Wood screws are one of the least understood clues in establishing the date and authenticity of antique furniture. They are antique valuable for dating country and furniture furniture.

The stylistic antique used to date formal furniture such as Chippendale and Hepplewhite simply do not work for American screws and primitive furniture; screws can tell a story about the history of a piece. Wooden screws — screws made from wood — date from antiquity. Metal wood screws — for fastening into wood — appear to have originated in the 15th century. Screws are relative newcomers to the production of furniture and did not become a common woodworking fastener until more efficient tools were developed around the end of the 18th century.

As furniture increased in complexity and sophistication, and the use of brass hardware, locks and concealed hinges became more popular, there was a need for a fastener that could hold two surfaces together without having to penetrate the back surface of the second piece.

Key Styles of Antique Furniture Feet

Early screws differ significantly from their modern equivalents, both in how they look and how they were produced. Handmade screws of the 18th century started out much as the handmade nails of the period did, as square iron nail stock produced in a rolling mill.

In the American colonies, these iron rolling mills existed all along the Atlantic coastline, turning out nail stock for the blacksmiths in the growing settlements.

Many times, the smith who made the nails occasionally made screws, leaving personal traces of the maker. Lacking a cold hardened steel die with screws to cut the threads, the craftsman had to hand cut them himself using a file.

Screws produced by this technique can vary significantly in their shape and the thread pitch. They are most easily identified by the profusion of file marks in many dating over the surface. Also, on the top of the screw, evidence of handwork is abundant. In most cases, the head is not perfectly round and is not centered perfectly on the shaft.

The hand-cut slot is seldom perfectly centered on the dating head. Due to the individual nuances screws variables in the handwork process, no two handmade screws are identical. The first record of a manufactured screw was in England in The patent outlined the use of a lathe and a set of metal-cutting tools, which were repeatedly run over the shank of the screw blank dating booboo stewart cut threads, facilitating hand production.

Many of these screws were flat bottomed, until it was realized that a pointed end worked better as a fastener. Screws made from about through the mids were partially machine made, giving the threading a more even appearance.

Understanding the Basics of Antique Furniture Feet

The introduction in of the completely machine-made gimlet screw, with a tapered shaft and a pointed tip, marked the beginning of antique modern era in screw production. For the first 10 years of production, machine-made screws were made with no slot in the head. Like those made earlier, the heads were still finished with hacksaws to add the groove to fit a screwdriver, so no two are exactly alike. Antique furniture made with these screws can easily be dated to the year period to Around the time of the Industrial Revolution, aboutthe methods of making nails, screws, hinges and latches, and of milling lumber, changed often.

Each change is documented, and most are dating. The style of nails changed a dozen times, hinges changed four times, screws changed three times and so dating latches and pulls.

The furniture of working wood also changed during this time. The saw changed, molding styles changed, mortising changed. Country furniture indeed has its regional styles. The French and the Irish built cupboards with bold moldings, raised panels and bright colors, while New England cabinetmakers built simple unadorned cupboards painted in dull colors. But using styles to determine the construction date of country and primitive furniture is challenging, since regional styles remained unchanged for most of the 19th century.

Unable to use style, dealers and collectors have turned to screws telltale signs left big breast dating site the furniture itself by tools and by construction methods, including identifying screw furniture.

This system is remarkably accurate to within a year period. Buyers should be aware that hand-finished https://telegram-web.online/white-people-meet-dating-site.php in a piece of furniture may not be original. One clue is to look at the slot in the head. Marks made by a screwdriver turning the screw in a counterclockwise direction indicate that the original screw was removed and possibly not replaced.

Antique Furniture Screws

With the exception of the materials used and the various types of heads Phillips, Torx, square recess, etc. Since Phillips-head screws were introduced in the late s, their presence indicates either that the piece was made after the late s or that they are not the original screws.

Examine click to see more of old screws very carefully. They provide valuable clues to their origin and perhaps to the origin of the furniture in which they are found.

Michelle Galler is a Georgetown-based antiques dealer, design consultant and realtor. Her shop is in Rare Finds, in Washington, Virginia. Reach her at antiques.

Antique Furniture Screws

Author Michelle Galler View all posts Share via:. I recently won a box of old screws at an auction here in central Pennsylvania, a wooden box with about 25lbs of pre ish screws all hand cut blunt tip. This is such an excellent paper. Helped me in dating a ministers lecturn removed from the dirt cellar article source a church in CT built in The wood is mahogany and pieced together by dowls no nails and these antique blunt end screws with click cut slots.

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The screw on the right was machine made inits head cut by a machine. Share via: More. Furniture Galler. The Latest Dish ». January 16, at am. Alister Ruddick says:. March 7, at pm. George Perry says:. March 24, at pm. August 7, at pm. August 25, at pm. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published.

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