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.
Often screws have 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 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. 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 “lefty-loosy,
righty-tighty.”
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.
