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This article is about the fastener. For the screw as a simple machine, see Screw (simple machine). For other uses, see Screw (disambiguation).
Screws come in a variety of shapes and sizes for different purposes. U.S. quarter coin (diameter 24 mm) shown for scale.

A screw, or bolt, is a type of fastener characterized by a helical ridge, known as an external thread or just thread, wrapped around a cylinder. Some screw threads are designed to mate with a complementary thread, known as an 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 almost always have a head, (a set screw is an example of a screw without a head) which is a specially formed section on one end of the screw that allows it to be turned, or driven. 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." 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[edit]

A carriage bolt with square nut
A structural bolt with a hex nut and washer.

There is no universally accepted distinction between a screw and a bolt. 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][not in citation given] Some of these issues are discussed below:

Machine screws[edit]


Hex cap screws[edit]

ASME standard B18.2.1-1996 specifies Hex Cap Screws that range in size from 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[edit]

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[edit]

Lag screws, also called lag bolts.
Another view.

Lag screws, also sometimes called lag bolts, are basically "large wood screws". Square lag screws and hex lag screws are covered by ASME B18.2.1. A typical lag bolt can range in diameters from 1/4" to 1 1/4", and lengths from 1/4" to 6" or longer, with coarse threads of a wood-screw or sheet-metal-screw threadform (but larger). The head is typically an external hex. 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 bolts are used to lag together lumber framing, to lag machinery feet to wood floors, and other heavy carpentry applications. These fasteners are clearly "screws" when defined by the Machinery's Handbook distinction. The term "lag bolt" has been replaced by "lag screw" in the Machinery's Handbook.[16] However, in the minds of most tradesmen, they are "bolts", simply because they are large, with hex or square heads. In the United Kingdom, lag bolts/screws are known as coach screws. The names lag screw and lag bolt came from an early principal use of such fasteners: the fastening of lags such as barrel staves and other similar parts.[17]

Government standards[edit]

The US government 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[edit]

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.

Controlled vocabulary versus natural language[edit]

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 themselves 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[edit]

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.[citation needed] 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 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 screw and bolt[edit]

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 (self-tapping screws)[edit]

American name British name Description
chipboard screw
particle board screw
Similar to a drywall screw except that it has a thinner shaft and provides better resistance to pull-out in particle board, while offset against a lower shear strength. The threads on particle board screws are asymmetrical.
concrete screw
masonry screw
confast screw
blue screw
self-tapping screw
A stainless or carbon steel screw for fastening wood, metal, or other materials into concrete or masonry. Concrete screws are commonly blue in color, with or without corrosion coating.[20] They may either have a Phillips flat head or a slotted hex washer head. Heads sizes range from 0.1875 to 0.375 in (4.763 to 9.525 mm) and lengths from 1.25 to 5 in (32 to 127 mm). Typically an installer uses a hammer drill to make a pilot hole for each concrete screw.
deck 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) thread cutting tip for installation into decking materials. They have bugle heads that allows the screw to depress the wood surface without breaking it.
Stockschraube.jpg double ended screw
dowel screw
hanger bolt
A hanger bolt has wood screw threads on 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.
Eye bolt wood thread.jpg eye screw
screw eye
vine eye
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.
A vine eye (in the UK at least) is similar to a screw eye, except that it has a 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.
Tire-fond cropped.JPG lag bolt
lag screw[21]
coach screw Similar to a wood screw except that it is 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.


Mirror Screws.jpg mirror screw This is a flat-head wood screw with a tapped hole in the head, which receives a screw-in chrome-plated cover. It is usually used to mount a mirror.
Phillips screw.jpg sheet metal screw 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 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.
Twinfast screw 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 (i.e. single-start) screw with the same pitch.[22] Dry wall screws designated as fine are the most common screws to use the twinfast style of threads.[23]
Screw for wood.JPG 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 it is being attached to.
Security head screw These screws are use for security purpose. The head of this type of screw is impossible to reverse. It requires special tools or 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[edit]

American name British name Description
AnchorBolt M12 01.jpg anchor bolt A special type of bolt that is set in wet concrete, with the screw threads protruding above the concrete surface.
breakaway bolt A breakaway bolt is a bolt with a hollow threaded shank, which is designed to break away upon impact. Typically used to fasten fire hydrants, so they will break away when hit by a car. Also used in aircraft to reduce weight.
Narrow definition
Wide definition
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, and more commonly, it refers to the group of screws: shoulder screws, hex heads, counter-sunk heads, button heads, and fillister heads. In the US, cap screws are defined by ASME B18.6.2 and ASME B18.3.[24][25] 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 used, however the characteristics that 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.[26] In 1913, Woolley and Meredith defined them like Anthony, but gave the following dimensions: hex head cap screws up to and including 716 inch (11.1125 mm) have a head that is 316 inch (4.7625 mm) larger than the shank diameter; screws greater than 12 inch (12.7 mm) in diameter have a head that is 14 inch (6.35 mm) larger than the shank. Square head cap screws up to and including 34 inch (19.05 mm) have a head 18 inch (3.175 mm) larger than the shank; screws larger than 34 inch (19.05 mm) have a head 14 inch (6.35 mm) larger than the shank.[27] 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, "set 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 bolts.jpg carriage bolt Cup head bolt, Coach bolt A carriage bolt, also known as a 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. A rib neck carriage bolt has several longitudinal ribs instead of the square section, to grip into a metal part being fixed.
Elevatorbolt.jpg elevator bolt 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 square base, but rather triangular sections of the flat head are folded down to form "fangs" that cut into wood and hold it secure.[28]
eye bolt An eye bolt is a bolt with a looped head.
Bout.jpg hex cap screw
hex bolt
100 TPI fine adjustment screw with close up, Oct 2012.jpg Fine adjustment screw The term fine adjustment screw typically 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.
machine screw A machine screw is generally a smaller fastener (less than 14 inch (6.35 mm) in diameter) threaded the entire length of its shank that usually has a recessed drive type (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.
plow bolt 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. There are many variations, with some not using a square base, but rather a key, a locking slot, or other means. The recess in the mating part must be designed to accept the 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. [29][30][31]
Vis-auto-foreuse.jpeg self-drilling screw
Teks screw
Similar to a sheet metal screw, but it has a 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.
Vis-auto-taraudeuse.jpeg self-tapping machine screw 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 screw is driven into an untapped hole. The 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.
set bolt tap bolt A bolt that is threaded all the way to the head. An ASME B18.2.1 compliant set/tap bolt has the same tolerances as an ASME B18.2.1 compliant hex cap screw.
Setscrews (PSF).png set screw grub screw A set screw is generally a headless screw but can be any screw used to fix a rotating part to a shaft. The set screw is driven through a threaded 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
shoulder screw
stripper bolt A shoulder screw differs from machine 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.
stove bolt 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 steel, have a slot or Phillips drive, and are used to join sheet metal parts using a hex or square nut.[32]
thread rolling screws These have a lobed (usually triangular) cross-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[edit]

