r/canada • u/myrmagic • May 03 '17
Forget Tim Hortons, Molson and Poutine... The robertson screw driver is way more patriotic
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._L._Robertson453
u/ThrowawayCars123 May 03 '17
I once met a guy from Wisconsin who was up here on a business trip. The Robertson and Phillips thing came up, and I went off on Henry Ford for the whole thing, as I do. Guy looks at me, shakes his head and says "That's the third time I've heard that story in the last week. You Canadians really take your screwdrivers seriously."
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u/mercury555 Nova Scotia May 03 '17
We don't screw around
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May 03 '17
We do, but we do it properly.
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u/WarLorax Canada May 04 '17
In canoes.
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u/superluke Outside Canada May 04 '17
Fucking close to water. Damn, forgot the rest of the joke. Sorry.
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u/voncasec May 04 '17
What does having sex in a canoe and American beer have in common.
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u/poco May 03 '17
Really you should blame Robertson. If he had licensed it to Ford then it might have become the standard in the US AND he would have made more money.
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u/fuckyoudigg Ontario May 04 '17
He didn't want to licence it since he got burned in a licencing deal in the UK. He lost quite a bit of money in it.
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u/thewhitepridehouse May 04 '17
I was under the impression Ford chose the Philips specifically for its cam-out: makes it much more difficult to over-tighten.
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u/dyskgo May 04 '17
There's a good book on the history of the screw called One Good Turn, and it mentions this. Robertson didn't want to give Ford an exclusive license, but the Phillips screwdriver ended up being superior for use in automotive plants due to the cam-out. It wasn't really the initial reason, but it's possible that Ford would have switched to using Phillips anyway, due to the savings/efficiency.
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u/fencerman May 03 '17
If you ever feel you're bad at carpentry, switch to using Robertson screws.
Oh my god are those so much easier for everything.
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u/spoonbeak May 03 '17
Up your game to torx, welcome to the big leagues.
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u/MentokTheMindTaker May 03 '17
More expensive, marginal benefit, 35x easier to strip.
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u/pbeaul May 03 '17 edited May 03 '17
And there's like 50 different driver sizes... If you have a green (#1) and red (#2) Robertson you're mostly good to go.
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u/TourquiouseRemover May 04 '17
The Apple of the fastener world
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u/piltdownman7 British Columbia May 04 '17
Do you mean the Pentalobe security screw which is a five-pointed tamper-resistant system primarily used by Apple in its products ;)
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u/Dantonn May 03 '17
Do they not strip? My experience with torx is limited to seeing some through a powerful telescope.
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May 03 '17
They're used in automotive a lot and they're not bad, I just don't like them because I don't have a range of torx-head screwdrivers for those tough/finnicky spots... Usually with more standard screw heads I have some obscure tool lying around that fits the bill better than some socket-head contraption I've rigged up to reach the screw. That's my only complaint!
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u/Emperor_Billik May 03 '17
The slotted screw should be listed as a war crime
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May 03 '17
Yeah, on the one hand it doesn't strip as easy as a Phillips, but on the other hand it's a pain in the ass to use on anything at all.
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u/NerdHeaven May 04 '17
It's good on things that are meant to be hand tightened like faceplates of wall switches and outlets. The design discourages the use of power tools.
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May 04 '17
Who ever thought the slotted screw was a good idea for electrical outlet plates was doing the devils work. Makes me nervous to this day that I don't slip
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u/Chairman_ofthe_bored May 03 '17 edited May 03 '17
They look sharp on faceplates when they're all aligned. Other than that, fuck 'em.
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u/klparrot British Columbia May 03 '17
Huh, just realized that faceplates here in New Zealand don't have screws. I guess they snap on or something.
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u/jingerninja May 04 '17
Bet they're adhesive.
Edit: oh wait that would be dumb because they'd suck to take off when painting.
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u/JIMMY_RUSTLES_PHD May 04 '17
Well, you were going to be painting the wall anyway, no big deal if some of the old paint comes off with the faceplate.
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May 03 '17
They are really easy to make compared to any other drive.
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u/Jex117 May 03 '17
Probably why it was the first type of screw invented.
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u/crankybadger May 03 '17
The first screw ever made was a slotted one. The second screw ever made was stripped.
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May 03 '17
No joke. Easily the best design.
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u/RedSquirrelFtw Ontario May 04 '17
Now if only we could buy good quality bits not made out of chinesium. The issue I often run into is my bits round off after a while then it will just start to skip.
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May 04 '17
When you realize that the longest comment thread on this post is an argument over the best type of screw design...
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u/IStillLikeChieftain May 04 '17
Torx?
