 M4 M5 M6 M8 M10 M12 M16 M20 M24 M30 M36 M42 M4
thread

Wrench
size 3.2 4.0 5.0 5.5 7.0 8.0 10.0 13.0 17.0 19.0 24.0 30.0 36.0 46.0 55.0 65.0 75.
(mm)

In addition, the following non-preferred

intermediate sizes are specified:

ISO metric thread M7 M14 M18 M22 M27 M33 M39 M45 M52 M60 M68

Wrench size (mm) 11 22 27 32 41 50 60 70 80 90 100

Whitworth

The first person to create a standard (in

about 1841) was the English engineer Sir
Joseph Whitworth. Whitworth screw sizes
are still used, both for repairing old
machinery and where a coarser thread
than the metric fastener thread is required.
Whitworth became British Standard
Whitworth, abbreviated to BSW (BS
84:1956) and the British Standard Fine
(BSF) thread was introduced in 1908
because the Whitworth thread was too
coarse for some applications. The thread
angle was 55°, and the depth and pitch
varied with the diameter of the thread (i.e.,
the bigger the bolt, the coarser the thread).
Spanners for Whitworth bolts are marked
with the size of the bolt, not the distance
across the flats of the screw head.

The most common use of a Whitworth

pitch nowadays is in all UK scaffolding.
Additionally, the standard photographic
tripod thread, which for small cameras is
1/4" Whitworth (20 tpi) and for
medium/large format cameras is 3/8"
Whitworth (16 tpi). It is also used for
microphone stands and their appropriate
clips, again in both sizes, along with
"thread adapters" to allow the smaller size
to attach to items requiring the larger
thread. Note that while 1/4" UNC bolts fit
1/4" BSW camera tripod bushes, yield
strength is reduced by the different thread
angles of 60° and 55° respectively.

British Association screw

thread
British Association (BA) screw threads,
named after the British Association for
Advancement of Science, were devised in
1884 and standardised in 1903. Screws
were described as "2BA", "4BA" etc., the
odd numbers being rarely used, except in
equipment made prior to the 1970s for
telephone exchanges in the UK. This
equipment made extensive use of odd-
numbered BA screws, in order—it may be
suspected—to reduce theft. BA threads are
specified by British Standard BS 93:1951
"Specification for British Association (B.A.)
screw threads with tolerances for sizes 0
B.A. to 16 B.A."
While not related to ISO metric screws, the
sizes were actually defined in metric
terms, a 0BA thread having a 6 mm
diameter and 1 mm pitch. Other threads in
the BA series are related to 0BA in a
geometric series with the common factors
0.9 and 1.2. For example, a 4BA thread has
pitch  mm (0.65mm) and diameter
 mm (3.62mm). Although 0BA has the
same diameter and pitch as ISO M6, the
threads have different forms and are not
compatible.

BA threads are still common in some niche

applications. Certain types of fine
machinery, such as moving-coil meters
and clocks, tend to have BA threads
wherever they are manufactured. BA sizes
were also used extensively in aircraft,
especially those manufactured in the
United Kingdom. BA sizing is still used in
railway signalling, mainly for the
termination of electrical equipment and
cabling.

BA threads are extensively used in Model

Engineering where the smaller hex head
sizes make scale fastenings easier to
represent. As a result, many UK Model
Engineering suppliers still carry stocks of
BA fasteners up to typically 8BA and 10BA.
5BA is also commonly used as it can be
threaded onto 1/8 rod.[55]

Unified Thread Standard

The Unified Thread Standard (UTS) is most

commonly used in the United States, but is
also extensively used in Canada and
occasionally in other countries. The size of
a UTS screw is described using the
following format: X-Y, where X is the
nominal size (the hole or slot size in
standard manufacturing practice through
which the shank of the screw can easily be
pushed) and Y is the threads per inch
(TPI). For sizes 1⁄4 inch and larger the size
is given as a fraction; for sizes less than
this an integer is used, ranging from 0 to
16. The integer sizes can be converted to
the actual diameter by using the formula
0.060 + 0.013 × number. For example, a #4
screw is 0.060 + 0.013 × 4 = 0.112 inches
in diameter. There are also screw sizes
smaller than "0" (zero or ought). The sizes
are 00, 000, 0000 which are usually
referred to as two ought, three ought, and
four ought. Most eyeglasses have the
bows screwed to the frame with 00-72
(pronounced double ought – seventy two)
size screws. To calculate the major
diameter of "ought" size screws count the
number of 0's and multiply this number by
.013 and subtract from .060. For example,
the major diameter of a 000-72 screw
thread is .060 – (3 x .013) = .060-.039 =
.021 inches. For most size screws there
are multiple TPI available, with the most
common being designated a Unified
Coarse Thread (UNC or UN) and Unified
Fine Thread (UNF or UF). Note: In
countries other than the United States and
Canada, the ISO Metric Screw Thread
System is primarily used today. Unlike
most other countries the United States
and Canada still use the Unified (Inch)
Thread System. However, both are moving
over to the ISO Metric System. It is
estimated that approximately 60% of
screw threads in use in the United States
are still inch based.[67]

