Ross of OttawaAug 8, 2023

Hey European & American friends who use tools and do building, repairs, DIY – are Robertson screws common in your area?

Are Robertson screwdrivers common in European toolboxes?

In Canada I suspect that 99% of people who have tools would have Robertson screwdrivers in their toolbox. At least the red & green (#2, #1) sizes. The more intrepid will have the yellow and black (#0, #3) sizes too.

#DIY #tools #carpentry #joinery #Question

Poll to follow…

Show threadRoss of OttawaAug 8, 2023
Do you have Robertson screwdrivers at home?
Yes (I'm not in Canada)
11.9%
No (not in Canada)
35.5%
Yes (I'm in Canada)
51.6%
No (I'm in Canada)
0.9%
Poll ended at .
Show threadRoss of Ottawa
Comments, boosts & elaborations appreciated. Wondering if I send something to European customers with Robertson screws they'll throw them away and use Phillips or Torx or something.
Aug 8, 2023 at 7:53pmWeb
Show threadSarcastiCanadianAug 8, 2023

@ottaross Probably about 25 years ago, my father sent a homemade box of stuff to family in the UK. A few weeks later he got a letter asking how they were supposed to open a box constructed with these weird screws.

He sent them a Robertson screwdriver by return post.

Show threadRoss of OttawaAug 8, 2023
@Plumbert Ha! Good anecdote.
Show threadSarcastiCanadianAug 8, 2023
@ottaross looking at screwdriver sets at the US Lowes site, I'm seeing lots of sets without Robertson heads. In Canada I would expect those same sets to include Robertson. Example: https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-6-Piece-Bi-Material-Handle-Multi-Bit-Screwdriver/1002785152
Show threadRoss of OttawaAug 8, 2023
@Plumbert Oh yes - if you try lowes.ca they'd prob be Robertson.
Show threadMichael PorterAug 8, 2023
@ottaross Porter’s law of second generation renos: On any given towel fixture, one of the screws will be Robertson, the other will be Phillips.
Show threadRoss of OttawaAug 8, 2023

@MichaelPorter I particularly like when you discover a Phillips screw that has the hidden compatibility with Robertson built into the middle.

Canadians everywhere release a comforting sigh when their Robertson slots nicely into one of those.

Show threadMartin Settle 🇨🇦Aug 8, 2023
@ottaross @MichaelPorter
Those are actually specially designed with the idea that you screw them in with the Phillips, so that you can't overtorque them. If you need to remove them years later, you can use much more torque with the Robertson to break through any sticky rust. My pool is constructed with them...
Show threadRoss of OttawaAug 8, 2023
@martinsettle @MichaelPorter They really do shine for removing old long-in-place screws. Often it's worth taking a moment with a pick to clean out the corners though, so you can get a good grip.
Show threadfrandroid à TorontoAug 9, 2023
@ottaross @MichaelPorter And some Philips fit nicely in the Robertson holes. It feels like software emulation--good enough to use once or twice, but we'll use the real tool to do serious work.
Show threadLillyLyle/Count MelancholiaAug 8, 2023
@ottaross I've never seen a screw head like that in Europe. I would need to order one on Amazon. Idea! You could include a screwdriver with whatever it is you're selling, like the WeFixit people do...
Show threadRoss of OttawaAug 8, 2023

@LillyHerself True - maybe that would be the start of a new proliferation of them into Europe.

The little item I sell can be mounted with a couple of screws and is very cheap, so I'll probably just put a couple of Phillips screws in the package.

Show threadLillyLyle/Count MelancholiaAug 8, 2023
@ottaross It's funny, I spent the first 21 years of my life in Canada, but I have no recollection of ever seeing a Robertson screw.
What was their normal application? Can't be bicycles or electronics, or I'd have seen one, as I regularly took those things apart.
Show threadRoss of OttawaAug 8, 2023

@LillyHerself Lots of wood-joinery use. Pretty much all deck screws are Robertson here. They're not as commonly in machine screws, or electronics, but we don't build a lot of that domestically.

All electrical receptacles, light switches and boxes - everything behind the decorative plate really - are Robertson here. Often Phillips compatible too.

Many hinges on doors are Robertson here. A lot of us will throw away the phillips wood screws that come with anthing and use our own Robertsons.

Show threadjarkmanAug 9, 2023

@ottaross @LillyHerself Phillips is pretty rare in the UK. Pozi is by far the most common for woodscrews, with Torx a rising second. I don't think I've ever seen a Robertson in my life.

I suspect Europe is the same, maybe more Torx and less Pozi.

Show threadLillyLyle/Count MelancholiaAug 9, 2023
@jarkman @ottaross I suspect that those two you mention look vaguely like Phillips heads and I'm just not savvy enough to tell the difference!
Show threadjarkmanAug 9, 2023

@LillyHerself @ottaross Pozi looks quite like Phillips, but with some little extra notches between the big notches. Phillips and Pozi will sort-of but not really drive each other, leading to all the screws and all the drivers being a bit rounded off and useless if you are not careful.

Just for completeness, there is also JIS, common on Japanese things, which looks even more like Phillips but really isn't.

Torx is hexagonal, like Allen, but has pointy corners.

Show threadEmily SAug 8, 2023

@ottaross I'm in the UK, but I've been seriously considering making my own screwdrivers. Mostly so I can have stupidly long ones.

While those wouldn't be much use, I don't think I've seen them outside of construction, I've got to appreciate the ease of machining. I think I could manage one of those with a bench grinder. A Phillips? Not so much

Show threadRoss of OttawaAug 8, 2023

@Emily_S True - that's appealing in a pinch, to be able to grind one down.

The only grind-your-own screwdriver I've had to make was a crazy equilateral-triangle socket heat a little while ago. I think it was on an espresso machine. I ground a nail into a triangle and mounted it in a dowel, and it worked very nicely.

Had never seen those screws before or since.

Show threadEmily SAug 9, 2023
@ottaross euh the things they invent to try and keep people out of kitchen appliances. The notched flat head is so common my local repair cafe has one we made in the communal toolbox.
Show threadRoss of OttawaAug 9, 2023
@Emily_S Ugh, those things. I dealt with one using needle nose pliers once but thankfully haven't had one around since. Hope it stays that way!
Show threadanotherandrewAug 8, 2023
@ottaross anything I build that is NOT wood is usually fastened with hex socket cap screws, whih are of course manipulated with Allen keys. I'm Canadian, and would find Robertson screws in non-woodworking, non-home (electrical, etc.) things weird.
Show threadRoss of OttawaAug 8, 2023
@anotherandrew yeah, my application needs a wood screw to affix an item to a wooden cabinet. For screws into plastic cases or for circuit-board standoffs I pretty much always use torx M3 or M4 these days
Show threadanotherandrewAug 8, 2023
@ottaross in that case yeah I’d expect a Roberson screw, but your poll and the general comments seem to indicate a Phillips screw is probably the way to go internationally.
Show threadChris BegleyAug 8, 2023
@ottaross they will. I have a full set of Robertsons which have moved from Berlin to Munich to Boston and not been used. I asked a few people in Germany and none had heard of them.
Use Phillips or include a driver
Show threadRoss of OttawaAug 8, 2023
@chrisbegley seems prudent.