# Robertson screws



## GMman (Apr 11, 2008)

I am not sure but I think that in the US Robertson screws are not used if so I don't know why. Myself it is all I use they are to me the best screws to use, they never strip and you can get 3 different head size.


----------



## Padre (Nov 5, 2008)

In the USA, most hardware stores only have slotted and philiips. Woodcraft and Rockler, et al, carry the Robertson screw, and that's all I use.

Actually, the big box stores also carry those yellow and green decking screws, they used to be square drives, but now they've changed them to a star drive, and they are terrible, they strip out all the time. I helped my son build his deck last spring, and those things really were terrible. I buiilt my own deck 4 years ago using only the square (Robertson) drive, and it was wonderful.

In Canada, they've had the Robertson's since I can remember.


----------



## GMman (Apr 11, 2008)

A philips if you strip the head you're done even very hard to take it out.
On your deck Padre if you need to remove one board with a robertson is no problem they just come out easy no stipping.


----------



## cstrang (Sep 22, 2009)

The Robertson screw was invented by a Canadian, Philips was invented by an American. I have always heard that is why alot of Americans do not use Robertson head screws.


----------



## toddc (Mar 6, 2007)

Padre's experience is exactly the opposite of mine.

As a professional I use lots of screws on a daily or weekly basis. I find the torx or star drives to be better than the square drive screws. It may be a brand issue. My star drives rarely break or strip out.

The square and star drives are both superior in my opinion to phillips head screws.

Both of these types of screws are more expensive at the time of purchase but their driving characteristics and reliability more than make up for the upfront cost.


----------



## woodnewbee (Nov 23, 2009)

not a ton of experience but bought bits-all stiles at different places. What I bought at the lumber yard rang like real hard steel when jingled together. Others sounded like soft nickel. Maybe it is partly the construction material. Also find diffence in screws stripping out-big box store seem to strip more often. Just noticed thought maybe others had as well.
I like the square drive and star best.


----------



## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

I've been buying all my screws from McFeeley's for years. Never use anything else. They're a little pricey, but top quality.


----------



## tierraverde (Dec 1, 2009)

I tore off an old pressure treated deck last summer. The framing was in great shape so I redecked it with new pressure treated 5/4. The Menard's big box had all shapes and sizes of the square "Robertson" decking screws. After using those, I wouldn't go back to anything else. The year before, I used #10 S.S. "Robertsons" when I built a floating pier, and I snapped a couple screws in half at the threads, but the square head never budged. (and did it with an 18 volt cordless drill to boot) The combination of 18 volt drills and square head drives can break your wrist. LOL


----------



## skidiot (Jun 2, 2008)

The Robertson head is actually older than the Phillips head. Robertson was a Canadian. The main reason the US uses Phillips is that Robertson refused to give Henry Ford control over his invention. A few years later when Phillips came along he went along with Ford and the Robertson was quickly forgotten in the US. No doubt Robertson is older and better but that has nothing to do with success in the corporate world.


----------



## GMman (Apr 11, 2008)

You see a lot of torx on vehicles every bolt or srews is all torx which as a very good head.


----------



## rtb (Mar 26, 2008)

I've been using square drive screws for years. Lowes and Home Depot both carry some but for real selection I go to McFeely. Of course anyone who uses the Kreg system for pocket hole attachments is familar with square drive screws.


----------



## chuck66 (Aug 21, 2009)

I started using the square drive Highpoint screws Woodcraft sells. They sure are better than the junk I used to buy from HD


----------



## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

I bought a box of Robertson's from McFeely's many years ago. I put down my red oak shop floor with them. No strips, no breaks, no problem.


----------



## mark88 (Jun 8, 2009)

red robbie anyday, hands down here….drive em like nothing with my impact gun…and when it comes to framing houses, we use screwguns on the subfloors with robbies rather than phillies just because the gun catches easier to it and drives it without letting the screw go


----------



## DrDirt (Feb 26, 2008)

Count me in the McFeely's camp, father in law recommended them and once I used them the days of going to the big box for some crappy screws that twist in two were over.

