THE SCREW

Today my posting is about different type of screws. It will be followed with 
screwdrivers and testers. I will also be dealing his close friend bolt and nut
in that posting.

While studying in the 7th standard I studied about Utholakam and screwdriver was
described as type 1 Utholakam. Another example was crowbar to lift and tilt
bigger stones easily . {Utholakam 1 means Effort at one end and load at other
end and application point in the middle}

Actually screwing in clockwise direction and unscrewing in anti clock wise
direction is the common rule. However exemptions are there. In the reverse
osmosis water filtering system installed in my house, the water filters are
tightened in the anti lock wise direction and loosened in the clockwise
direction. Is it due to the reason it is reverse osmosis!!!

The application of screw principle is manifold from kitchen to furniture and all
sorts of equipments. The word screw is also used for many talking application.


1. Lamps in the pooja room.

Nila vialkku is two or three portions, depend on the size. The top wick burning
area one and the stem the other. In some Nilavilakku the stem itself used to be
two. They are put together by screwing in the clockwise direction. One item has
thread and the other screw. The peculiarity of these threading is they are
cylindrical and not conical as in the screws we get in Hardware shops.

The bigger aattavilakku has at least two portions in the stem. They are screwed
and stem is kept erect.

The camphor for daily use is kept in a tin or bottle with screwed top. In
earlier days Agarbathies were coming in metal tubes with screwed cap. Now it
comes in packets only.

2. Screw application in Kitchen

For air tight keeping most of the kitchenwares are with screw at top and
screwing tightens lid. While screwing the lid it should be tightened only 95%. 
If 100 % tightened while unscrewing the lid, glasswares have possibility of
break. At the same time if screwing is less than 90% while lifting holding on
lid, the glasswares can break also.

In the LPG stove the reinforced safety tube is connected to the stove by
screwing on to the distribution tube of it and the other end to regulator
threaded end.

The washbasin and zinc waste line is by screwing the waste line to bottom of
them by screwing. By wear and tear when the threading in waste line breaks ,
wastewater falls on the ground . Periodical checking of waste line is a must.

In the electric chimney the special bulbs provided are of cylindrical screwing
type.

3. Medicine bottles and cap

Medicine bottles are screwed with cap and a special screw seal is made. After
shaking the bottle if the screw seal is broken with light pressure opening of
bottle is easy.

All the ointment tubes are with threading and tight capping.
4. Insulin needles

In the insulin pens, screwing fits the needle and safety cover is removed by
unscrewing after it. In this case needle has to be screwed 100% for close
fitting and no leakage of insulin.

5. Ball point pens and Pens

The principle of screwing is applied in the neck of the writing pen. If the
screwing is tight , there will be no leak. If it becomes over tight, the body
breaks at neck screw. The first sight of over tight is sweating at neck. Then
leak.

Regarding all ballpoint pens, the refill or the fill is inserted through the
neck. If the neck is over tight the body breaks and not leak, but writing
difficulty is created. Probably refill is a mis norm now. Very few use refill.
Ballpoint pen has become a use and through item. Cost of refill is 90% of the
pen if at all available.

6. Bath rooms

In the bathrooms 70% of taps function in the screwing and unscrewing principle.
When the top of the tap is unscrewed a valve in the tap open and water come from
the tap.
Invariably most of the cleaning liquid items are in bottles with screwing and
threaded cap like dettol , phenoil etc. The Vico vajradanti tooth powder still
come in threaded top and lid. I have not seen any tooth paste with out
screwed top.

All the above are screw application, where we do not use any tool other than
our hand for screwing or unscrewing. Now let me use a few applications where a
tool for unscrewing is a must . This tool is called screwdriver.

7. Ornaments

In the daily wear ornaments like earring, nose ring, ankle, the fitting is by
threading. New design bangles use threading. They can be just put on hands as an
opening one and are closed by a lengthy tight cylindrical screw.

8. Musical instrument Nada swaram and shenai

Nada swaram and shenai come as three parts , the tip, middle and bottom and
threaded together.

9. Construction application

Application of screws is much more in construction application .

In all doors and windows, the hinges are fitted to the frames using screws.
These screws are fitted to the frames by screwing with force. The force is
applied using mostly with a screwdriver.

