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Wilbour
Member
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# Posted: 2 Feb 2015 07:59pm
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I just received my "Squeak Ender" product from Amazon.com today. Unfortunately I could not find a retailer here in Canada so I bit the bullet and paid for shipping. Nice thing is that after the first one, each additional was about $1 more for shipping.
At any rate, anyone familiar with the product knows that you are screwing over your head in an awkward position. This fantastic (Made in USA  ) product even comes with #10 screws. My only complaint is they are Phillips head screws. That meant it took me 10 minutes to install the first one and I lost 2 screws in the process. Somewhere in my wife's arts and crafts supplies.
I gave up and dug out my collection of screws. They are mostly Robertson head. Well the next two installs went in within 10 minutes.
I tried to introduce my Father-In-Law to these little wonders from Canada and he never understood the hooplah. All I can say is I use these exclusively around the house and in my cabin. Trust me when you are working by yourself and your up a ladder, the last thing you need is to keep dropping the screw.
For the most part, nothing beats American made tools and supplies but why have Robertson screw heads never really caught on?
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Ontario lakeside
Member
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# Posted: 2 Feb 2015 09:49pm - Edited by: Ontario lakeside
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Robertson screws and the metric system. better in every way.
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old243
Member
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# Posted: 3 Feb 2015 10:48am
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My understanding of the history of Roberson screws. P L Robertson developed this head pattern, They are manufactured in Ontario , I believe at Milton Ont. He was approached early on to sell his patent, he refused . The original shape had a slight taper so that it gripped the driver bit, as pressure was applied. My father was an electrician and used these screws , as they tended to stick on your screwdriver, when working overhead or in difficult spots. They are available in Canada in a wide range of sizes. I think that there are some now being manufactured, probably offshore or in the US. Some of these don't seem to have that old stick to the screwdriver shape . But they are definitely superior to the slot or Phillips types. These can make a fellow a bit cross when trying to install them overhead. Buy Canadian, old243
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Wilbour
Member
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# Posted: 3 Feb 2015 11:57am
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Quoting: old243 These can make a fellow a bit cross when trying to install them overhead. Buy Canadian, old243
Read and re-read.
I first read this as "These can make a fellow a bit cross when trying to install them overhead by a Canadian"
but you said "Buy Canadian" big difference.
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LastOutlaw
Member
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# Posted: 3 Feb 2015 01:53pm
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The only place
i've seen these used in the US is in mobile homes.
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Bret
Member
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# Posted: 3 Feb 2015 02:28pm
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We have used square drive or robertson screws in our wood shop for years. McFeeley is a good source. They are so much better than phillips head.
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 3 Feb 2015 02:50pm - Edited by: MtnDon
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In the US they are just called square drive screws. Not as common as Phillips but if you look in the right places you can find them. My guess is we don't call them Robertson as the Robertson company likely thought ahead and copyrighted or trade marked the name. I do like them. Or spline drive screws.
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creeky
Member
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# Posted: 4 Feb 2015 11:10am
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That's it in a nutshell. Better screwhead. But Robertson wanted an enormous licensing fee so nobody picked them up. Luckily here in Canada they are everywhere.
Now why does every spline drive mfct use a different head. I had to use 2 different spline bits on my last job. What a pita. And I must have three or four now... and lets not talk about what happens when you're up on a ladder and changing the bit when it slips and falls into the fall leaves somewhere with a ten mile radius below you.
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Wilbour
Member
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# Posted: 4 Feb 2015 11:40am
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Quoting: creeky falls into the fall leaves somewhere with a ten mile (16.0934km  ) radius below you.
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creeky
Member
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# Posted: 4 Feb 2015 12:43pm
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lol. thx. you're on a roll!
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KinAlberta
Member
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# Posted: 25 Oct 2015 10:44pm - Edited by: KinAlberta
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A Globe and Mail article on it...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/youve-got-to-use-a-robertson/article1024050/
Note the drywall comment..
http://joneakes.com/jons-fixit-database/418-History-of-the-Robertson-Screw
A good read...
The Perfect Screw? A concise history of the Robertson Head Screw (by Mark Bell, Obsolescence Correspondent for the Foolscap Journal) | The Foolscap Journal Not only is the Roberston self-centering, but its design allows the screw to be placed snugly on the tip of the screwdriver making it possible to apply with one hand. This snug fit also prevents the sort of cam-out that causes Slot head and Philips screwdrivers to pop out unexpectedly once the screw is driven home. The solid shape of the Robertson also prevents the sort of striping that occurs in other designs when impatient handymen with over-torqued power tools needlessly blast away at misfit screws. So the question remains: Why has the Robertson not managed to secure a stronger foothold throughout the world? Why is its popularity limited to Canada and a small number of specialty industries? When the Robertson was first introduced it enjoyed a great deal of popularity. Each Model T manufactured in Canada was held together by about 700 Robertsons. Using Robertsons reduced the production time on each vehicle so significantly that Henry Ford wanted to use them on his American assembly lines as well. Ford, however, didn't want to just buy the screws, he wanted to buy the rights as well, and when Roberson refused to sell, Ford turned to Philips, and it appears America (and the world) has never looked back. https://thefoolscapjournal.wordpress.com/2011/01/17/the-perfect-screw-a-concise-histo ry-of-the-robertson-head-screw-by-mark-bell-obsolence-correspondent-for-the-foolscap- journal/
Sort seems that the square drive was a US invention and the paint roller a Canadian invention.
A Tale Of Two Canadian Hardware Inventions | Professional Painter Magazine And it's a similar story to the Robertson screw: the person who invented it, didn't make the money from it. In fact, the inventor barely made a dime. And it's a sad story in many ways. Norman Breakey, a Torontonian (he was born in Pierson, Manitoba), invented the paint roller in 1940. Today, the man is hardly a household name. His name got a tiny bit of publicity when McClelland & Stewart published a book called The Inventors: Great Ideas in Canadian Enterprise, for the centenary of our nation in 1967. But Norman Breakey has largely disappeared from hardware history, having failed in his attempt to find investors for his pet project. Who made all the money? Well, we don't know how much he actually profited from it, but the very same year that Breakey made his first paint roller in Toronto, an American, Richard Croxton Adams, patented a paint roller he said he had invented from scratch in his own basement. Coincidentally (or not) his day job was as an employee for Sherwin Williams. http://www.professionalpainter.ca/a-tale-of-two-canadian-hardware-inventions/
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DaveBell
Moderator
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# Posted: 25 Oct 2015 11:55pm
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These can be found in the U.S. at most electric supply businesses with Klein tools. I still have my Klein driver from 25 years ago.
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Don_P
Member
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# Posted: 26 Oct 2015 07:54am
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I can't find the drivers I bought last week  , generally there are at least 6 in my bags... phillips, square, T20&25, 1/4 &5/16 hex, kind of a pain to keep up with. My slotted screwdrivers have become mostly prying tools. When the Robertson or torx drivers begin to slip you can often refresh them with a light grinding on the tip, cutting the rounded bottom edges back to sharp and square.
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creeky
Member
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# Posted: 26 Oct 2015 08:43am
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I just bought a new set of Headlok screws because I misplaced the bit. The bigbox was nice enough to sell me a pack 1/2 off as they didn't have replacement bits ($5 for two) in stock. Now I have 6" headloks handy.
Is there an award for most tips in one week. Don_P. That's the second I've got from you this week. (+sharpen saw with file. thx to Just too)
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