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Robertson screw
DCHP-2 (Jul 2016)
Spelling variants:screw with Robertson head, Robertson
n. — proprietary, Industry
a screw with a tapered, square-shaped socket.
Type: 1. Origin — The Canadian inventor Peter Lymburner Robertson patented both the Robertson screw and driver in 1909 after he invented them in Milton, Ontario, in 1908. Though other square socket screws and drivers existed at the time, Robertson's design had a tapered socket, which allowed the screws to be manufactured easily and cheaply by cold forming (stamping) the heads of the screws.
The Robertson screw has several advantages (see the 2000 quotation) but its use is limited outside of Canada due to Robertson's unwillingness to share control over production designs with other manufacturing companies after an unsuccessful venture with a British manufacturer (see the 2001 quotation). In 1968, the Robertson company was purchased by an American conglomerate (see Rybczynski 2000: 80-86.) Certain areas, e.g. in construction (softwood lumber), use Robertson screws almost exclusively for the superior hold they offer over other designs such as Phillips screws, while minimizing the risk of screw head damage.
Chart 1 shows that the term is most common in Canada and the UK and more common in other Commonwealth countries than in the US, which is Canada's biggest trading partner (2016), where the frequency is low.
See also ITP Nelson, s.v. "Robertson".
Chart 1 shows that the term is most common in Canada and the UK and more common in other Commonwealth countries than in the US, which is Canada's biggest trading partner (2016), where the frequency is low.
See also ITP Nelson, s.v. "Robertson".
Quotations
1918
A.J. Pattinson, Jun. & Co., Toronto, furnished the following approximate quotations: -
P. L. Robertson Screw... Bid: ... Asked: 37.50
1923
The following prominent Liberals are willing to allow their names to go before the convention, which will be held in Milton on Wednesday, May 3: P. L. Robertson of Milton, President of the P. L. Robertson Screw Manufacturing Company; Le Roy Dale, Mayor of Georgetown; Charles Readhead of Nelson townchip, ex-Warden of Halton county, and W. Robinson, Deputy Reeve of Oakville. There may be other names submitted at the convention.
1933
John B. Armstrong, who has been fireman at the P. L. Robertson Screw Manufacturing Company plant for a number of years, met with a serious accident at the plant yesterday. While firing the annealer, he neglected to turn on the draught, causing a backfire.
1986
Next in importance is a set of screw-drivers. This should include a large and small standard slot driver, a red-handled, green-handled and black-handled Robertson (square head) screwdriver and a large and small Phillips (cross head).
1998
Meanwhile, let's consider a growing group of vigilantes in our fair city out to rid the world of the slotted screw, and cordless screwdrivers.
They don't care that P. L. Robertson invented his screw head in Milton, Ont., in 1910, or that the Phillips screwdriver isn't named after Rod. All they know is that the Robertson and Phillips screwdrivers work better.
2000
Here I must confess myself to be a confirmed Robertson user. The square-headed screwdriver sits snugly in the socket: you can shake a Robertson screwdriver, and the screw on the end will not fall off; drive a Robertson screw with a power drill, and the fully set screw simply stops the drill dead; no matter how old, rusty, or painted over, a Robertson screw can always be unscrewed.
2001
Today, the Robertson screw remains popular in Canada but its use in the U.S. is limited to the woodworking industry and certain specialty applications.
Rybczynski insists the Robertson is superior to the others. He's backed up by a Consumer Reports study that found that after extensive testing, Robertson screws consistently worked better than Phillips.
2008
It looks handy enough, with all kinds of hooks, nails, picture hanging wire and screws sitting in an inexpensive plastic box. But look again: the screws have Robertson heads, which is nothing short of a miracle in do-it-yourself land.
Most kits like this use Phillips (star-shaped) screw heads -- notorious for allowing drill bits and screwdrivers to slip out of the screw (usually gouging the wall ) and for being easily stripped. The Robertson heads provide a much better footing for drills and screwdrivers.
2012
Anyone who's ever wielded a screw gun knows how problematic Phillips screws can be. With their shallow cross pattern, it's easy to lose purchase and end up mauling the head.
So, after a day of struggle, we all vowed that we'd return the next day with our own screws and that they'd be Robertsons, whose deep square pattern makes them, not just reliable, but among the greatest Canadian inventions.
This was a communal decision, duly celebrated (at least by us) for its rebelliousness and patriotism.
2016
Did you know that Canada has a screw that's mostly unique to our country? It's called the Robertson screw or 'square-head' screw.
First manufactured in Milton, Ontario (where my aunt and uncle lived when I was a child) in 1908 and patented in 1909, the fastener remains named after its inventor, P.L. Robertson.
References
- ITP Nelson
- Rybczynski (2000)
Images
Image 1: An illustration from the Robertson screw Canadian patent from 1909. Source: Collections Canada.
Image 2: A Robertson screw in wood. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Photo: Saforrest
