Here is a link to a pdf of a booklet written by Donald E. Wood titled "From
Archimedes to Automation" The History of the Automatic Screw Machine. I had
the opportunity to meet and have lunch with Don earlier this year. Don is
the publisher of Automatic Machining magazine, and a bit of a history buff
when it comes to the machine tool business. My guess is Don is in his late
eighties or so. He's still pretty sharp despite his age. Anyway here is the
link:

http://www.automachmag.com/Storage/Archimedes%20to%20Automation.pdf

Along the same lines, back in '98 Automatic Machining magazine did a
special edition to commemerate the 125th anniversery of the screw machine.
That issue is archived on-line by the PMPA and can be read he

http://www.pmpa.org/about/ind/history.htm

I find the history interesting and am amazed by what these early pioneers
were able to accomplish with very rudimentary tools and without the benefit
of standardized fasteners. These guys were inventing the machines that
would make screws, nuts, and bolts common, cheap and standardized. Of
course the machines they produced were put to use making all manner of
things. These inventions laid the foundation from which the US grew to be
an industrial superpower.

It's a shame that they don't teach this stuff in school.

--

Dan