Archimedes' screw the screw and casing could be cast together as a single piece in bronze. The design of the everyday Greek and Roman water screw, in contrast to the heavy bronze device of Sennacherib, with its problematic drive chains, has a powerful simplicity. A double or triple helix was built of wood strips (or occasionally bronze sheeting) around a heavy wooden pole. A cylinder was built around the helices using long, narrow boards fastened to their periphery and waterproofed with pitch. The screw was used predominately for the transport of water to irrigation systems and for dewatering mines or other low-lying
Trammel of Archimedes of Archimedes intended to draw, cut, or machine ellipses, e.g. in wood or other sheet materials. An ellipsograph has the appropriate instrument (pencil, knife, router, etc.) attached to the rod. Usually the distances "a" and "b" are adjustable, so that the size and shape of the ellipse can be varied. The history of such ellipsographs is not certain, but they are believed to date back to Proclus and perhaps even to the time of Archimedes. Wooden versions of the trammel of Archimedes have been produced also as toys or novelty items, and sold under the name of Kentucky do-nothings, nothing