Where DO screws come from?

[@johnmanning4577]

I am 83 years old. As a boy, I saw a legal secretary use the Ediphone shown in your video to transcribe dictation. She worked for her father-in-law who had become my father's mentor. Her son studied law and ultimately became my father's attorney. The son and I are still friends though geographically separated. Your video became a time machine transporting me nearly 80 years to the sights, sounds and smells of that office. I cannot thank you enough.

[@radioguy1620]

another reason kids need to do stuff with their parents.

[@colonelsanders9637]

This is really wholesome, I'm glad this video meant so much to you

[@johnrichard9606]

wonderful story ! The amazing fact also is how much the world has changed within a few short years. My father once said to me that as a boy he used to watch sailing cargo ships coming into harbour in Douglas, IOM. Then within his lifetime he saw men walking on the moon.

[@machinethinking]

One of my favorite comments of all time!

[@BillyBob-gt3bb]

I’m back! Got canceled for “wrong think” thanks again for all the hard work. I’m starting all your videos over so I can thumbs up them all under my new handle. Clickspring is second best and that’s saying a lot!

[@jhoughjr1]

that internal thread cutting is classical brilliance

[@excitedbox5705]

Sometimes the most difficult problems have a simple solution. There was a mathematician who came up with the concept of solving complex problems through simple tricks. Like those Asian multiplication tricks with the crossing lines.

[@EctoMorpheus]

My boy Heron invented a manual CNC router

[@CONEHEADDK]

@@excitedbox5705 People wit long expensive educations tend to think, that all problems need complicated solutions. Very often it's about H Ford's "If I should have listened to the customers, I should have worked on inventing a faster horse" - let the problem define the solution.

[@worldcomicsreview354]

@@EctoMorpheus And, by the looks of it, mass production of standardised parts! Took a few centuries to properly catch on, but it was a game changer.

[@dielaughing73]

​@@worldcomicsreview354 Yep. That's exactly why many people credit the lathe as the most important machine ever made

[@motnosniv]

I repair sewing machines. About 40 yrs ago when I first learned how they work, I recognized how important screws are to do so many different things. Another simple machine that is indispensable is the spring.

[@DOAKran]

o

[@olliefoxx7165]

Who makes the best sewing machines today? What's the oldest sewing machine youve worked on? Are modern sewing machines like the ones that monogram clothes and make patches worth the money?

[@timn4481]

i think technically a spring is a component as a machine is defined as providing a function as an output of more than 1 component.

[@arthas640]

You just reminded me of the MST3K video about springs called "A Case of Spring Fever" (check it out, its short and its on youtube and worth a watch). It's a Twilight Zone style video designed to teach kids about springs, its about a guy wishing springs didnt exist and then getting transported to a world where springs dont exist and they talk about how all kinds of machines, tools, and even furniture doesnt work without springs.

[@gabeshaw3721]

A spring isn’t a simple machine like an inclined plane or a wedge, but is very simple

[@patrickthomas9006]

Your comment about removing skill from the equation really resonates with me. I'm a carpenter by trade and being competent in my field now mainly consists of just knowing how to rely on your tools, removing as much skill from the tradesman as possible and relying on tools for precision or efficiency whenever possible.

[@blackbird1234100]

Yes and no. It doesn't remove the skill from the bigger picture. It still requires skill (how deep of a cut to take, how much to advance it, etc). Now, it is easier. That means they can focus their skill elsewhere. Like you said - now. It's knowing how to rely on your tools. Just like it always has been. Our tools become more advanced, so we can focus skill elsewhere and continue advancing. Skill is still required to operate tools with precision, safely, and efficiency. Major difference is the overall process is faster now. Also, there's a lot of hand skill involved in more decorative carpentry (furniture, cabinets carving, etc)

[@jamesbenton1700]

As a professional furniture maker, don't sell your talent short, sir. With the exception of steaming wood to bend, most woodworking involves removing the correct amount of wood, but not too much. No matter how crude or sophisticated the tool, your hand and your eyes guide your ability. Repetition is the teacher of skill. Hold your head high, sir.

[@druckerman247]

Same here. I'm a master printer. The technology employed today removes the need to intensively train. The tools, printing press, is what is relied on.

[@blackbird1234100]

@@druckerman247 idk sometimes I think I need training for consumer printers....

[@a0flj0]

@@blackbird1234100 It does remove _some_ skill, at least. Cutting a mortise using a mallet and a chisel is a completely different skill from cutting it using a mortiser. Getting a board flat and straight and of uniform thickness and width with a hand plane is a completely different skill from running it through the jointer and thicknesser.

[@Redpatch]

Hes not dead!

[@baddoopey]

redpatch, no he was just screwed.

[@19Edurne]

I had wondered. Glad to see him back.

[@jamesmanley1948]

I was getting worried, so glad to see him posting again.

[@machinethinking]

Haha no :) I also never really stopped researching videos or working on models. The state of world messed up a few different videos I was working on for different reasons but happily in the course of doing the research for this video I found enough material for more. Production time is still lengthy but I'm trying a few things to try and speed it up.

[@Redpatch]

Your work is well appreciated, thank you for the quality videos on interesting topics.

[@_spacegoat_]

The old German script you asked about appears to be describing a tool known as a _Wolfsangel_ , or literally, _wolf's fishing rod_ . Although I can't read the script, the word appears (split into the words _wolfs_ and _angel_ ) in the first line of the script. A Wolfsangel was a wolf trap. The drawings you show appear to be a more "modern" take. The older style was just two pointed hooks on two ends of a bar, with a perpendicular bar to which a chain was attached. The hooks were jammed into a chunk of meat and chained to a tree, which an unsuspecting wolf would then swallow, hooking himself like a fish. A stylized version of the old design was used, for a short time, as a symbol by German civilian resistance fighters in the latter days of World War II as Germany was being overrun by the Allies. This symbol is still in use today as the emblem of the Ukrainian Azov Battalion.

