4 ms·

In Canada there is a saying: Anyone who doesn't use a Robertson head is just being an asshole.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
colanderman 8y ago
Unfortunately Robertson bits are rare south of the Canadian border. I have lots of "universal" bit sets, and only one came with a set of Robertsons. (Most did come with square bits, but these are apparently not the same as Robertson, either in dimension or shape.)
- ken 8y ago
  Not rare at all in the US, in my experience. I've been doing some construction and tear-down work recently, and it's about 60% Torx, 40% Robertson.
eight_ender 8y ago
YES. Robbie for construction, Torx and Triple Square for cars. I've never had a problem with those three. Philips, Posi and Hex strip like crazy.
bdickason 8y ago
Stupid question but I've been doing alot of construction lately and using Torx (25 I think?) for everything. What's the advantage of Robertson screws? (in particular for woodworking)
- jammi 8y ago
  Robertson in Canada is just appeal to tradition at this point. They have no technical merit over Torx except maybe ease of ad-hoc construction of a driver.
- skykooler 8y ago
  Robertson are generally cheaper than Torx, for one thing.
- theluketaylor 8y ago
  Robertson has a really nice taper that makes one handed operation really easy even when the screw metal isn't magnetic. The large size of the recess also means you can work Robertson screws even after they have been painted or varnished over. Robertson sizing is also incredibly simple so you grab the right tool every time. Each size has a colour name so you can easily call out each size to a tool fetching assistant (always my role as a kid) and there is no ambiguity if the screwdriver is the right size or not. Not a ton of advantages over Torx for initial assembly, but if you ever need to repair, especially someone else's work, Robertson is second to none.
kankroc 8y ago
I'm astonished to learn that Robertson are a Canadian thing! My grandfather was a cabinet-maker and god save you if you used something else in front of him.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

Unfortunately Robertson bits are rare south of the Canadian border. I have lots of "universal" bit sets, and only one came with a set of Robertsons. (Most did come with square bits, but these are apparently not the same as Robertson, either in dimension or shape.)

ken 8y ago
Not rare at all in the US, in my experience. I've been doing some construction and tear-down work recently, and it's about 60% Torx, 40% Robertson.

eight_ender 8y ago

YES. Robbie for construction, Torx and Triple Square for cars. I've never had a problem with those three. Philips, Posi and Hex strip like crazy.

bdickason 8y ago

Stupid question but I've been doing alot of construction lately and using Torx (25 I think?) for everything. What's the advantage of Robertson screws? (in particular for woodworking)

jammi 8y ago
Robertson in Canada is just appeal to tradition at this point. They have no technical merit over Torx except maybe ease of ad-hoc construction of a driver.
skykooler 8y ago
Robertson are generally cheaper than Torx, for one thing.
theluketaylor 8y ago
Robertson has a really nice taper that makes one handed operation really easy even when the screw metal isn't magnetic. The large size of the recess also means you can work Robertson screws even after they have been painted or varnished over. Robertson sizing is also incredibly simple so you grab the right tool every time. Each size has a colour name so you can easily call out each size to a tool fetching assistant (always my role as a kid) and there is no ambiguity if the screwdriver is the right size or not. Not a ton of advantages over Torx for initial assembly, but if you ever need to repair, especially someone else's work, Robertson is second to none.

kankroc 8y ago

I'm astonished to learn that Robertson are a Canadian thing! My grandfather was a cabinet-maker and god save you if you used something else in front of him.