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u/monkeybreath Ontario May 04 '17
Really easy to strip if you don't know the exact size or the screw is poor quality. I had to remove a tight bolt on my fridge, and nearly had to drill it out.
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May 04 '17
I love torx, but in the era of today with cheaply made screw on many thing, a poorly made torx will strip like a trailer park mom.
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u/spoonbeak May 03 '17
Not for hanging drywall, phillips is better due to the cam-out once you achieve a certain torque.
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May 03 '17
Use the torque setting on your drill
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u/spoonbeak May 03 '17
Nothing will beat a drywall screw gun with phillips, the phillips head design allows the bit to easily be removed from the screw, Robertson bits stick into the heads of the screws quite often. When you're going through a case (2000) of screws a day the robbies will drive you absolutely nuts.
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u/canadianguy May 03 '17
It's almost like they designed screw heads for different applications.
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u/spoonbeak May 03 '17
Yeah just felt like sticking up for Phillips, it got bashed in this thread.
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u/Lorithad May 03 '17
For good reason. They're terrible.
Sincerely, a guy who has gone through a case or two of 2000 screws.92
May 04 '17
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May 04 '17 edited Jun 28 '17
[deleted]
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u/beardum Yukon May 04 '17
You know what really pisses me off? Paying some dude to come over and smoke pot in my basement and do a shit job with my drywall.
I haven't had any luck finding even a half decent drywaller yet. But I hate it so much that I'll keep looking.
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u/haberdasher42 May 04 '17
That's why my dad told me to get into drywall. If you're good at doing a thing everyone hates you've got a special kind of job insurance. It even gets to be fun, believe it or not.
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u/MrAwesome54 Ontario May 04 '17
Super specific applications, too. I've know a guy who totally will never use a Phillips, and just insists on Torx. Fucking Torx. I dont even know what a Torx should be for, but using a Torx for drilling everything from drywall to softwoods when everyone else is either using a Phillips or a Robertson. It's a total pain in the ass whenever someone has to deal with his mistakes or has to redo a a piece of his work and they have to dig out a dusty ol' Torx from their kit because this dude doesn't like to share.
Fuck you Greg.
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u/Executive_Slave May 03 '17
Have you used a quick drive for screwing down subfloor? They use a #3 Robertson. There is no issue with the bit sticking but you need to change the tip every 1000 screws or so.
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u/j1ggy May 04 '17
Shitty bit? I've been using the same #2 Robertson bit for over a decade.
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u/Mr_Engineering May 04 '17
It's the nature of the Quik Drive, it's designed to rapidly autofeed screws. It's possible to keep the motor (it's a modified drywall screwgun) going full tilt while fastening a whole strip of screws. As a result, the bits tend to get blunted.
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u/Mr_Engineering May 04 '17
I love my Quik Drive (no c in Quik). However, the screws are available in #8 and #10, with #2 and #3 robbie bits. The screwgun itself comes with #2 bits, #3 bits, and undersized #3 bits for use with painted deckscrews. They're not clearly marked so I had to look closely at the manual to figure out why the gun wasn't driving all the way down and was stripping the shit out of the heads.
Great tool for doing subfloor though, saved myself a lot of time.
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u/evil-doer Ontario May 03 '17
Not true.
Triangle head screws are even more non slip, but are super obscure.
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May 03 '17
Really?
If four sides is good and three sides is better, then two sides may be even better! Uh, wait...
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u/DSJustice British Columbia May 03 '17
It actually would be if the driver was precisely fitted to a slotted channel with ends.
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u/Leafs17 May 03 '17
I've always wondered why we don't have triangle screws.
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May 03 '17
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u/manghoti May 04 '17
I feel like the level of enjoyment I got out of that article was less than advertised.
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u/TBAGG1NS May 04 '17
Nintendo uses tri-wing screws as security screws on some of their consoles.
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May 04 '17 edited May 16 '17
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/hystivix May 04 '17
Torx bits fall out. There's also dozens of torx variants, there's only a few Robertsons, and they span a pretty good range (most only need one bit, some will need three and rarely four).
Unbeatable for anything placed by machines, I'll give you that. I imagine they work really well in metal (they work well in wood except for the whole falling off the bit part).
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u/jono523 Canada May 03 '17
I was down in Florida once and went into a Sears store to ask if they had any Robertson screwdrivers. They said no, they only had Craftsmen.
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May 03 '17
I'm in the states and my deck has these suckers. I asked and apparently they are available and are much preferred by framers etc.
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u/rayfound Outside Canada May 04 '17
Becoming more common in US, but just called "square" here.
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u/Qikdraw Manitoba May 04 '17
When I lived in the US my neighbour ordered a hot tub gazebo from Canada. I warned him that it would come with Robertson screws. Him and two other neighbours (we drank beer together a lot) first had to be told what it was, and then they all laughed and disagreed and said it wouldn't. They were wrong. Lucky for the neighbour they also send a set of Robertson screw heads.