[@upSIDEdnMedia]

No ads on a brilliant video. You’re the hero we need.

[@Uzerzz]

I got an ad tho (at the start only)

[@jacobmoore7198]

He should put ads. I’d happily give him some money for his amazing work. It’s well deserved. PUT ADS ON UR VIDEO!!

[@dionelouie7339]

Hi

[@ChemEDan]

Got demonetized because of the firearms

[@revimfadli4666]

Speaking of Brilliant...

[@SmashCrunch]

There actually has been an improvement on the Archimedes screw, within the last 20 years surprisingly. It's called an "Olds Elevator". Basically the screw itself is static and the housing spins instead. This has some advantages, like being better for moving fine substances like gunpowder, rice, wheat, grains etc. An Archimedes screw pushes a lot of air, which can lift and spray the fine materials into unwanted directions. The Olds elevator only moves the substance, and what little air there is in-between the grains of rain for example. It's a surprisingly simple difference from the normal Archimedes screw, but nobody thought of it until 2003.

[@kentslocum]

Thanks for this comment! I learned about Olds Engineering because I was watching NASB videos on sugar dust explosions, which were often due to the ways the sugar was transported throughout the building. While fully-enclosed compressed air systems can be used, the Olds Elevator can be used as nearly a direct replacement for older-style elevators without a huge investment.

[@orppranator5230]

Come to think of it, doesn't that mean that the only thing doing the pumping is the surface friction on the housing vs the screw?

[@SmashCrunch]

@@orppranator5230 No, the housing has a scoop attached to it on the bottom. The hopper has to have a minimum amount of material in it or the device won't work (or very poorly). The scoops and friction from the housing both work together to move the material in a circle and the screw makes it move upwards.

[@devynforsyth4838]

Is this the concept that a concrete truck works on?

[@SmashCrunch]

@@devynforsyth4838 No, a concrete truck uses a type of archimedes screw. The housing and screw are attached and spin together, and there is no central shaft.

[@bernieshort6311]

As a retired Marine Engineer having sailed the seven seas,’ I can appreciate and relate to this video in many ways. This video was well presented, so much so that you have earned a subscription from me. I look forward to future videos on this fantastic subject. Threads are just a circular wedge which can be adjusted for varying and many applications. Without screws, my life would have been meaningless. Thank you.

[@markgreen7701]

AVE once said that a wedge is the most important tool in the world. He noted that the thread on a screw is simply a wedge. It's a helical wedge (inclined plane). I thought that was pretty cool.

[@rrtsduf]

False

[@ThefalleStrat]

@@rrtsduf bold statement to make without any further evidence

[@johnsmith1882-x2i]

I think you mean ramp. It’s a ramp wrapped around an axle.

[@markgreen7701]

@@johnsmith1882-x2i Isn't a ramp just an inclined plane?

[@markgreen7701]

@@johnsmith1882-x2i What's the difference between a ramp and an inclined plane?

[@machinethinking]

I am LOVING all of the comments on what you think about bolts vs screws. The variety and differences between people and even countries are far more than I would have expected and really eye opening!

I read german script... the individual handwriting might make it a bit harder, but when in doubt, there hasn't been any type of german handwriting been written yet, illegible to my 75 year old mom. So feel free to send me a copy for transcription.

[@Reziac]

Why did KZbin suggest this video to me? I have no idea, but neat stuff! subbed. :) And thanks for linking the book -- way cool "homework". :D

[@xj9779]

Screws are usually threaded from head to tip. Bolts may or may not be, sometimes threaded or with a hole for a split pin or different fixing methode.

[@Kevin-jb2pv]

They're all just uppity nails as far as I'm concerned.

[@two_tier_gary_rumain]

Screw that, ya nut!

[@areyouundoingthatorwhat9181]

My family's business designs and constructs specialist commercial vehicles,pumps,generators,field workshops,de-salinisation plants etc. Despite the drawback of not being self priming they still use Archimedes screws in the large irrigation pumps. My great grandfather and his brothers built their first trucks which went to Libya in the 1930's using Archimedes screw pumps for sewage/groundwater. Over the years as technology evolved and different family members had their input all manner of alternatives rotary,reciprocating,vane,diaphragm,were tried, but my father went back to screws in the early 90's. they shift good amounts,are very accepting of debris and most importantly having only rotating rather than reciprocal parts are far more durable,given that many of these trucks go to places like India,Egypt,Sudan,Libya etc. and that mechanical sympathy isn't a foremost priority, the need for simplicity and high durability is paramount. Not only does the customer not want to be without their equipment,it takes some effort for a major repair to be actioned,either via re-patriation of the vehicle or a pair of techs and their gear travel. My father always says and with justification,that screw pumps are fit and forget,they just work,even half knackered they still work,endorsed by the fact that we are still using them centuries later. I've spent my entire life around threads screws and bolts the most important helix,is that of a corkscrew😁

[@a.k.885]

Are sliced washers still soldered together for Archimedean screws? I was impressed by the calculations required to calculate the diameters for given pitch angles. I can't imagine how Archimedes figured this out without a calculator or sine tables.

[@areyouundoingthatorwhat9181]

@@a.k.885 you would need some big washers,some of them you can crawl through😂 .The'washer'method only works on finer pitches,ours are all offset rolled sheets cut then rolled,the big stuff that is expected to encounter mud,rocks and stones are constructed using 3/4 to 1 1/4" thick steel. Up until about 1994-5 the calculations were all done on paper,now they use CAD,but Errol, the main man in the metal shop who's been rolling steel for about 60 years can calculate them almost as quick as a computer.