Manufacture
There are three steps in manufacturing a
screw: heading, thread rolling, and coating.
Screws are normally made from wire,
which is supplied in large coils, or round
bar stock for larger screws. The wire or rod
is then cut to the proper length for the type
of screw being made; this workpiece is
known as a blank. It is then cold headed,
which is a cold working process. Heading
produces the head of the screw. The shape
of the die in the machine dictates what
features are pressed into the screw head;
for example a flat head screw uses a flat
die. For more complicated shapes two
heading processes are required to get all
of the features into the screw head. This
production method is used because
heading has a very high production rate,
and produces virtually no waste material.
Slotted head screws require an extra step
to cut the slot in the head; this is done on a
slotting machine. These machines are
essentially stripped down milling
machines designed to process as many
blanks as possible.

The blanks are then polished again prior to

threading. The threads are usually
produced via thread rolling, however some
are cut. The workpiece is then tumble
finished with wood and leather media to
do final cleaning and polishing. For most
screws, a coating, such as electroplating
with zinc (galvanizing) or applying black
oxide, is applied to prevent corrosion.

History

A lathe of 1871, equipped with leadscrew and change

gears for single-point screw-cutting.
A Brown & Sharpe single-spindle screw machine.

While a recent hypothesis attributes the

Archimedes' screw to Sennacherib, King of
Assyria, archaeological finds and pictorial
evidence only appear in the Hellenistic
period and the standard view holds the
device to be a Greek invention, most
probably by the 3rd century BC polymath
Archimedes.[56] Though resembling a
screw, this is not a screw in the usual
sense of the word.
Earlier, the screw had been described by
the Greek mathematician Archytas of
Tarentum (428–350 BC). By the 1st
century BC, wooden screws were
commonly used throughout the
Mediterranean world in screw presses for
pressing olive oil from olives and pressing
juice from grapes in winemaking. Metal
screws used as fasteners were rare in
Europe before the 15th century, if known at
all.[57]

Rybczynski has shown[58] that handheld

screwdrivers (formerly called "turnscrews"
in English, in more direct parallel to their
original French name, tournevis[59]) have
existed since medieval times (the 1580s at
the latest), although they probably did not
become truly widespread until after 1800,
once threaded fasteners had become
commodified, as detailed below.

There were many forms of fastening in use

before threaded fasteners became
widespread. They tended to involve
carpentry and smithing rather than
machining, and they involved concepts
such as dowels and pins, wedging,
mortises and tenons, dovetails, nailing
(with or without clenching the nail ends),
forge welding, and many kinds of binding
with cord made of leather or fiber, using
many kinds of knots. Prior to the mid-19th
century, cotter pins or pin bolts, and "clinch
bolts" (now called rivets), were used in
shipbuilding. Glues also existed, although
not in the profusion seen today.

The metal screw did not become a

common fastener until machine tools for
their mass production were developed
toward the end of the 18th century. This
development blossomed in the 1760s and
1770s[60] along two separate paths that
soon converged:[61] the mass production
of wood screws [meaning screws made of
metal to be used in wood] in a specialized,
single-purpose, high-volume-production
machine tool; and the low-count, toolroom-
style production of machine screws (V-
thread) with easy selection among various
pitches (whatever the machinist happened
to need on any given day).

The first path was pioneered by brothers

Job and William Wyatt of Staffordshire,
UK,[62] who patented in 1760 a machine
that we might today best call a screw
machine of an early and prescient sort. It
made use of a leadscrew to guide the
cutter to produce the desired pitch,[62] and
the slot was cut with a rotary file while the
main spindle held still (presaging live tools
on lathes 250 years later). Not until 1776
did the Wyatt brothers have a wood-screw
factory up and running.[62] Their enterprise
failed, but new owners soon made it
prosper, and in the 1780s they were
producing 16,000 screws a day with only
30 employees[63]—the kind of industrial
productivity and output volume that would
later be characteristic of modern industry
but was revolutionary at the time.

