A Robertson tool

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Donald

Donald

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My daughter had me come over to assemble a dresser for her new baby. (At least 200 pieces and only pictorial directions, no words). The pictorial said: Phillips head screwdriver, hammer and #1 and #2 Robertson. The drawing had it look like a Torx tool except the head was square. (I needed 2 different sizes of the square head.)

I never heard of a Robertson and wish it had been Torx or allen head. I pushed hard on a large Phillips and got it to work.
 
When I see a Robertson fastener it's in a wood assembly. Deck screws.
 
Originally Posted By: spackard
When I see a Robertson fastener it's in a wood assembly. Deck screws.


Same here. I think I read that Robertsons were more commonly used in Canada.
 
Robertson, Scrulox and Clutch fasteners are awesome. When I think of all the stripped out Phillips fasteners I've seen, I wonder why they never were more popular.
 
Robertson's are often used in boats and RV's. The drivers usually come in sets of 3 sizes.
 
Originally Posted By: KGMtech
Canadian invention, carpenters and woodworkers love them, but most of America is left scratching their head.


Robertson are the best screw ever invented for wood working. Just making inroads in the USA now. Far easier than a Philips head and no skinned knuckles.
 
Robertson bits come with every starter pack that comes with every cordless drill, so it seems.

The screws in electrical outlets will take a flat or phillips poorly, and a Robertson pretty nicely.
 
Robertson screws are the best ever, really. P. L. Robertson Company invented them decades ago (in Canada) and they didn't escape into the public domain - you need a license from Robertson to produce both the screws and the screw drivers.

So, they didn't catch on outside Canada. But if you need to drive crate loads of screws into wood or sheet metal, there's nothing like them. Philips won't stay on the bit, slots are just dumb, and Allen or Torx don't have the torque capacity that the square Robertson head does.
 
It's rare to find a screw in Canada that is NOT Robertson.

They really do work very well,much better than Phillips, Torx or Posidrive.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: spackard
When I see a Robertson fastener it's in a wood assembly. Deck screws.

I see it in electrical too.
I like the way it holds the screw in the tip without dropping when positioning to drive in a new spot.
 
Originally Posted By: spackard
When I see a Robertson fastener it's in a wood assembly. Deck screws.


+1. I thought this was fairly common knowledge these days given their use in screws and the fact that the bits are easy to find in tool stores. I first encountered these around Ottawa in Canada around 10 years ago. My impression was that it had been used in Canada long before then.
 
My friends dad was a manager of a cabinet shop 20 years ago. We would help him finish up some projects on Saturdays and ALL he ever used were these Robinson screws and drivers. They are fantastic for cabinetry/wood working.
 
Originally Posted By: Matinicus
Robertson, Scrulox and Clutch fasteners are awesome. When I think of all the stripped out Phillips fasteners I've seen, I wonder why they never were more popular.



Because they are Canadian.
 
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