[@chrispfeifer7628]

I'll never forget, about 50 years ago getting my set of tools as a kid I drove screws and nails into every fence post around the farm until I got something to work on. My first lawn tractor. I was fascinated by the nuts and bolts and springs Sadly, after dismantling it completely, it never ran again, but all future machines did. Odd this is the memory this video reminded me of. Great videos Peace ✌️

[@Evan-e-cent]

Dismantling things to find out how they work is a good way to learn about the world of engineering. I did it so often as a very young child things were said to be "Evanized" and I still get teased about that 70 years later!

[@klpittman1]

Chrispfeifer, you evanized your lawn tractor?

[@austinstasko2564]

The rendering at the beginning must have taken AGES, and sir, it was well worth it 🤝

[@andrewhawkins6754]

I suppose that's why it's been ages since the last video :D

[@machinethinking]

The final render was about 24 hours! However, learning Blender (even just a little bit) was an adventure measured in weeks (here and there). The actual geometry is from Fusion 360 of a model I made a few years ago (it shows up in other videos) but I used it mostly because it's the only CAD model I've ever done where I bothered to model the screws (well, bolts :) )in such detail and there many in a small space. It's also wildly inaccurate to the real thing which I got to later go see, but it fit this purpose. I decided to make the investment in Blender because it will allow me to make animated models of other things I will talk about in the future.

[@kimmy_future4265]

@@machinethinking what is the device?

[@ATX_Engineer]

@@kimmy_future4265 a micrometer... but you shouldn't take my word for it, check out his other videos. Specifically, the Origins of Precision.

[@kimmy_future4265]

@@ATX_Engineer oh duh! thanks!

[@mechaconsulting]

Hi, you mentioned at 12:18 that the illustrator made an error. I believe there is a chance that they didn't. A master machinist showed me a linear reducer using left- and right-handed thread screws with slightly different leads. The result is that one thread pushes the carriage one way (say 1" per turn), while the other thread pushes it the other (say 0.9" per turn). The net result is carriage moves the difference between the two leads (1" - 0.9" = 0.1" per turn). In effect, the two screws produce a reduced linear motion of the carriage. This can be used for micro-positioning or creating a very strong clamping action. Do you have additional information regarding this illustration? Great videos by the way!

[@hm5142]

Interesting. This is a differential screw. I invented a different version using right handed screws of different pitch for producing small linear motions when I was about 15. I thought it was a great idea, but found out that I was about 500 years too late for it to be a new invention. It worked for my purposes.

[@PhilGreer100]

​@@hm5142 we used to do something similar, involving heads shaved from match books..

[@lucdrouin4653]

Or, at the time, inventors could insert errors in their drawings to protect their intellectual property at a time patent law was inexistant. Leonardo Da Vinci did that often.

[@klpittman1]

A Chinese windlass is basically a differential axle. By winding a rope off of one diameter of the axle and onto the other diameter of the same axle you gain a mechanical advantage and it is self locking, much like a worm drive.

[@peteraugust5295]

I just finished watching the video and then went back to the youtube mainscreen, where I noticed that I did not give the video a thumbs up. I guess that was the first time in my life that I on purpose went back, just to click the thumbs uo button. Congratulations on that, Sir!

[@beauwhitlock5034]

Is your profile picture a German flag? Why don't you read the German that he can't read?

[@peteraugust5295]

@@beauwhitlock5034 I missed out on that. If he forwards the pages to my I could try although it is very hard to read on the pictures.

[@dirtgoblin5118]

I work in a food processing plant. Augers are one of the ways we move products through different areas of the process. We also use reel screens to separate solids from water and move the solids away so they can be taken away and the water sent back to be used again (using an impeller pump, another screw). You do great work and I sincerely enjoy your videos.

[@garbo8962]

I worked at a large slaughter house that had a rendering plant where they cooked the scrapes & bones. Had a maybe 10" diameter screw in between two French presses ( squeezed tallow out if cooked scrapes ) that had to have rotation changed every time they switched machines. One of our best mechanics talked them into ordering a short section of left hand screw for inside of open top conveyor. Then they could run both machines at once.

[@mohammadmursalin6817]

Wow, Heron was absolutely genius, beyond genius in fact as I did some google searches on him. He was no less than Archimedes or even Leonardo Da Vinci or even Issac Newton for his era. The rifled barrel is essentially an internally threaded tube.

[@JohnDoe-rx3vn]

I only knew him from his formula (Hero's formula) to find the area of any triangle, given only the side lengths

[@pablomoedano7678]

Genius is kind of an exaggeration. He was very smart but not genius.

[@zachaliles]

In my profession, a mechanic in a factory, they're all screws as far as the store room or manuals are concerned. As in a socket head cap screw (SHCS) for Allen headed screws. Only when you add a nut to the end does it magically become a bolt. If you thread it into a part with matching threads it's still a screw. But no one gets upset when you call it by either name, we all know what we mean.

[@Jesse__H]

I argue against this as per instructions!

[@variant1394]

I've heard an opinion that the difference between the two is that a screw is threaded all the way up to the head and a bolt has a smooth section of the shank near the head.

[@Tuning3434]

@@variant1394 Ehhh, the smooth section basically helps to have a WAY better stress distribution around the most critical part, where the head meets the shank. Also woodscrews, that are most definitely screws, can have a smooth shank for a section. I would say that definition is _lacking._

[@UnbeltedSundew]

@@Tuning3434 I don't thin I've ever had a normal machine screw or bolt fail at the head regardless of where the thread was cut to. Most often it's the thread that get stripped off the screw, some very rare times its the thread getting stripped out of the part. I have had wood screws fail like that if they've been used a few times.

