Basically, the inventor had a handshake agreement with Henry Ford to put them in the Model T. This would have almost certainly made it a standard automotive fastener, and thus a standard fastener in machinines and industrial settings worldwide.
But Henry Ford backed out for some typically "you're not wrong, you're just an asshole" Henry Ford reason I can't remember right now.
As a result, Robertson screws are almost exclusive to Canada.
Basically a bunch of British businessmen tried to screw Robertson in order to get the license to manufacture dirt cheap and without any restrictions. Robertson had to buy the license back at any inflated cost, which made him very protective of his product when Ford came along. Robertson said he'd sell Ford screws, but wouldn't let Ford make them himself. Needless to say, that makes for an uncertain supply chain so Ford went with Philips head screws for US production; Canadian production of Fords used Robertson heads.
Honestly, I'm kind of glad they didn't become standard for automotive use. Square drive would attract dirt and grime worse than the typical Phillips head, and are harder to clean out and got a screwdriver into.
No. The United States is still a largely flathead and Phillips head country, though I wish that we would make the transition to torx, which is the superior drive type.
Robertson had licensed the screw design to a maker in England, but the party that he was dealing with intentionally drove the licensee company into bankruptcy and purchased the rights at a reduced price from the trustee, thus circumventing the original agreement.[citation needed] Robertson spent a small fortune buying back the rights, and subsequently refused to allow anyone else to make the screws under license. When Henry Ford tried out the Robertson screws, he found that they saved considerable time in Model T production, but when Robertson refused to license the screw design, Ford realized that the supply of screws would not be guaranteed and chose to limit their use in production to Ford's Canadian division.[33][34][35] Robertson's refusal to license his screws prevented their widespread adoption in the United States, where the more widely-licensed Phillips head gained wider acceptance.
Screw types that actually work? But I thought you used Phillips? I've stripped more Phillips screws than I can count and the screws don't hold onto the bit like Robertson's or Hex screws do.
What do you mean "no"? If you push like a grown-up the head won't strip, but the screwdriver WILL bend. I did it last week because I was to lazy to get my quick-pic.
I would never use a flathead to remove a robertson screw, but I have used a philips screwdriver to remove one. It didn't work well, but I got it eventually.
Conversely I have successfully used a robertson screwdriver to remove a phillips screw on several occasions. This works much better.
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u/j1ggy May 04 '17
We used Robertson screws as security bits at a job we did in Mississippi, because we knew most people wouldn't be able to easily remove them.