As far as I have discovered the first mills for cutting screws in England
were only invented in the late 18th century. There is an article on this in
Trans. Newcomen Soc. 22 (1942), 70-89, by H.W. Dickinson. This is not quite
accurate in that a mill, which he says closed within a few years, actually
stayed open for many years (perhaps after a short closure). However that
will not affect its value to you.
Clearly screws were made before this, but it must have been by a manual
process. I suspect you are right to think about clock and watch making.
Peter King,
49, Stourbridge Road,
Hagley,
Stourbridge
West Midlands
DY9 0QS
telephone 01562-720368
----- Original Message -----
From: Francesca Bewer <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: 06 December 2002 23:39
Subject: screw-cutting
> I have been examining a group of bronze statuettes attributed to a
> sculptor working during the second half of the sixteenth-century in
> Italy and in the North. It is not know whether they were all cast
> during his lifetime. The radiographs reveal that some of the
> statuettes were repaired with threaded plugs; some of these are quite
> small with fine threads. I would be grateful for any information
> regarding the development of screw-cutting (e.g., in the production
> of clocks, scientific instruments, armour...) in the hope that it
> might help to date some of these pieces.
>
> Best,
>
> Francesca Bewer
> --
>
>
> Francesca G. Bewer
> Associate Curator for Research
> Straus Center for Conservation
> Harvard University Art Museums
> 32 Quincy Street
> Cambridge, MA 02138
>
> tel.: (617) 495 1643
> fax: (617) 495 0322
>
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