[@quentintin1]

to me the definition would be: screw: a kind of threaded rod, it may be partially or totally threaded, the exact profile of the shank may vary, it have a head or not but always has an interface for a driving tool. bolt: an assembly composed of a screw and a nut, the use is usually for assembling parts through unthreaded holes. for this assembly to form a bolt, the nut must be the only element retaining the screw in the hole(s).

[@suhayl5157]

About 2 years ago I started a quest to learn about screws bolts and nuts: who invented them, when were they first used and how were they made. did not get much answers. This video sure answers many of the questions I had. thank you

[@transmundanium]

I've carved a pair of 2-1/2 inch wooden screws with saw, chisel, and file. And I built one of Heron's internal threading tools too. It is tedious work but quite accessible with simple tools and some patience.

[@mctavishmcardle6906]

can't believe i'd never seen the loeffelholz codex before - those drawings are /amazing/ (not just for the machines they illustrate - something about the illustration itself seems /profoundly/ contemporary) glad to see another upload on this channel - definitely looking forward to the next in the series

[@mctavishmcardle6906]

@OGlettuceWEED indicate italics for emphasis

[@EctoMorpheus]

_you know you can just typea actual italics by putting the text between underscores right?_

[@justicelowman7493]

Wonderfully done! I'm a mechanical engineering student and this sort of thing fills my heart with excitement about the richness of human inventiveness and our relationship with physics.

[@Mirro18]

The fact that you never once told me to "screw myself" when you were talking about thumb screws and such is kinda disappointing but also understandable. Great video. Also a great reminder to take nothing for granted. Even the simplest parts of life are great inventions

[@deadsi]

What's wrong?

[@klpittman1]

You can’t screw yourself while using thumb screws unless one hand is free. Turning a screw requires thumbs.

[@allthingsawesome2]

This man just made me buy a $100 book with no regrets. Bravo my friend

[@brentspellmeyer8943]

What book?

[@lisocampos8080]

Yes. What book?

[@DeathfireCaps]

Dude seriously tell us what book

[@Jesse__H]

I'm damn glad I stayed subscribed to this channel! It doesn't cost me anything to wait, and these videos are well worth it!

[@jimurrata6785]

Sadly, I can only give your comment one like! 👍 The content is SO awesome.

[@PixelSchnitzel]

Right on, @Jesse H.! 200K subscribers from only 14 videos over 3 years. That tells us something about how awesome this channel is and what enormous potential it has!

[@Jesse__H]

@@PixelSchnitzel Wow you're right that those statistics are really impressive!

[@CoolRestorations]

The talent of this is worth millions of subs!!!!👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 I need to learn more too!!!!🛠🛠🛠🛠

[@jahmahrahdesafilli6268]

Hi, Back when I was learning My woodworking skills I was taught how to calculate the correct size of drill for the shaft and core of the screw. The formula is (for imperial) is screw gauge +2 or 3 divided by 64, for shank size. and screw gauge divided by 64 for core size. Also later on I worked as an antique restorer and learned that there was no standard for screw threads or head slot, because the screws were handmade by the workshop or local blacksmith, and also i had a variety of screwdrivers each one ground for the size of slot for the screw I was extracting.

[@Endermanso]

Here, where i live in spain wooden threads on presses are really common. At my dad's shop they even had to remake one infected screw for a cellar, and he made it with a master screw, just as shown.

[@themeatpopsicle]

GIVE IT UP FOR MY BOY ARCHIMEDES!!!

[@trainwreck420ish]

Why? The Greeks took lessons from the Egyptians and we celebrated the Greeks? Nope, no white privilege was used for that purpose. Lmfao that stuff is hilarious

[@tinasmith3823]

What a wonderful and very educational video ! As a trained clockmaker of 40 years I am humbled by the genesis of this small joining devise. The codex is remarkable as is your skilled and masterful ability to educate. I thank you greatly and would hope to contribute money in appreciation of your remarkable educational skills. Thank you, your work has been enlightening. Edgar Hume

[@folxam]

Haha the old screw vs bolt argument, I was thinking "oooh boy here we go again" but you circumvented it nicely! I'm not gonna fuel the fire, I know what's correct and I won't change anyones mind.

[@Dr.K.Wette_BE]

French is easier : Vis + écrou = boulon (Screw + nut = bolt ?)

[@Nszewczak]

Don't forget we enjoy the surprise videos, keep enjoying making them at your pace, having a life! (ignore the whining)

[@powerofknowledge7771]

Wow, that Ediphone is amazing! Thank you for preserving it and sharing it with us! I would love to see how it works!!!

[@royreynolds108]

I had an Ediphone and the Shaver that went with it so the wax cylinders could be reused several times.

[@ronfriedman8740]

Wonderful video that just came across my feed and after watching I immediately subscribed! As a middle school Engineering teacher, I will be incorporating these videos into my curriculum. Thanks so much!

[@machinethinking]

Glad you like them! Also I happily give my 3D printable objects to teachers for use in educational contexts!

[@shannonharris2816]

Absolutely fascinating, this is exactly what makes KZbin an excellent educational source. In this video I am once again reminded of my ignorance of all things and how much I take the screw - for granted. Even though I have been a 'machine head' for over 50y. Good production values, cleanly communicated info.

[@MagnetOnlyMotors]

12:21 actually, the illustrator did NOT make an error. If you rotate the coarse right handed helix, from right to left, the same thread on the left being a left handed helix will give you a very fine and slower motion of the moveable block to or from the stationary block. Sometimes, two different thread pitches are used in the same configuration to acquire a similar result.

[@sleedog11]

I've never been so excited for screws glad to see your back the quality of your videos is worth the wait.

[@emilelepissier7550]

12:20 I don't think the illustrator made an error. Left hand screw on left and right hand screw on right will both shorten the distance between the sliding block and the end block. This is the exact mechanism for an screw adjusted compasses.