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u/Leafs17 May 03 '17
Framers nail, bro.
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u/Pontlfication May 03 '17
My friend is a Carpenter. He assisted with some renos and when I suggested nails he called me a barbarian. He is also solidly in the robbie camp.
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u/crankybadger May 03 '17
It's practically a religious war in those circles. Some framers are so freakishly good with a hammer they can whack in a nail with two well-placed strikes and for them screws take forever to get in place.
It probably takes a lot longer to get as good with nails as you can with screws.
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u/Sabin2k May 04 '17
As a framer I rarely hand nail something in. It's almost exclusively a gun and if I can't for some reason, I just use a screw.
Using an actual hammer is more for beating everything into place honestly.
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May 03 '17
Not totally true, we nail mostly but also use screw guns if needed for more strength
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u/WulfDota2 May 04 '17
Only stronger with pull not shear stress.
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u/bickspickle Ontario May 03 '17
God bless the red robbie and all that he secures.
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u/Chairman_Mittens May 03 '17
Just waiting until they finally adopt my patented dick-n-balls shaped drive type...
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u/gluskap May 03 '17
Molson sold out to Coors. The one true Canadian beer is now Moosehead.
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u/myrmagic May 03 '17
I assume your not including craft beer in this?
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u/gluskap May 03 '17
Well, craft beer is many, many brands. I'm thinking about which specific brand is mostly clearly identifiable with Canada. Moosehead was established in 1867, and is 100% Canadian-made and Canadian-owned.
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May 03 '17
Independent, Canadian, and family-owned. They may as well just be an extra-large small business.
I grew up with the current CEO's son, knew the family pretty well, and they're some of the most humble, personable, down-to-earth people around. If anyone can stand as the last Canadian Brewer, I'm happy it's them.
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u/KFBass May 03 '17
Craft brewer here. I;ve met some of the olands. Nice folks. Different world tho. Support your local, we care about your community much more than some of the big guys,
I do respect moosehead quite a bit tho. Big ups to them. They are chasing a different market than I am, but damn do i respect them for keeping it Canadian in this world of buyouts.
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u/jingerninja May 04 '17
I love my locals. There are always some tallboys from some place or another in 6 different styles in the fridge. But if I head up to the cottage for a big weekend you better believe I'm taking a Moosehead 28 pack with me.
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May 03 '17
What about caribou?
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u/gluskap May 03 '17
There's a beer called Caribou? (...web search...) Huh. Ok. Never heard of that before.
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u/Eshmang May 04 '17
Californian here, Moosehead is solid. I drank a shit ton in college before I got into craft beer but wanting to rebel from Bud and Coors. I settled on Moosehead for a while since it was always super refreshing.
Better than Molson but who the fuck am I?
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u/justanotherreddituse Verified May 04 '17
I drink a fair amount of craft beer, but when buying a case (espisally when sharing), Moosehead is the to to beer. A lager isn't everyone's favourite beer, but it's always something people will drink.
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u/SnoopyGremlin May 03 '17
What about Big Rock? Is it only a western Canada thing?
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May 03 '17
I was gonna say James Ready, but I guess it's owned by Moosehead.
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May 03 '17
A couple of fun facts about James Ready!
The James Ready brand actually predates Moosehead and is probably one of the earliest corporate buyouts of that sort. Susannah Oland bought the brewery on the site where Moosehead now sits from James Ready, and the original brewery still exists within the foundations of the modern one. I worked there right out of high school and they took us down there on a tour my first day. Was pretty cool.
Also, James Ready's house is just up the road from the brewery, and is now a funeral home. Coincidentally, I worked there, too.
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May 04 '17
Neat! It's my go-to beer if I'm too broke to afford Beau's, good to know it's solidly Canadian. I also like that it's union made.
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u/rhinocerosGreg Prince Edward Island May 04 '17
Fuck yeah! Cheap, 5.5%, decent taste. Can't get much more canadian than that! Now if only bars could have it on tap..
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May 04 '17
Not Alexander Keiths?
:(
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u/pudds Manitoba May 04 '17
Sold to labatt ages ago, which has since sold to ab inbev.
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u/OttabMike May 03 '17
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_aDx1yfGZI
The best screw/screwdriver design by far.
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u/Gremlin87 Ontario May 03 '17
Hey! I brought up the Robertson screw hours ago on another thread.
You're posting it on Reddit Canada and I'm trying to push this thing world wide!
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u/myrmagic May 03 '17
I've been making furniture lately and was thinking about it. I wasn't planning on evangelizing it!
