When you are trying to date a peice of furniture, the original hardware can help to confirm suspicions. This screw comes from the base of  a mid 19th century Australian cedar chest of drawers. It is machine made, and finished off by hand. Both the shaft of the screw and the thread are untapered. The head has a slightly off centred groove- the work of a human hand.

 

Just near the head, at the top of the shaft you can see a small wavy indentation : this is where the machine gripped the screw while the thread was cut.

 

Machine made scews like this became common from about 1840 onwards, helping to confirm this chest was made around that period.

 

More on screws, nails and hardware soon.

 

Patrick.