[@GingerWildcat]

I've literally been fantasizing about a doco on the history of screws, bolts, cogs, gears, ect. Thank you so much. This is a masterpiece.

[@waggsbannin99]

i was thinking drills but same

[@jhorne18]

Your series is nothing short of fascinating and should be in every science curriculum.

[@NoelBarlau]

It'd be a crime if that Dictaphone didn't get its own episode.

[@twickersruss]

People stopped using their dictaphone when they developed diallers with holes that you could use your index finger in more conveniently.

[@jackfrost2146]

I'm sure I saw a thread to an episode on the internet.

[@tomhoehler3284]

@@twickersruss ???

[@twickersruss]

@@tomhoehler3284 read it slowly to get the joke!

[@tomhoehler3284]

@@twickersruss Aha! funny!

[@pmae9010]

I am a 65 year old lifelong mechanic and have long marveled at the 'screw' and all the things it does, thank you for this information.

[@jasondashney]

Great video. FYI, the Edison tube is superior to the flat record because it's uniform. On a spinning platter, the songs on the outter edges have the needle travel further per second which allows for more nuanced grooves, which equals higher fidelity.

[@idon.t2156]

I guess stacking preferences won over musical quality. Or just customer preference: money made the choice.

[@jasondashney]

@@idon.t2156 A full length album would probably be so long, especially since they can only be printed on one side.

[@mescko]

Other than the fact that the 40-ish min. you can get by using two sides of a disc would result in a cylinder like 20 ft. long.

[@jacksong6226]

Its a stupidly inefficient format, as far as storage.

[@joelwexler]

@Danger Bear Hoo-hoo that's hilarious. And make sure you talk about your tube collection. So how do you store your tubes?

[@VeraTR909]

Glad to see you back! That internal thread cutting blew my mind.

[@rumpires6485]

Just beautifull. I've always asked myself how did they come to be, but never really bothered investigating. I am a creator myself and screws are a constant in my work. Thanks so much for the enrichment of my knowledge. Best regards from Portugal.

[@lassebong3902]

This reminds me so much of Tim Hunkin and "The Secret Life of Machines" series. I love it!

[@machinethinking]

HUGE Tim Hunkin fan. I bugged him so much that when I was in the UK he invited me to his house and I got to spend an afternoon talking to him while he worked. He allowed me to film him but in the end asked that I keep it for personal use. However , since then he's invited me back next time I'm around and I hope this time I can talk him into making a video with me. The animations in "Origins of Precision" were inspired by the ones in his videos. I got to meet his wife as well who did many of the voiceovers.

[@RCAvhstape]

@@machinethinking Awesome! If you manage to get Tim Hunkin in a video you'd be a hero to us all. I've been binging Secret Life of Machines videos the last few days and wondering what ever happened to Tim and Rex. Used to watch that show on US cable TV in the 90s with my dad.

[@tomnewsom9124]

@@machinethinking He is one of my all time heroes too. He drew this fantastic picture of the makerspace I started: www.bricolage.run/blog/2019/3/21/the-hackerspace-architect-tim-hunkin and I had the whole "meet your idol and become completely tongue-tied" thing :) I think that's me with the chop saw, top right....

[@tomnewsom9124]

@@RCAvhstape Sadly Rex died last year, after 8 years of living with Alzheimer's :(

[@RCAvhstape]

@@tomnewsom9124 Ah that sucks, RIP Rex, you crazy dude.

[@StubbornWorkshop]

First of all, THANK YOU FOR MAKING MORE VIDEOS!!!!! I can't tell you how much I enjoy the videos you make, again thank you. Secondly, I literally watched (had it playing in the shop) this video while working on my lathe! I'm new to machining, but I've always found the humble screw fascinating!!

[@reallyhappenings5597]

This channel is simply extraordinary to lovers of history -- technological and general. Thank you so much!

[@dannyculp9473]

That was an extremely well done video, thank you for the time you spent making and researching, excited to check out your other content!

[@markfrench8892]

After having watched this video it gives me much more appreciation for my lathe and milling machine.

[@psilocyrapter]

90% of all grain elevators use augers. Of which the general design of grain elevators hasn't changed much. Infact in a combine most of the mechanical work is done with augers. Until you get to the shake plates, which is essentially a few massive combs that move back and forth stupid quickly that separates the grain from it's casings, then sends the waist material out a separate exhaust area. This was a nice video. Quite informative too. Keep it up you are doing great.

[@97SEMTEX]

i love the history of engineering things, its a topic not that well discussed on youtube.

[@BartJBols]

This is really good stuff. Really made my gears turn by 1 tooth per revolution.

[@markallred1953]

I regret that I have no erudite observation to add to the discussion. I was trained in manufacturing engineering at my university and never saw such a marvelous review of any history behind it all. I thank you sincerely for your careful study of the evidence available and then your simple presentation of it all that didn’t take as long as the history took. I greatly appreciated every one of your videos that I have seen and subscribed after the first.

[@Ccccccccccsssssssssss]

Thanks so much for this video. Those medieval documents were so amazing to see: I had no idea!

[@MarcinP2]

"what would happen if every screw just disappeared" Easy, I would use bolts.

[@quentintin1]

yes, but all bolts are screws

[@chromo1858]

Cheeky solution, sir

[@gavincarstens6497]

@@quentintin1 and all screws are bolts if you cross thead them enough

[@johannesmajamaki2626]

that would just be nuts!

[@graham2631]

Well if they did the inmate's would be happy.

[@marcviens8590]

Excellent essay, historically. Two points: 1) at 12:20 a lathe is shown making a thread with opposing twists. This is not a mistake, it is making a caliper thread shown later at 13:36. 2) The difference between a screw and a bolt is the underlying physics; a screw holds things together by friction, a bolt holds things together by the tension of the metal between the head and the nut created by the leverage power of the threads. Loved the show!