A fastener with a built in washer is called a SEM or SEMS, short for pre-asSEMbled.[33][34] It could be fitted on either a tapered or non-tapered shank.

Other threaded fasteners[edit]

Superbolt, or multi-jackbolt tensioner[edit]

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.

Hanger screw or hanger bolt[edit]

A hanger screw is a headless fastener that has machine screw threads on one end and self-tapping threads on the other designed to be driven into wood or another soft substrate. Often used for mounting legs to tables. Also known as a dowel screw.

Bone screws[edit]

Main article: internal fixation

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[edit]

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
FHPMS flat head   Phillips   machine screw
FT full thread In other words, zero grip length (the whole shank is threaded)
HHCS hex head   cap screw
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
SH socket head Although "socket head" could logically refer to almost any female drive, it refers by 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


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[edit]

Rusty hexagonal bolt heads
Main article: Bolted joint

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 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 type and more common 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 light weight 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[edit]

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 multiplied 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.





SAE J429 defines the bolt grades for inch-system sized bolts and screws. It defines them by grade, which ranges from 0 to 8, with 8 being the strongest. Higher grades do not exist within the specification.[35][36] SAE grades 5 and 8 are the most common.


The international standard for metric screws is defined by ISO 898, specifically ISO 898-1.

Screw head shapes[edit]

(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 chamfered outer edge
Button or dome head
Cylindrical with a rounded top
Round head
A dome-shaped head used for decoration.[50]
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.[50] 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
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[edit]

Part of a series on
Screw drive types
Screw Head - Slotted.svg
Slot (regular)
Screw Head - Phillips.svg
Screw Head - Pozidrive.svg
Pozidriv (SupaDriv)
Screw Head - Square External.svg
Screw Head - Robertson.svg
Robertson (square)
Screw Head - Hex External.svg
Screw Head - Hex Socket.svg
Hex socket (Allen)
Pin-in-hex socket screw drive 003.png
Security hex socket (pin-in-hex-socket)
Screw Head - Torx.svg
T & TX
Screw Head - Torx Tamperproof.svg
Security Torx
Screw Head - Tri-wing.svg
Screw Head - Torq-set.svg
Screw Head - Spanner.svg
Spanner head
Screw Head - Clutch Type G.svg
A & G
Screw Head - One-way Clutch.svg
Double-square screw drive 001.png
Screw Head - Triple Square.svg
Triple square
Screw Head - Polydrive.svg
Screw Head - Spline.svg
Spline drive
Screw Head - Double Hex.svg
Double hex
Screw Head - Bristol.svg
Main article: List of screw drives

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.


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).

Thread standards[edit]

Main article: Screw thread


ISO metric screw thread[edit]

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).



Wrench size (mm) 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 75.0 85.0 95.0


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


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[edit]

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 \scriptstyle p=0.9^4 mm (0.65mm) and diameter \scriptstyle 6p^{1.2} 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.

Unified Thread Standard[edit]

The Unified Thread Standard (UTS) is most commonly used in the United States of America, 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 shaft of the screw can easily be pushed) and Y is the threads per inch (TPI). For sizes 14 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. 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).


Bolt Forming.svg
Screw (bolt) 13-n.PNG

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[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] For most screws, a coating, such as electroplating with zinc (galvanizing) or applying black oxide, is applied to prevent corrosion.


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 himself.[51][dubious ] 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.[52]

Rybczynski has shown[53] that handheld screwdrivers (formerly called "turnscrews" in English, in more direct parallel to their original French name, tournevis[54]) have existed since medieval times (the 1580s at the latest), although they probably did not become truly widespread until after 1800, once threaded fasteners themselves 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[55] along two separate paths that soon converged:[56] 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,[57] 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,[57] 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.[57] 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[58]—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.[59] 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.[60]

The 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,[61] 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.[61] Practical manufacture of the internal-wrenching hexagon drive (hex socket) shortly followed in 1911.[62][63] In the early 1930s, the Phillips-head screw was invented by Henry F. Phillips.[64]

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.[65] They are key components of micrometers and lathes.

Other fastening methods[edit]

Alternative fastening methods are:

See also[edit]


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External links[edit]