The screwdriver temporarily gets attached to screw top through a cut on the top
of it. . Depend on the size of screw the screwdriver has to be different. If the
magnetism in the iron is more , there will be slight sticking facilitating easy
use with out slip.

10. The magnetic property in iron

The magnetic property in iron appears when the ions are arranged in straight
line. If the screwdriver tip is rubbed on a granite stone in the same direction
, we can visualise slight magnatisam.If kept near a magnet also it can be there
for some short while. In pins kept in a magnetic box , and taken out, we can see
this. One pin stinging to the other.

SCREW PART 2

11. The metal screws

In the first part I had described the screws, which could be handled with hand pressure. Now I am going to other screws where to drive the screw a tool called screwdriver is required. Screwdrivers vary with screw sizes. 

Adjustable screwdrivers too are there. The immediate application of these conical screws is in the fitting of doors in the frame, windows in window frame etc through the Hinges. The hinges are fixed with screws. 

The metal screws are mostly galvanized iron or brass. Brass has lesser rigidity and fragile. Galvanised screws can become rusty in course of time. However both are used depend on the circumstances. 

For fixing screws and turning clock wise pressure is required. Human effort is more. It has to be ensured slipping do not occur and harm the hand. 

For this now motor operated screwdrivers are there. It has become very popular with furniture carpenters and Dish Antenna fitting technicians. Most local carpenters use usual screwdriver.

12 Para fin wax

For easy penetration of screw, before the screwdriver is used, a punching is made so that screw will go about 0.5 cm and hold. In the screw a little wax is applied so that it will go in with less force.

13 star screws

I do not know the brain behind the star screws. Initially it was coming in special equipments like TV, VCR, DVD player, Iron box etc for fixing covers. Star screwdrivers had to be used to remove or fix them . Other wise the screw top will get damaged. Star screw drivers were rare in market.

Now a day for many equipments and including brass screws the star screw top has come. With a star screwdriver used for star screw, the damage to top is less, slipping is very less, and above all- effort to be applied is less since it is applied evenly on the screw. This principle is applied in Electrical screwdrivers. Now star screw drivers of any size are available in plenty.

14. Rawl plug or wooden plug.

While I was undergoing training for practical in mechanical engineering for fixing a screw on a wall, a hole is drilled in the location, a rawl plug wetted in asbestos powder water is inserted, and after a while the screw was threaded in to. Rawl plug will expand giving grip. Today rawl plug has vanished from the shops. Teak Wood plugs are just inserted, struck with hammer and when tightly fit, excess is simply chipped. For complete plumbing work, only this method is used for fixing of screws. 

15. The bolt and nut

The bolt is a cylindrical screw with a nut for tight fixing. To ensure the screw does not come, a nut is there to hold. Now a day many of our electrical switches are fitted with small bolt and nut to the lamina frame. Our TV cable connector use small bolt and nut to hold the cable in position and this is inserted to set box or TV. 

16. Pad locks on door.

Many use a Padlock fix (Otambal) for locking the door. By the moving rod of the fix the handle is kept over the fixed ring and lock is placed through the ring and locked. These fixtures used earlier bolt and nut for fixing. These bolts were earlier screwed using screwdriver. Later the screwing groove got removed and only head. The bolt is just hammered through the drilled hole and nut is tightened inside. This removed tampering of the padlock. However now a day door fitted locks are more popular. 

17. AC Voltage tester.

AC Voltage tester is having a tip, which could use to tighten the screws or remove screws. Many started using so, this resulted on breaking the tester and tester did not function in an emergency use. So pin type tester was introduced which had a ball point type end for AC testing. Though it prevented using tester as screwdriver, it lost market.

Today's tester is sturdier and if use occasionally as screwdriver does not break it. Further now each house has at least two or three testers, one kept safely for testing AC Voltage only. 

18. Aluminium screws

To prevent corrosion for lightweight items aluminium screws are used or high quality stainless steel screws. Equipments like TV use these type, and some times painted over it.

19. Tool kit

Currently tool kits are available which contain essential tools like cutter, nipper, and different types of screw tips with adjustable screwdriver, forceps, AC tester etc. 

20 Nut Loose 

I will conclude this posting with a humour statement. When people show madly behaviour some times it was remarked His one nut become loose?