[@mariusberger3297]

"work so well that you don't even notice them" *screams in classic car owner*

[@TheCymbalProject]

Can we all take a second to admire just how slick and sexy that opening animation was... real eye candy.

[@machinethinking]

Thank you. It was a giant PITA but it was really fun learning Blender (well, a small part) to do that. The final render was over 24 hours for less than a minute. Looking forward to more animations in the future!

[@rsjmd]

My father manufactured popcorn machines in the early 20th century (Krispy Kist Korn Machine Co. Chicago) so we always had tools around and dad showing me how to use them. Family often recalls that, as a toddler, I spent much of my time removing the hinges from all the cabinets in the kitchen. Have loved tools and making things ever since, but became a Pediatrician, so very few opportunities to utilize that early skill. Great video. Thanks

[@meNtor890]

You make the best videos, my man!

[@Tax2Me]

Fantastic. Terrific video. Thank you for sharing it and free as free can be. I would think any worthy military museum would have drawings about the cannons you inquired about. Certainly Spain and any other old European country would proudly have such documented History somewhere. Once again, thank you for sharing this

[@kalpitkatpara4363]

This is the most amazing detailed video on the the history of the screw! Brilliant!!! Thank you for sharing your work!!!!

[@DrD0000M]

"What would happen if every screw disappeared?" We'd be screwed.

[@bryansmith1920]

We would return to the tapered Plug or the tapered key Until some Bright young spark thought I know We are Human after all that's said Till this generation matures Then We're F

[@scose]

@@bryansmith1920 ok boomer

[@williamwakely1398]

It would be a riveting tale.

[@goosehunterb]

We'd be bolted!

[@CitroenDS23]

We have really good glue.

[@andreuinyu]

youve earned this humble engineer's sub

[@rhinox0110]

I really enjoyed watching this, as a machinist I owe an impossibly large debt to the humble thread as do all people living in modern society at large. It affects so many aspects of our lives because virtually everything you see outside nature depends on it to be made, and while the start of the industrialization of our world took out some skill it introduced the need for new skills in controlling said machines and refining their processes that made careers such as mine possible. Thank you humble screw and the people that thought of and actualized your invention whomever you may have been.

[@evanbryanphotography]

Your videos are amazing. Thank you for the beautiful work that you do and the effort you put into these videos. Fantastic.

[@etprecisionmachine2379]

At some time in the last 45 years of my career machining I became a machinist. From my first days working in a machine shop I was fascinated by screw cutting lathes. Single pointing screw threads was to me remarkable. Since those first days I have cut all sorts of different thread forms. Threads and thread measuring is actually pretty complex, there are many features of screw threads that are not obvious. Nevertheless, for many thread forms these features were figured out long ago. You could do many hours of video on the different types of screws, and screw thread systems.

[@gytisbaranauskasjagmort6059]

profile, feed per revolution. nothing simpler than thread cutting.

[@etprecisionmachine2379]

@@gytisbaranauskasjagmort6059 Profile is often where problems occur. For example, if the space between threads is too wide measuring the thread will show a smaller pitch diameter than what would be expected from measuring the major diameter. Then, if the P.D. is adjusted upward the major diameter will end up oversize and the thread could bind.

[@gytisbaranauskasjagmort6059]

@@etprecisionmachine2379 it should only occur if you make profile yourself, which if you can, is a really high class skill. Otherwise you stick to using standard inserts. Account for conicity and apply supports when turning long threads or finishing pass calibration when milling.

[@tomboyd7109]

We use 6 start left handed threads. We roll the externals and have taps for the internals with tooling from different suppliers. It gets pretty tricky to get the tooling properly set up. Single point cutting is way too slow for our production rates. It's even worse for the buttress threads.

[@hm5142]

When my son was about 6 or 7, he started helping me with repairs on mechanical things, cars, etc. I took him aside one day and told him that I would tell him a secret that was true, but that he would not believe. I told him it was much easier to reassemble things than to take them apart. In later years, he told me that I was exactly right. I learned this by working on lots of big rusty farm equipment's. Two things make this true; first, in disassembly, lots of the bolts may be rusty or seized. Second, after you have taken it apart, you know where all the bolts are and exactly how to put it back together, so there are no more surprises.

[@struckfire3337]

It's crazy how good a basically hour-long documentary plus with multiple parts on screws is good.

[@LetsTryVlogging365]

It's thought that the mistakes in manuscipts depicting machines and so on was to. Make sure people didn't copy it outright, so it's an early form of copyright 👍

[@graham2631]

Makes sense,map makers would add islands to tell if they were being copied.

[@gregfeneis609]

Agreed. I understand this was also the practice of alchemists

[@machinguy94]

Leonardo davinci did this in his illustration of his design for a tank.

[@vancouverman4313]

Imagine, there's a whole lot of screw cutting machines being manufactured in China today, that are cutting in the wrong direction!

[@anim8torfiddler871]

Thirty years ago I had the good fortune to meet a retired Army Colonel who in his youth had been a Military Police officer assigned a route in Vienna, Austria just after the end of WWII, in which he visited several Museums to meet daily with the Curators. As a result of performing his rounds and helping ensure security was maintained, One of the museums gifted him with a fifteenth-century wheel-lock pistol. He let me examine the thing. The most astounding thing to see was that while the small screws seemed uniformly excellent in their crafting, EVERY SCREW was individually hand-made, using tools such as you've shown. No mass-production process was available until centuries later, at least for screws requiring metal with toughness sufficient to withstand the shock of the powder charge detonating. Just pouring molten steel into moulds doesn't work for such applications. Videos I've seen of screw manufacture show ranks of dedicated machines being fed annealed Steel rod feeding from coils. Each rod is straightened, cut to length, and threaded, then a stamper smashes the end to flatten it and press a void for whichever driver will fit it. Must be some TOUGH metal to shape tens of thousands of screws daily.

