>From Wikipedia: Peter Lymburner Robertson (1879– September 28, 1951) was a Canadian inventor, industrialist, salesman, and philanthropist who popularized the square-socket drive for screws, often called the Robertson drive. Although a square-socket drive had been conceived decades before (having been patented in 1875 by one Allan Cummings of New York City, U.S. Patent 161,390), it had never been developed into a commercial success, because the design was difficult to manufacture, and Robertson's efficient manufacturing technique using cold forming for the screw's head is what made the idea a commercial success. He produced his screws (patented in Canada in 1909) in his Milton, Ontario factory starting in 1908. The brand has been sold over the years, and the manufacturing for the present corporation (Robertson Inc.) is done in Jiaxing, Zhejiang, China; but the Milton, Ontario, building is still a head office.
Robertson was born in 1879 in Seneca Township, Ontario. As a salesman for a Philadelphia tool company in eastern Canadian sales territories, he was demonstrating tools one day when his straight-bladed screwdriver slipped and cut his hand (a common mishap with the straight slot design). This prompted him to design a different drive for screws that would slip less, leading to his square-socket drive. Robertson headed the Robertson Screw Company until his death in 1951. The Fisher Body company which made the car bodies for the Ford Motor Company, was one of Robertson's first customers and used over 700 Robertson screws in its Model T car. Henry Ford, after finding that the screw saved him about 2 hours of work for each car, attempted to get an exclusive licence for the use and manufacture the Robertson screw in the US. He was turned down by Robertson who felt it was not in his best interest and shortly after that, Ford found that Henry F. Phillips had invented another kind of socket screw and had no such reservations. Although the Robertson screw is most popular in Canada, it is used extensively in boat building because it tends not to slip and damage material, it can be used with one hand, and it is much easier to remove/replace after weathering. On 8 November 2013 12:16, Indigo <ind...@thethomsons.us> wrote: > Was Robertson a Canadian? Perhaps the "not invented here" factor came into > play. I don't remember them being widely popular in the UK either > > > -- > Jonathan > Indigo C&C 35III > SOUTHPORT CT > > On Nov 8, 2013, at 11:07, Steve Thomas <sthom...@sympatico.ca> wrote: > > "common driver" > > Robertson head screws are common here. > Don't know why they never caught on in the States. > > Steve > > -----Original Message----- > *From:* CnC-List > [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com<cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com> > ]*On Behalf Of *Indigo > *Sent:* Friday, November 08, 2013 10:52 AM > *To:* cnc-list@cnc-list.com > *Subject:* Re: Stus-List Anchoring floorboards - was Re: floorboards > > If the objective is to be able to get the floorboards up quickly, I would > be very reluctant to use any fastening that can't be undone with a common > driver ( kept in my case in the top drawer of the chart table) or with no > tools at all > > My 2cents fwiw > > Jonathan > Indigo > > -- > Jonathan > Indigo C&C 35III > SOUTHPORT CT > > On Nov 8, 2013, at 8:05, Steve Thomas <sthom...@sympatico.ca> wrote: > > Robertson head screws are much less likely to deform so that you can't > remove them, so long as you don't use an undersize screwdriver. You are > less likely to have to resort to some sort of alternate extraction device > with Robertson head screws. They are way better than Phillips or slot heads > in transferring torque from the screwdriver to the screw. In my opinion > they are better in all applications except for assembly line work, where > speed of assembly is the overriding concern, and where the engineers don't > care if it is later difficult to remove them. The only thing I would do is > make sure that they are stainless or bronze, and check them once in a while > if you are concerned that they will fill up with dirt. That is not > something that is likely to happen quickly. > > Virtually every screw used to fasten anything that is connected to the > hull of my boat has required re-tightening at some time. There must be a > lot of flexing going on that is not obvious when actually sailing the boat. > > Steve Thomas > 1978 C&C MKIII > > -----Original Message----- > *From:* CnC-List > [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com<cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com> > ]*On Behalf Of *M Bod > *Sent:* Friday, November 08, 2013 7:11 AM > *To:* C&C list > *Subject:* Stus-List Anchoring floorboards - was Re: floorboards > > This discussion leads me to a question. > > Looking at the CS 30 I had a really tough time getting under the > floorboards - the Robertson head screws were full of dirt an it was very > difficult to get many of the screws out. > I had to use a little dental tool I'd brought with me to gouge the dirt > out of each hole to make space for the screwdriver head. > I'd hate to be trying to do that if I was in an emergency that > necessitated access! > > Any better suggestions? Would you just go with a slot screw? Any better > ideas - still seems to me you might be frantically trying to find a problem > and the sheer number of screws could be overwhelming. > > Mark > > > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > CnC-List@cnc-list.com > > > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > CnC-List@cnc-list.com > >
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