A screw used as a threaded fastener consists of a shaft, which may be cylindrical or conical, and a head. The shaft has a helical ridge or thread formed on it. The thread is essentially an inclined plane wrapped around a shaft. The thread mates with a complementary helix in the material. The material may be manufactured with the mating helix (tapped), or the screw may create it when first driven in (a self-tapping screw). The head is specially shaped to allow a screwdriver or wrench to grip the screw when driving it in. It also stops the screw from passing right through the material being fastened and provides compression.Screws can normally be removed and reinserted without reducing their effectiveness. They have greater holding power than nails and permit disassembly and reuse.
A screw that is tightened by turning it clockwise is said to have a right-hand thread. Screws with left-hand threads are used in exceptional cases, when the screw is subject to anticlockwise forces that might undo a right-hand thread. Examples include rotating items such as the left hand grinding wheel on a bench grinder or the left hand pedal on a bicycle (both looking towards the equipment).