[@TheBuckStopsHere480]

Extremely educational and just plain fascinating. A very well done vid. Thank you!

[@worldmenders]

Great video! Question, have you considered doing a video on the bootstrap process that lead to higher and higher accuracy screws? I have no Idea how that happened!

[@nickfosterxx]

Wish I could upvote this twice. Thank you. That was a lot of work.

[@johnnyrodriguez5938]

I’m a carpenter, screws are one of the best inventions.

[@malfattio2894]

If you want to record on that Ediphone, you'll probably need special cylinders for it. I have a 1920s Dictaphone and the Mandrel is a different shape to a standard phonograph. A normal cylinder would crack if you tried putting it on there

[@machinethinking]

Thank you for confirming something I guessed. I actually did have another cylinder years ago and I tried to put it on and it broke. Which is why in this video I didn't dare even try and just hold it in my hand! Now I know why for sure. Someone else posted a comment about someone who sells new blank ones which is also very useful!

[@fandru5538]

Beautiful job. And so interesting. But the question I have always asked to myself, since I was a young student learning technical drawing is how did they carved the very first one. In wood, we may get a sense of how it was done, but the metal ones ? With which stools or machinery ? To get the precision needed ?

[@williamchamberlain2263]

Cold chisel and file would do it, if you're careful marking it out.

[@par4par72]

My Father, V.P. of Brown & Sharpe. Me: a journeyman Toolmaker at Heli-Coil Thought I Knew everything there was to know about screws. "Today I learned something"!

[@graham2631]

Thank you for your fine product it's saved me more than a few dollars.

[@par4par72]

Can I tell you a story about that? Ring in the middle of the night. A bro called. Toyota SR5 (new 87). Doing a tune up .. 4 plugs. #1 an #2 ..ok fine. Phone rings. Talks for a while..goes for#3. Aluminum threads comes also, dosen't see. #4 twisting coming out, catching his attention. 3&4 ..smooth! Moreover: chanted at angle to the firewall! ...HC had a "Twin Sert" solid insert. for spark plugs. "PACK flutes w/ grease. Run the Tap! Vacuum a little out of combustion chamber. ALL THIS.. and just for his peace of mind. Payed to take the head off!!

[@FromTheChief]

Great work. May I recommend for extra credit “One Good Turn” by Witold Rybczynski.

[@machinethinking]

That was one of many sources I used for this. I found he got a few things wrong (or at least incomplete) when I dug deeper, but over all highly recommended!

[@theafro]

Bolts look like bolts, screws look like screws. go on, argue with me, I dare you! Glad to see you back, Your content is fantastically done and worth the wait!

[@evanbarnes9984]

Just like porn! "You know it when you see it."

[@TheMeta6]

What about set screws?

[@theafro]

@@TheMeta6 They look like set-screws, thus are screws. You may find that something that looks for all the world like a bolt in isolation. But when used as a set-screw, looks very much like a set screw.

[@TheMeta6]

@@theafro so bolts look like bolts and screws look like screws unless a bolt gets used as a set screw and then it looks exactly like a screw?

[@theafro]

​@@TheMeta6 Exactly, unless of course it's just a bolt that looks a lot like a screw but isn't one, then it just gets confusing.

[@beautanner8409]

Can't get enough of this, awesome vid!

[@jerome1lm]

I would love to learn how the first screw was made. How did they make these screws before they had screws to compare them to. In your example of the screw cutting lathe how did they make the guide screw in the first place? Is there a way to make a more precise screw then just carving it by hand?

[@jbay088]

There are ways to make a more precise screw starting from a rough hand-carved screw. Da Vinci drew an illustration of an ingenious screw cutting machine. I'm surprised it wasn't in this video. It uses two master screws to advance a cutting tool along a rotating blank, with a gear ratio between the blank and the master. The errors of each master screw average out when the blank is cut, and the gear ratio allows the blank to be cut with a different pitch than the master. The blank can then be swapped out and used as a new master screw.

[@jerome1lm]

@@jbay088 Interesting, thanks.

[@LILLJE]

In Sweden a bolt doesn’t have any threads and a screw is basically anything with threads that’s made for axial loads/clamping. Still, people generally call big screws “bolts” and that’s a good topic to start an argument. Funniest is when you get two people to argue, both wrongfully of course, about which size a screw becomes a bolt. M12? M14? M16? Hmmmm

[@robertoswalt319]

I would list them in a catalog under "Threaded Fasteners" and call it a day. Then I would sit back and listen to people from both sides argue about the terms.

[@UnbeltedSundew]

We'd call something with no threads a pin.

[@TheOtherBill]

@@UnbeltedSundew Unless it's a rivet. 😁

[@jannpatrick6392]

The same is true for the German language

[@Nudnik1]

"Husq-varna" house by the river..Swedish

[@RowdyBoy82]

Me watching this while eating rotini pasta: screws are everywhere!

[@mitchellsheridan5252]

Lol

[@emrekocabas8509]

I am actually eating that right now. And I didn't even notice the coincidence until I saw your comment ahah

[@RowdyBoy82]

@@emrekocabas8509 Right? Mind blown.

[@davidcoates4852]

Re tool on the screw cutting lathe from the house book, my first thought having built and used wooden pole lathes was that the tool is a mallet used to set the wedges that hold the head and tail stocks in position.

[@sargkookie3118]

We waited too long for this! Thank you for your amazing content. How do you feel about being on a podcast to give us some backstory on your life?

[@machinethinking]

Perhaps. Email me from the contact page on my website machinethinking.co/contact

[@SuperSpecialty]

@@machinethinking Yes, what is your trade in life, beside a KZbinr ?

