Contributions from
The Museum of History and Technology:
Paper 37
Screw-Thread Cutting by the
Master-Screw Method Since 1480
Edwin A. Battison
Edwin A. Battison
SCREW-THREAD CUTTING BY THE
MASTER-SCREW METHOD SINCE 1480
Among the earliest known examples of screw-thread cutting machines are the screw-cutting lathe of 1483, known only in pictures and drawings, and an instrument of the traverse-spindle variety for threading metal, now in the Smithsonian Institution, dating from the late 17th or early 18th century. The author shows clearly their evolution from something quite specialized to the present-day tool. He has traced the patents for these instruments through the early 1930’s and from this research we see the part played by such devices in the development of the machine-tool industry.
The Author: Edwin A. Battison is associate curator of mechanical and civil engineering in the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of History and Technology.