Were nuts and bolts or any screw threads used in the ancient world?

Question

I know that welding and rivets were used in ancient Rome but not when nuts and bolts were first used. Threaded screws should have been invented from the idea of the Artesian well.

Answer 1

As indicated above the Archimedes screw was a device for drawing up water and Google would lead you to many illustrations and articles.

The earliest screw type fastenings were produced using tools cut and filed by hand. Wood screw fastenings, hand made, appeared before metal nuts and bolts.

To produce a standard screw thread a screw cutting lathe was employed.

This lathe would, of necessity, require a lead screw. The problem was solved by making a wooden shaft on a wood turning lathe. A block of wood having a hole the same diameter as the shaft carried a sharp knife blade held in a slot at the helix angle required. By rotating the shaft in the hole a spiral cut was marked along the length of the shaft.

(Using a cylindrical pencil and a sharp penkife, place the knife at an angle and apply pressure and a forward movement. A spiral cut will be produced.)

Obviously two parralel blades would be needed in the block. One marked groove would then be cut by hand along the legth of the shaft to the required depth.

This wooden pattern was then emloyed to cast a 'Lead screw'

A skilled fitter would then, using a gauge to check, carefully file the helical square shaped groove. This first lead screw assembled on to a lathe made possible the production of reasonably accurate screw threads. Eventually, a perfect screw thread could be produced.

Taps and dies cut on a lathe, then hardened and tempered were the tools used to produce the first hand-cut standard screw threads.

Whitworth designed an early screw cutting lathe and designed the form of the Whitworth Standard screw thread. The included angle of this thread was 55 degrees. Also introduced was the British Standard Fine (B.S.F.) screw thread of the same form but with finer pitch.

The British Association screw thread ( B.A.), metric and Unified came later.

Without doubt the Whitworth form screw thread was the strongest because the width at the root of the thread was greater than Metirc or Unified. Political considerations have led to the almost complete abandonment of the Whitworth thread.

Incidentally, the UK manufacturing industry was involved in very expensive retooling. It also suffered from having some assemblies, motor cars in particular, having all three types of thread used at various locations i.e. Whitworth, Metric and Unified. Thus the need arose to have all three types of taps, dies and spanners.

For special situations various thread forms have come into general use, e.g. Vee shaped, Acme, Buttress and Knuckle.

Answer 2

Nuts and bolts as we know them were not used in the ancient world. Lathes of the period weren't strong enough to cut threads in metal and were primarily used for turning wood. Iron was smithed using a hammer and anvil, heat and quench etc. They were able to draw copper into nails & wire, but copper is too soft to hold threads well. Nearly pure iron is soft enough to be hammered into rivets.

Nuts and bolts as fasteners are a product of the industrial revolution. So mid to late 1700s I would think. This is when machines with enough power to manipulate and cut brass and steel were invented.

Answer 3

the principle of the screw is ancient (probably thought up before Archimedes),although he used it for a lot things including plans for a helicopter!
actual nuts and bolts didnt become common til after the industrial revoloution as this led to mass-production and the ability to manafacture items to great detail in large ammounts

Answer 4

the screw was used in ancient egypt. a screw inside a log could pull up water from the river.

Answer 5

Archemidis screw, about the time of Archemidis I think

Answer 6

archimedes screw screw was a water lifting device used by the ancient greeks

Answer 7

yes the screw was used to get water up to the hanging gardens off babilon think it was called the arcamedis screw ?

Answer 8

they were used in wine pressing and leter on the midle ages on printing books...