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…
Do you have Robertson screwdrivers at home?
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.
@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...
@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.
@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.
@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.
@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.
@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.