Tool box

[floorpanel]

Hammers are good

[Sandra L]

Belated thanks Jon and Brian B-P. I just got educated. i didn't know there were so many variations. I just called the Robertson a square holed screw.

[MyronL]

Never knew square drive screws and screwdrivers were called the Robertson screw, Canadian, or anything other than a different screw head from the original slotted, or the Phillips. In fact, I thought the square drive was a 21st century invention, but...

".... Robertson patented his invention of both the square-headed screw and driver in 1909, but The Steel Company of Canada did not take kindly to his invention. Some went as far as to try to undermine his patents, but the attempts were unsuccessful. Manufacturers took to the new designs right away, and companies, such as Ford, came to depend on the screws and driver as key components in automobile production. As a result, Robertson soon produced special metal screws for Fords’ use in Model A manufacturing. "

Who knew?

[thoer]

An option I see often now on deck screws is a combination of the Robertson square head and a Phillips. I looked up Robertson and this image came up - who knew there were this many types?

[dave macrae]

For those of us who have to spend our own money on tools to do our jobs it seems like a conspiracy by tool company's to keep changing fasteners so I have to buy more tools

[gbaglo]

All I know is if I need four screws, I will have three.

[Ray N]

"[IThe Robertson is the most secure and positive screw driving bit by far.][/I]"

When I bought 25 pounds of star drive (aka TORX drive) screws to replace two of my decks, there was one driver included in the package; based on experience with phillips head screws I bought several more. I didn't need them. The one driver not only did all 25 pounds, but is still going strong after the second five-pound box I had to buy in addition to finish the job. I don't think I had a single slip during the entire process.

[MyronL]

I carry just the basic screw drivers and pliers for any occasion, a Crescent wrench, folding saw, multimeter, razor knife, electrical tape, duct tape, hammer.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

2X on replacing duct tape with gaffer's tape. I carry far too many tools, but the non standard one I seem to use the most is a #2 Robertson screwdriver (square head).

And yet around here, that is by far the most standard screwdriver.

My dad made my son a workbench when he was a toddler, and included real tools. He pre-drilled a bunch of holes in a 2x4 to start screws in. It confirmed what I already knew, and that the flat screwdriver was by far the worst to use, he just could not do it, and the Phillips was tough but somewhat doable, and the Robertson was the one he could use quite good.

[Brian B-P]

Torx is certainly better than Robertson as a strong positive drive form... but it was not reasonably producible a century ago. If we were starting from scratch, something like Torx would certainly be chosen over Robertson, but Robertson still works well and is very well established.

In smaller sizes, and particularly in electronic equipment, Torx is much more popular than Robertson. In wood screws (which are presumably what holds Escape cabinets together and mount equipment in them) and even self-tapping screws, Robertson is the dominant positive-drive type; it's not surprising they are common in an Escape;.