Meanwhile, English instrument maker

Jesse Ramsden (1735–1800) was
working on the toolmaking and
instrument-making end of the screw-
cutting problem, and in 1777 he invented
the first satisfactory screw-cutting
lathe.[64] The British engineer Henry
Maudslay (1771–1831) gained fame by
popularizing such lathes with his screw-
cutting lathes of 1797 and 1800,
containing the trifecta of leadscrew, slide
rest, and change-gear gear train, all in the
right proportions for industrial machining.
In a sense he unified the paths of the
Wyatts and Ramsden and did for machine
screws what had already been done for
wood screws, i.e., significant easing of
production spurring commodification. His
firm would remain a leader in machine
tools for decades afterward. A misquoting
of James Nasmyth popularized the notion
that Maudslay had invented the slide rest,
but this was incorrect; however, his lathes
helped to popularize it.

These developments of the 1760–1800

era, with the Wyatts and Maudslay being
arguably the most important drivers,
caused great increase in the use of
threaded fasteners. Standardization of
threadforms began almost immediately,
but it was not quickly completed; it has
been an evolving process ever since.
Further improvements to the mass
production of screws continued to push
unit prices lower and lower for decades to
come, throughout the 19th century.[65]
The American development of the turret
lathe (1840s) and of automatic screw
machines derived from it (1870s)
drastically reduced the unit cost of
threaded fasteners by increasingly
automating the machine tool control. This
cost reduction spurred ever greater use of
screws.

Throughout the 19th century, the most

commonly used forms of screw head (that
is, drive types) were simple internal-
wrenching straight slots and external-
wrenching squares and hexagons. These
were easy to machine and served most
applications adequately. Rybczynski
describes a flurry of patents for alternative
drive types in the 1860s through 1890s,[66]
but explains that these were patented but
not manufactured due to the difficulties
and expense of doing so at the time. In
1908, Canadian P. L. Robertson was the
first to make the internal-wrenching square
socket drive a practical reality by
developing just the right design (slight
taper angles and overall proportions) to
allow the head to be stamped easily but
successfully, with the metal cold forming
as desired rather than being sheared or
displaced in unwanted ways.[66] Practical
manufacture of the internal-wrenching
hexagon drive (hex socket) shortly
followed in 1911.[67][68]

In the early 1930s, the popular Phillips-

head screw was invented by American
Henry F. Phillips.[69]

Threadform standardization further

improved in the late 1940s, when the ISO
metric screw thread and the Unified
Thread Standard were defined.

Precision screws, for controlling motion

rather than fastening, developed around
the turn of the 19th century, were one of
the central technical advances, along with
flat surfaces, that enabled the industrial
revolution.[70] They are key components of
micrometers and lathes.

Other fastening methods

Alternative fastening methods are:

nails
rivets
pins (dowel pins, taper pins, roll pins,
spring pins, cotter pins)
pinned shafts (keyed shafts, woodruff
keys, gibb-headed key)
screw bolt, pin bolt or cotter bolt, and
clench bolt- as used in clinker boat
building
 welding
soldering
brazing
joinery (mortise & tenon, dovetailing, box
joints, lap joints)
gluing
taping
clinch fastening

See also
Bolt (fastener)
Dowel
Fastener
Gender of connectors and fasteners
 List of screw drives
Screw anchor
Syndesmotic screw
Tap and die
Die head
Thread angle
Threaded fastener
Threaded insert
Threaded rod (e.g. studs, allthread)
Threading
Thread pitch gauge
Wall plug

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Hallowell, Howard Thomas, Sr (1951),
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Rybczynski, Witold (2000), One good
turn: a natural history of the screwdriver
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86729-8, LCCN 00036988 ,
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External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related
to Screw.

Wikisource has the text of the

Encyclopaedia Britannica (9th ed.) article
Screw.

How the World Got Screwed

NASA-RP-1228 Fastener Design
Manual
Imperial/Metric fastening sizes
comparison
"Hold Everything", February 1946,
Popular Science" article section on
 screws and screw fastener technology
developed during World War Two
How to feed screws and dowels

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