Also from McFeely's I bought a tub of Akempucky…which is a little butter tub of their screw lube. I expect it is just beeswax and a little oil to keep it softer - but it works great!


----------



## JJohnston (May 22, 2009)

Once I tried McFeely's, I've never gone back. I find the drivers wear out kind of fast, then they start camming out, but they still beat Phillips and slotted any day.

I love McFeely's "Pro Max" screws - specifically designed for dimensioned lumber.


----------



## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

My driver tips also showed some wear. However we may be better off if the drivers wear out fast as long as the screws aren't stripped.


----------



## Gene01 (Jan 5, 2009)

Huh?
There are fasteners other than nails?
Gene


----------



## hObOmOnk (Feb 6, 2007)

I buy Robertson screws from Lee Valley.

I also buy square drive screws from McFeely's.


----------



## Taigert (Nov 20, 2007)

Seen as I'm from Canada, White Rock BC just outside of Vancouver BC. I broke my teeth on Red Robertsons, during my apprenticeship. That is all we ever used was Robertsons. Red reffers to the colour given to the screw driver handle, which is also known as a #2 Robertson. There are also Black Robertson, #3? a larger square hole (don't remember for sure the # that goes with it. It's been a long time ago.) There is also a Green #1 ? Robertson that is smaller.

Like Todd I now use the torx or star pattern heads. They have such a positive grip, and easy to get from my vendors.

Taigert


----------



## roman (Sep 28, 2007)

no offence…. but piillips suck

no ifs, ands or buts

again….....no offence but they really do suck


----------



## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

Well I learned something new today. I did not know the square drive was called Robertson, but now I do. Those are the only screws I use in my shop. I stock flat head and truss head in 8 sizes each. I used to get a good supply from Midwest Salvage in Shipshewana, Ind for a very good price, but they closed up and I never found where there stock went. Then we went south about 5 miles to a place called Emma, Ind and they have a small salvage store that sells them but not in all the sizes.. I'm running low on some sizes and may have to go to McFeely to fill my jars. They are the best in my book!!!!


----------



## Taigert (Nov 20, 2007)

Jim.
I use enough screws that I set up a account at Fastenal. They know what I need to keep in stock. They come around every two weeks and bring my inventory to the level I set. Lately with work being so slow I have changed to calling when I need more product. There may be cheaper ways of doing it but this way I don't run out and I don't have to worry about it. So it saves me time and headaches, & frees up time that can be made more productive. 
If I need something I don't carry in inventory it only takes a phone call and I have it the next day.

Taigert


----------



## fge (Sep 8, 2008)

I use only square #2. In fact, I just ran out of both my assembly and hinge screws. I need to order more. I have ordered them from HDL, Wood worker supply, woodcraft so I am still trying to find a source I like for a fair price. I actually liked the screws from HDL as they seemed stronger then others I have used in the past.

Jim, Shipshewana sounds real familiar, I grew up in Elkhart and my wife's parents currently live in Goshen. We have a lot of family in that area. We just recently built and installed a kitchen for my Wife's folks, I built them here in TX and then laid them flat on palet and shipped them frieght and my wife finished the job there.


----------



## cranbrook2 (May 28, 2006)

I always thought everyone used Robertson screws . Phillip screws are great for drywall and that's all i have to say about that


----------



## GMman (Apr 11, 2008)

The ones that you use a flat screw driver I don't know the name "flat head maybe" but those should not even be on the market.
You take any prefab that you have to put together has those very cheap Philips screws those are the worse.


----------



## miles125 (Jun 8, 2007)

Buy a new cordless drill and they give you a little 3/4" long bit with a phillips and flathead ends. One has to marvel at how out of touch drill manufacturers are about the use of their own product!