[@SuperSpecialty]

Yes, I wonder what tools he has/uses?

[@sealpower4398]

"Well, when they weren't messing around, balancing things off tables" Proof that although ages pass and technology changes, Engineers are pretty much the same!

[@tommeakin1732]

10:34 I'm afraid I have no reference, but I've seen some early (I believe late medieval) naval breech-loading cannon mounts that were very similar, but the screw was directly stood on the deck

[@ShazzPotz]

In drafting class, we did a whole section on the topic of Threaded Fasteners. That's the general term for screws and bolts (and nuts). Saying Threaded Fasteners prevents you from having to say "screws and bolts" over and over and over.

[@codycast]

Screws and bolts is quicker / less syllables. Why not say it rather than “Threaded fasteners”? Plus everyone knows what you mean by screws and bolts. But who says “threaded fasteners” in real life?

[@ShazzPotz]

@@codycast You're right. Nobody says “Threaded Fasteners” in everyday life. I think people end up just saying "screws" when they mean screws and bolts etc. Or Threaded Fasteners collectively. But the technical term Threaded Fasteners is taught in technical classes because it covers every kind of screw, bolt, nut, threaded stud, etc. Even screw-on jar lids and pop bottle caps employ threaded fasteners. (A common example of a threaded stud that many people have seen are the wheel studs on a car on which you bolt your wheel/tire.)

[@nameofdane]

Literally just brought home the first screw cutting lathe I've owned, sat down to have a snack, and this popped up! Kind of perfect. As for screw vs bolt, I really haven't given it a lot of thought but I guess tend to call screws with external hex heads bolts and most other helical fasteners screws. But really, it doesn't seem like a very important argument to have and the other descriptors (like socket head cap) are much more important.

[@paulcaine2603]

It's interesting how the word "screw" has entered into the wilder English language beyond it's original fixing properties or other abilities. Like, I'm screwed, or, It was a total screw-up, I was screwed, as in a one sided deal. There are others. Great video.

[@rextransformation7418]

"imagine if all screws disappeared" Well, screw that!! ... No, that phrase would disappear too...

[@Abstract_zx]

welp, nail that!

[@fatguy1121]

I guess we'd all be screwed.

[@presto709]

Without screws, we'd be screwed.

[@bwhog]

One of the most fascinating uses of screws, in my opinion, is for controlling manufacturing. Once you have a screw you can duplicate exactly and with a hard enough material that it will not wear too quickly, you can then greatly improve your manufacturing because you have more precision. Once you have precision manufacturing, you can use that precision to make ever more precise instruments and once you can precisely control something, you can also precisely measure things. The ability to reliably and repeatably manufacture screws, in some respects, could rightly be considered one of the key triggers of the industrial revolution.

[@machinethinking]

That's basically my next episode. Keep an eye out in a few weeks.

[@phitsf5475]

No. Precision comes from the 3 plate method, establish flatness and build a lathe. "Screws" are only interesting when the concept of standardisation was established. Metrology is where it's at.

[@andystevenson5067]

When i was at the henry ford museum in Michigan. They had a machine circa 1850's that made screws. it was so fascinating. It was powered by belt via a steam engine.

[@raymondclark1785]

There used to be a machine shop in Lakewood NJ with belt driven machines. Probably water first, then steam and then one big electric motor. Once when I walked in there with a Jag water pump he recognized Whitworth thread from 6' away :)

[@andystevenson5067]

@@raymondclark1785 that’s so cool!

[@yokumato]

Great to see you are making more content. I learn a lot and appreciate the effort put into producing the videos. Without handling precision making we would be back to the middle ages, at least.

[@daveat191]

The "master screw" is the secret. It had to be, in theory, perfect. The first master had to have perfect pitch, size and angle, and would pose an interesting challenge to make.

[@gerhard6105]

Nice video. As a non destructive testing inspector, i tested many augers here in the Netherlands. Mostly used for food factories al around the world and some to be placed in dykes to keep Holland dry. The old German is pretty readable to me. An old schoolfriend of mine is now a professor on the university of Syracuse, USA. He can read it.

[@Wewius]

I'm German and I can say that the script around 14:00 is extraordinarily hard to read. I can make out some words and some letters but not enough to even make a guess as to what the original writer intends to convey. Especially in the long texts. It's like really really bad handwriting. And I learned how to read/write cursive. Here is what little I can translate: 14:04 Zweibein mit Daumen??? -> Twoleg with thumb???? 14:09 ein verfeinerte Daumenschraube -> a refined thumbscrew 14:21 Zweibein mit Daumen??? -> Twoleg with thumb???

[@machinethinking]

Yes, I asked a few native German speakers to take a look and all of them basically said it was painful. There is someone in the comments that's trying to crowdsource a translation, maybe work with them!

[@ProtonOne11]

@@machinethinking I would go ask some doctors, they still write like that today, and i would hope they can actually read what they write... 🤣

[@mannahusum]

German native speaker here too. - And it’s painful to read for two reasons. First, it’s written in en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurrent - which is a script used for centuries with variations over time. And second it’s written by someone who conversed with this script regularily. Just like with spoken language, where you can pronounce each sound clearly, but don’t do it since it’s tedious and doesn’t usually enhance comprehension, and other handwriting that also becomes more fluent and less clear, this is a practiced handwriting. After transcribing those for a month, starting with familiar topics, you become fluent in reading them. Until then...

[@moparone7962]

Divorce attorneys are well versed in the screw, and they never turned a wrench in their life.

[@seanriopel3132]

No... They they just work the wench.

[@jed-henrywitkowski6470]

@@seanriopel3132 Lol. As a son of divorced folks, I can confirm!

[@prod.hxrford3896]

Lmao underrated comment