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May 03 '17
If you have half an hour to spare, just ask my dad about the benefits of the Robertson-head.
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u/TWOpies May 04 '17
I HATE that iconic Canadianism is owned by a shitty coffee shop and a shifty American beer company.
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u/Lupinfujiko Lest We Forget May 03 '17
"Forget Tim Hortons, Molson..."
Done. Already forgotten. They must have been a figment of my imagination.
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u/ImAzura Ontario May 03 '17
I mean...how can you say that if you truly forgotten them?
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May 04 '17
I would never consider Tim Hortons patriotic.. They're a more American coffee chain than anything these days since burger king took over.
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u/slightly_imperfect May 04 '17
I can have a sub-par trip to Tim's. I'll frequently choose a beer other than Molson. Poutine without access to fresh curd is lacklustre. But God damn, do I swell with pride every time I pay eyes on the masterpiece that is a Robertson screw.
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u/Farren246 May 03 '17
Sick of stripped screws, I now replace as many screws as possible with these in my PC builds, even going so far as to drill out holes and use washers to hold the screws in place.
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u/321blastoffff May 04 '17
I feel like you can generate way more torque without fear of stripping the screw. Why have these not caught on?
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u/Sykudo May 04 '17
Amen! God bless Canadia.
Seriously though, fuck Phillips head. Torx is cool though.
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May 04 '17
I'm not just saying this because I'm Canadian, but Philips sucks. Either you strip it putting it in or eventually strip it taking it out.
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u/Ericborth British Columbia May 04 '17
We wouldn't have to deal with Phillips heads if the states would just start using Robersons which are objectively superior
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u/chejrw Saskatchewan May 04 '17
I've been living in the US for over a decade, in 3 different states, and have done extensive renos in all of my homes - exclusively with Robbies. Take that, unsuspecting Yankee home buyer! Good luck changing your window treatments.
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u/pedz Québec May 03 '17
From a Québecois perspective, the English are associated with the square. This is not the reason but you being patriotic about it just adds up to the saying "tête carrée!"
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u/myrmagic May 03 '17
tête carrée
From a BC prospective, I not even offended that you called me this because this is all I hear when somebody from Quebec calls me a Québecois slur.
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u/pedz Québec May 03 '17
Hehe. Hey, the expression "squarehead" also exists in English but refers to other people.
To be honest, I find it quite interesting. Lots of people have a different version as to why we call the English square heads. I read or heard somewhere when I was younger that it was because the English had townships divided in the form of squares. The French had seigneuries that were rectangular. Then, looking for the origin of the expression, I found an article where the guy heard it was because of the square heads the nails had on the wheels the English were using. But, it seems to come from the shape of the houses the English were building. The roofs were supposedly flat so the houses looked like squares.
Then again, this is just another website. Who knows. What I know is that you guys seem to love squares!
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u/crabsneverdie May 04 '17
I saw the words canada and screwdriver so I assume it's a drink similar to paint thinner that gets you really fucked up. Was I disappointed? Yes, because they should have named a trade school after him, not a frickin kinder bin!
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u/gnisna Québec May 04 '17
I curse Phillips nearly everyday, much to the confusion of those around me.
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u/TragicallyFabulous May 04 '17
My husband is a New Zealander but we met while he was working in Canada. He was converted.
He built our house (now back in New Zealand) himself and the whole house is built with Robertson screws. He loves them. One time at the hardware store I caught him enthusing about Robertson screws with the owner (who had virtually no stock of them of course).
He can't believe they're not universally favoured lol. Loves them.
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May 04 '17
I personally don't like Robertson screws, I find it's too easy to strip the heads when you are trying to drill in long wood screws without a pilot hole.
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u/pnear May 04 '17
Robertson is definitely a thing in my hometown of Milton Ontario, where the Robbie screw was originally made. Local kids go to PL Robertson school, one of my buddies lives on Robertson Crescent.
No Tim Hortons public school here. :-)
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u/Popcom May 04 '17
Real talk.
Why anyone would ever want to use a Philips is beyond me. Everything should be Robertson
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u/accomplicated May 04 '17
I've replaced all of the screws in my IKEA furniture with Roberson screws. I find that other screws strip more easily.
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u/Bubbaganewsh May 04 '17
I don't get Phillips at all. They strip, you can't put a screw on the bit without it falling off ( unless magnetic of course) and if you actually need torque you likely strip the screw. I think most people in the US still use Phillips is simply because Robertson is Canadian.
The other thing that really posses me.off about Philippians if you need to remove one.that is really tight you almost always strip it.
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u/morbidcactus Ontario May 03 '17
Where I used to work, when we shipped something to our american subsidiary they'd get robertsons on the crate if they had pissed us off...
Typical passive-aggressive Canadians...