----------



## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

All true, but there is nothing as gratifying as restoring an old table or casework with brass slotted screws, properly piloted, and driven with a fat old wooden-handled screwdriver. That's a feeling you just don't get with hi-speed fastening methods.


----------



## miles125 (Jun 8, 2007)

When i first started cabinet making there were no electric drivers. Everyone used a hand powered yankee screwdriver. It was probably around 1975-76 before power drills had the variable speed worked out good enough to drive screws with them.


----------



## RedShirt013 (May 17, 2008)

Phillips gets too much negativity for being used for tasks it's not designed for. Phillips is designed for assembly lines, and designed to slip when under too much torque, so it's not suitable for carpentry to begin with. And there are lots of people who use their pozidrive screwdriver on phillips screw and think something's wrong with phillips head, when they picked the wrong screwdriver to begin with.


----------



## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

"but there is nothing as gratifying as restoring an old table…"

Correctamundo. The wrong hardware, no matter how good it is objectively, makes my eyes hurt.

I like using Robertson's, but most of the time, if Phillips head screws strip/cam out, there's a different problem.

That being said, if I had to put my shop floor down again, I would still use Robertson's.


----------



## mark88 (Jun 8, 2009)

flat heads are only good for not stripping pretty much…i just hate slipping off flatheads all the time if you're not on dead centre, not saying i use them ever but i run into them. like i said before I'll stick with red robbies…and as john said earlier philies on drywall thats about it.


----------



## LeeinEdmonton (Aug 5, 2008)

I dislike Phillips for all of the above stated reasons & simply refuse to use them. The last thing I need is screws
that increase my level of frustration.

Lee


----------



## Padre (Nov 5, 2008)

Todd, must be a brand issue. My son got his at a big box store, and they stripped out a lot. It was almost as if the depth of the hole in the head was too short and did not allow a really good grip by the driver.

But, as I've always believed, you get what you pay for!


----------



## trotter (Dec 29, 2009)

Coming from England, Robertson screws were quite unknown to me until I moved to Canada. Whilst they probably deliver what they promise on the box, in terms of handling with the correct driver, I personally hate them. I now work in an environment where a mass of different screws have been used. I have had to buy a special set of screwdrivers just to deal with these wretched things. Then the tips wear out. Many screws have been put in with a power screwdriver, thus stripping out the square drive. I have to put on my spectacles to check which size of driver to use. I arrived to find buckets of mixed screws, and rather than wasting them all spent over an hour sorting and dumping the Robertsons. It took me a long time to discover the adapter that can be fitted on the end of my Yankee screwdriver to deal with them. This works well enough, but makes the screwdriver immensely long. 
See here: http://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/yankee-screwdrivers-t24605.html 
Often enough I need to repair an old piece of furniture and a Robertson screw would be wholly inappropriate. I haven't found a single redeeming feature and replace them whenever I can with almost any other type of screw. Having read the history of this item, ( 



 ) and the obvious pride that Canadian take in this infernal invention, I am sorry if I upset anyone's sensibilities.


----------



## mikedddd (Jul 22, 2009)

trotter: which type of screw and driver do you prefer to use?


----------



## Radu (Jan 25, 2010)

Trotter, I don't understand how somebody can hate the Robertson screws. You just put it on the screwdriver head and it stays there. Try that with a Philips.


----------



## trotter (Dec 29, 2009)

I'm old fasioned. I like slotted screws. I like Philips screws and prefer a hand screwdriver so that I can feel the torque and get the slots aligned etc. For a lot of work I use a Yankee screwdriver. As I mentioned, Robertson screws probably deliver what they say on the box when they are new, but when they have been put in with a power driver, at least 20% have a stripped hole, made round by the damaged driver head. Then you can't get them out. That also means that the driver head need schanging. You only have to regrind a straight screwdriver. A magnetic tip works wonders with a Philips screw.


----------

