who uses slotted screws...

[Charlie Plesums]

The primary reason I use a screw for other than hardware is in something that may need to be adjusted or repaced... such as wooden drawer runners. Although I prefer square, I try to use the dual square/phillips because the people who buy my furniture would be lucky to have a phillips driver - no chance of square driver around here.

[Dave Falkenstein]

I had my coffee can of miscellaneous wood screws out for some reason the other day, and I decided it was time to get rid of those pesky slotted screws. I think I tossed half the can. Made me feel good too!

[Lee Schierer]

I use mostly philips type screws except for the pocket hole screws which only come in a square drive.

It seems to me that my Dad told me once that what we affectionately call Philips screws were originally Robertson screws that were invented in Canada. The Philips company apparently copied the design and took over the market here in the states so the screws came to be known as philips head screws. This was all many years ago so my recolection could be in error.

[Barry O'Mahony]

Although I prefer square, I try to use the dual square/phillips because the people who buy my furniture would be lucky to have a phillips driver - no chance of square driver around here.

LOL!, You must be talking about my sister-in-law and her family. We visitied there a couple of Christmas's ago; they took advantage of the presence of relatives with a pickup truck to make a trip to Ikea (I know, I know). My niece bought one of those cheap knock-down dressers (is there any other kind at Ikea?). When They got it home, the niece says "Mom, when are you going to call the handyman to come put this together?"

What? You're going to hire someone to assemble this? Doesn't that mess up the whole point of going to Ikea in the first place?

It was simply beyond the experience of anyone in that household to use a screwdriver and a small hammer.

Yea, I put it together for here before we left. Reminded myself to tell my daughter that if she ever marries an attorney, at least get one that owns a tool box.

[Bruce Haugen]

I use Torx almost exclusively. They are much tougher than drywall screws and are as easy to drive as Robertsons. However, I will use Robertsons when I can find them.

Bruce

[Ken Salisbury]

The last time I used a slotted screw was in 1946 (approx) when helping my Grandfather repair an old farm wagon in his shop .

[Carl Eyman]

Lee: I may be able to add an anecdote to your observation. The Phillips Company was a screw machine company around Brockto MA. My wife and I used to drive past it on our way to her parents' house in Sharon MA For those not familiar with automatic screw machines they have almost nothing to do with screws, but are small metal turning lathes to make small parts capable of being made on a lathe. A finial that holds on a lamp shade would be an example of what they could make. I mentioned it to my FIL one day and he said they had the patent on the Phillips Head Screw, but never were able to do much with it. People waited until the patent ran out and produced them at will. He showed me a cardboard box that looked very 1930ish with a wooden handled Phillips screwdriver and an assortment of screws. He was a general contractor for upscale residential construction. They had sent out this kit to introduce the trade to Phillips screws. I guess their marketing department needed some tweaking.

[Bruce Haugen]

I saw a thing just the other day on the History Channel on the history of the Ford Motor Co. Apparently, the Robertson screw came first, then the Phillips. What happened was that the Robertson inventor approached Henry Ford. Ford acknowledged the superiority of the square drive for production work, but Robertson wanted too much (according to Ford) for the rights to use it. He went with the alternative. The rest is history, as it were.

Bruce

[Frank Pellow]

...
Reminded myself to tell my daughter that if she ever marries an attorney, at least get one that owns a tool box.

Barry, you can solve that problem by getting your daughter her own tool box. I put together tool boxes with good tools for my daughters and gave then to them on their 18th birthdays. Of course, by then, they had already been trained in the use of the tools. This gifts were a big hit and their friends all thought that the girls (and, by implication, their Dad) were "cool".

Both my daughters brought more woodworking tools and more woodworking and home repair skills to their marriages than either of their husbands.

[Frank Pellow]

...
It seems to me that my Dad told me once that what we affectionately call Philips screws were originally Robertson screws that were invented in Canada. The Philips company apparently copied the design and took over the market here in the states so the screws came to be known as philips head screws. This was all many years ago so my recolection could be in error.

I saw a thing just the other day on the History Channel on the history of the Ford Motor Co. Apparently, the Robertson screw came first, then the Phillips. What happened was that the Robertson inventor approached Henry Ford. Ford acknowledged the superiority of the square drive for production work, but Robertson wanted too much (according to Ford) for the rights to use it. He went with the alternative. The rest is history, as it were.

Bruce

Neither of these is entirely true.

Robertson screws have always been square drive and Philips did not get their design from Robertson.

Robertson screws were used in the Model A Ford.

See the overview at: http://www.mysteriesofcanada.com/Ont...son_screws.htm for the "real" story.

[Dale Thompson]

I'm with Tyler on THIS one! EGADS!! I have enough ways to wreck a project without using slotted head screws to enhance the massacre!!

Dale T.

[Rob Millard]

For the reproductions I make, slotted screws are the only way to go. I hand file the heads, and slot. I also heat them with a torch, and quench in salt water to age the screw.
Rob Millard

[Art Mulder]

Art, in a similar poll on Saw Mill Creek about a year ago, Robertson screws won hands down. ....
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=16848

Just thought I'd post a last comment, to bump this post up to the top, in case anyone wants a final look at the poll results.

Also, in part I have to confess that I used a slotted screw on the weekend ... I was replacing some electrical outlet trim covers. I don't think I've ever seen those with anything other than a slotted screw.

And I still dislike them. They fall off the screwdriver and roll away, the screwdriver slips out when driving them, and so on. Just think how much time electricians could save when wiring houses if these came with square heads, and would anyone really notice?

But I must say I'm curious about those poll results. We show about a 50% split on preference between Robertson and Phillips, yet Frank's poll of a year ago (in the link above) had a 70% preference for Robertson. Roughly the same number of people voted in each poll. One minor difference was that Frank's poll asked what you prefer, and my poll asked what you primarily use.

So there you go.

[Joe Spear]

McFeeley's has square-drive drywall screws. Why hasn't the Robertson screw penetrated the U.S. market? Inertia?

[tod evans]

McFeeley's has square-drive drywall screws. Why hasn't the Robertson screw penetrated the U.S. market? Inertia?

joe, i think the reason drywallers don`t use square drives is that screwguns are designed so that a phillips cams out when the preset depth is hit. robbersons don`t cam out well which is why most woodworkers love `em..02 tod