Square drive tool?
- Thread starter chris142
- Start date
its Roberston # 2 or red
Wrench97
Well-known member
Home Depot's Milwaukee screw driver sets used to come with them, there is also a 8 point version the 4 point Robertson tips work in.
mobiledynamics
Well-known member
If within availability, I would buy #2 square drive tip, robertson bits....
It is night/day Difference IMO than any generic #2 tip !
It is night/day Difference IMO than any generic #2 tip !
BlakeTheCarGuy
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Yep Robertson Square I found the drivers for them at the hardware store
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JR 42
Well-known member
Uh, holy ****. Canadians love square drive Robertson stuff (it was invented there), and Americans love Phillips stuff (it was invented here). Square drive is more and more common in the US- I've run across 1, 2, 3 square regularly in the last 15 years in all sorts of applications, mostly wood screws.
Yes, it was Canadian born , I cannot figure out why it never caught on in US.
KnurledNut
Well-known member
Looks like possibly either a R3 or R4.
jeepinerdeep
Well-known member
JR 42
Well-known member
I'll take American chauvinism and industrial inertia for $400, Alex.
It's much better than Phillips for wood screws IMO, as long as nobody's painted over the hardware. For camming out of primitive power drivers on an ancient Ford assembly line, I'm less certain.
great!
I agree. phillips are easier to get the paint out than a robertson . Think door hinges with ten coats of paint on them
Miss the Pontiacs
Well-known member
True. But cam out problems are virtually done away with.
I worked for 30 plus years in Subsidized housing fixing & repairing, renovating etc to get the units back into rentable condition. I would gladly take removal of a door hinge with phillips screws full of paint over a robertson screw full of paint in most cases . if the phillips was cammed out on install, it was a different story of course
JR 42
Well-known member
Yep, that. Slotted heads are easiest, just two dragging swipes with the corners of the screwdriver and you're good to go.... but they're worse for every other possible use of a screw (except historical accuracy, I guess... progress comes slowly!).
harley jim
Well-known member
I used to rebuild 47 to 54 chevy trucks and they had lots of Robertson screws.
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You sure those were not clutch head screws? CH is what my old Chevys used.
lg
no neat sig line
Qualitytools
Well-known member
So let me try and figure all this out. Is the Robertson drive the same as the "square drive" head screws? Is Robertson the proper name rather than square drive? Just trying to follow and learn something new. Thanks for sharing the knowledge 
JR 42
Well-known member
Sorry man, I gotta repeat the holy ****- I'm honestly stunned that this is new info. 
Yes indeed, Robertson is square drive, one and the same. It's been around just about forever. I have Canadian- made Robertson square drive screwdrivers (company's still around IIRC), and Cman, and S-K, and probably some others. I'm working through a large pile of square drive trim screws, they're #1 square IIRC and way better than a small Phillips head- the bit stays engaged until the screw is at the right depth without throwing all my body weight and prayers into it.
GJ lore has it that the better Robertson bits are formed from two pieces of steel. I'll try to find a pic and edit it in...
ETA - Pic attached, hope it helps make sense of what I'm getting at/ blathering about. It's a bit sold by McFeely's, which I've read is a great place to buy square drive screws and whatnot, but I've got no personal experience- my trim screw pile are all Swanson I think. I've got some similarly- constructed bits I bought from Cripe several years ago (Poulan? Poulson? don't recall exactly, same construction as the pic, Canadian- made).
Link to that #3 bit, mentions its construction-
https://www.mcfeelys.com/3-x-2-in-c...-bit-silver-gray-buy-10-and-save-hx-0320.html
Yes indeed, Robertson is square drive, one and the same. It's been around just about forever. I have Canadian- made Robertson square drive screwdrivers (company's still around IIRC), and Cman, and S-K, and probably some others. I'm working through a large pile of square drive trim screws, they're #1 square IIRC and way better than a small Phillips head- the bit stays engaged until the screw is at the right depth without throwing all my body weight and prayers into it.
GJ lore has it that the better Robertson bits are formed from two pieces of steel. I'll try to find a pic and edit it in...
ETA - Pic attached, hope it helps make sense of what I'm getting at/ blathering about. It's a bit sold by McFeely's, which I've read is a great place to buy square drive screws and whatnot, but I've got no personal experience- my trim screw pile are all Swanson I think. I've got some similarly- constructed bits I bought from Cripe several years ago (Poulan? Poulson? don't recall exactly, same construction as the pic, Canadian- made).
