Observations on the Development of Wood （对木材的发展）.pdfVIP

Observations on the Development of Wood Screws in North America Christopher White, Mellon Fellow, Furniture and Frame Conservation Lab, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Currently: Project Conservator Arizona State Museum Cewhite@ INTRODUCTION The following is the result of research conducted between September 2004 and August 2005 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Physical characteristics of a series of wood screws from the museum’s collection of 18th and 19th-century American furniture are summarized and their characteristics related to curatorial-assigned dates of fabrication and to a chronology of screw manufacturing techniques. The documentation forms a survey of the development of the wood screw in 18th and 19th- century American furniture. While there are surely exceptions to this outline, it may serve as a starting point for a more comprehensive study of development of the wood screw in America. Wood screws are a frequent component of furniture since the mid 18th century. The development of wood screws since then has provided furniture conservators with a unique diagnostic aid in understanding furniture. An outline of wood screw history will be combined with examples of wood screws from furniture in the Museum of Fine Arts’ collection. HISTORY • The use of metal screws as fasteners began in Europe in the 15th century. The screw was used in furniture but did not become a common woodworking fastener until efficient machine tools were developed near the end of the 18th century. The earliest record of lathe made wood screws dates to an English patent of 1760. • The development of wood screws progressed from a small cottage industry in the late 18th century to a highly mechanized industry by the mid-19th century. This rapid transformation is marked by several technical innovations that help identify the time that a screw was produced. • The earliest, handmade wood screws were made from hand-forged b