Robertson's screws - any views please ?

[sarabande]

Does anyone have experience of them within the marine industry?

 

[TimBennet]

We used to use silicon bronze woodscrews bought from Jamestown Distributors at the yard. Easy to power drive and full thickness shanks.

 

[PCUK]

What are they please?

 

[sarabande]

sorry, they are square headed screws and fasteners.

http://www.robertsonscrew.com/products.html


Having stripped n Philips and cross-headed screws in the last few months (I know, bad skills and wrong tools !) I was looking for a more resilient screwhead, and came across the Robertsons.

 

[SHUG]

A bad workman...etc.
The most common cause of stripped heads is the use of the wrong driving bit e.g. tring to drive Pozidrive with a Philips bit.

 

[BERT T]

A bad workman...etc.
The most common cause of stripped heads is the use of the wrong driving bit e.g. tring to drive Pozidrive with a Philips bit.

Not always , some of the screws being imported at the present time are absolute rubbish. These Robertson type s/s screws are also available from Jamestown Distributors.

 

[pelicanpete]

My dock-builder used these screws (stainless steel) to fix my dock planks down. He found they frequently snapped at the shank. The square drive hole often gouged out and became round, rendering the screw useless. Then, several minutes wasted with a mole-wrench to remove the stub/screw. We found that drilling a pilot hole resolved the problem but when you're driving in a thousand or more screws, that's very time consuming.

 

[estarzinger]

Does anyone have experience of them within the marine industry?

I have used them. They are quite common in Canada. The head is quite good. rather less likely to strip that either Philips or slotted. But you of course need to carry another set of screw drivers.

 

[paul.norton]

I have used them. They are quite common in Canada. The head is quite good. rather less likely to strip that either Philips or slotted. But you of course need to carry another set of screw drivers.

I believe they were invented in Canada just over 100 years ago.

To avoid problems you will need the correct sized screwdriver of the screw you are using.

Paul

 

[PCUK]

Aha, the American cruiser I am rebuilding is fastened with these. I ground down a philips bit to get them out. Might see if I can get some proper bits now I know what they are called!

 

[rotrax]

My dock-builder used these screws (stainless steel) to fix my dock planks down. He found they frequently snapped at the shank. The square drive hole often gouged out and became round, rendering the screw useless. Then, several minutes wasted with a mole-wrench to remove the stub/screw. We found that drilling a pilot hole resolved the problem but when you're driving in a thousand or more screws, that's very time consuming.

It is normal practice to drill a pilot hole when fixing screws otherwise they are liable to shear off at the shank. Sorry-your guy has found that out.................

 

[Tranona]

It is normal practice to drill a pilot hole when fixing screws otherwise they are liable to shear off at the shank. Sorry-your guy has found that out.................

Not necessarily. Some screws are designed to drive without pilot holes - the ones used for garden decking for example which have small diameter shanks and coarse thread which cut their own path in the timber.

 

[BERT T]

Pre drilling

It is normal practice to drill a pilot hole when fixing screws otherwise they are liable to shear off at the shank. Sorry-your guy has found that out.................

If the user had read the instructions or checked the web.
Truss Head Screws #2 Square Drive.
Swan Secure Truss Head Screws are a stainless steel hand-drive fastener with a #2 square drive truss head and a coarse thread. Made of 305 stainless steel. Able to fasten all materials to wood or wood-substitute materials. Available in 1", 1-1/4", 1-1/2" lengths. Pre-drilling recommended for all installations.

 

[Richard10002]

A bad workman...etc.
The most common cause of stripped heads is the use of the wrong driving bit e.g. tring to drive Pozidrive with a Philips bit.

Given that they look similar, how do you tell a Pozidrive screw from a Philips screw, and similarly, the difference between the drivers.

They all look the same to me

 

[Uricanejack]

I love robertson's far superior to any other scew designe. Unfortunatly they are more expensive despite having lower production cost. They are idea for use in marine aplications. just use the right materials. Which wont corode. or promote rot.
If you need them you can find supliers on line for both robertson screws and drivers.
The other nice thing about robertsons having a tapered square head. put the screw on the driver and it does not fall off as you tip it to an angle to reach an akward corner.
Boats seem to have everything in an akward corner.

They were invented by Robertson in Canada just over a hundred years ago. he insisted his screws were better than everyone elses so he charged a premium price.
When he would not negotiate a lower price to a major car manufaturer I think ford. Ford went to philips and requested a new screw designe for his assembly lines. Its not as good as Robertson. It just had to be good enough to go in easly on an assembly line.

 

[ostell]

Given that they look similar, how do you tell a Pozidrive screw from a Philips screw, and similarly, the difference between the drivers.

They all look the same to me

Try here. Pozidrive top is a cross plus a star pattern, Philips is a cross alone. Similar with the screwdrivers: Pozi has 4 little extra patterns between the main drive contacts, Philips is just a plain cross.