Link to that #3 bit, mentions its construction-
https://www.mcfeelys.com/3-x-2-in-c...-bit-silver-gray-buy-10-and-save-hx-0320.html
Attachments
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WittHay
Well-known member
Scrulux, square or Robertson are similar. A true Robertson driver and screw has a slight taper to it. Most of the Canadian made drivers were a two piece design like the Craftsman and Fuller in the 2nd picture. Snap-on makes a set with the good hard handles and proper color coding but the tips are square instead of the slight taper
Attachments
seber
Well-known member
Not many people would think phillips is as good as robertson but the cost difference is more than substantial. I don't know what they cost in Canada but in the US the added cost is more than enough to keep them off the market. RV manufacturers use them exclusively, but that is because the time they save on assembly justifies the cost.
mobiledynamics
Well-known member
The Robertson is -not- like anything just tagged square drive.
Not sure if it's patented or licensed, but the taper on the head in night and day difference in engagement, in or out, than with a flush straight square head...
Not sure if it's patented or licensed, but the taper on the head in night and day difference in engagement, in or out, than with a flush straight square head...
Qualitytools
Well-known member
Sorry man, I gotta repeat the holy ****- I'm honestly stunned that this is new info.
Yes indeed, Robertson is square drive, one and the same. It's been around just about forever. I have Canadian- made Robertson square drive screwdrivers (company's still around IIRC), and Cman, and S-K, and probably some others. I'm working through a large pile of square drive trim screws, they're #1 square IIRC and way better than a small Phillips head- the bit stays engaged until the screw is at the right depth without throwing all my body weight and prayers into it.
GJ lore has it that the better Robertson bits are formed from two pieces of steel. I'll try to find a pic and edit it in...
ETA - Pic attached, hope it helps make sense of what I'm getting at/ blathering about. It's a bit sold by McFeely's, which I've read is a great place to buy square drive screws and whatnot, but I've got no personal experience- my trim screw pile are all Swanson I think. I've got some similarly- constructed bits I bought from Cripe several years ago (Poulan? Poulson? don't recall exactly, same construction as the pic, Canadian- made).
Link to that #3 bit, mentions its construction-
https://www.mcfeelys.com/3-x-2-in-c...-bit-silver-gray-buy-10-and-save-hx-0320.html
Thanks for taking the time to expand and reply. Much appreciated! Always learning from this forum, I love it!!
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JR 42
Well-known member
That's a good point. I try to buy good bits and drivers, so I haven't had any issues with cheap tips (and 99% of my square drive exposure is wood screws, not usually really demanding).
I've attached a couple lousy pics of those Cripe Canadian bits, a US made 1 and 2 bit (Allen brand, I think), and an SK (Facom era) no. 1- they're all tapered to some degree (haha!).
The last pic is the SK holding a stainless trim screw point down (I haven't used the driver much, so the corners are still sharp).
Attachments
When I bought my enclosed trailer it had (still does) alot of the 8 point version. I was going crazy trying to find an 8 sided bit for them. Then I asked a buddy ( who has had many enclosed trailers) and he said to use a square bit.
I kinda looked at one of the screw heads and thought, man what a ******* I was for not catching that.
Semi-hole mechanic
Well-known member
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- Feb 2, 2017
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Growing up, my parents had a pop-up camper ('76) that had all square headed screws in it. Dad kept a square head srew driver in the "junk" drawer in the trailer. Didn't really see them anywhere else until a few years ago.
When I bought my enclosed trailer it had (still does) alot of the 8 point version. I was going crazy trying to find an 8 sided bit for them. Then I asked a buddy ( who has had many enclosed trailers) and he said to use a square bit.
I kinda looked at one of the screw heads and thought, man what a ******* I was for not catching that.
Been there......
harley jim
Well-known member
Yes they had clutch screws.
It's tough getting old.
Back in the 70s I worked for an RV dealership and the campers had them, I was going through my screwdriver drawer today and saw the red handle in the back corner. Been in there 45 years.
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neophyte
Well-known member
There’s a company called McFeely’s that used to be called McFeely’s Square Drive, because one of the main products they sold were square drive screws https://www.mcfeelys.com/.
RTM
Well-known member
Thanks for clarifying. I was pretty sure Robertson bits were different, thought McFeelys used to push that. I couldn’t find a reference, so figure I’d let an expert chip in.