Robertson vs Phillips headed screws

[dfelsent]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

.......
And finally, I've often cursed the similarity between Phillips and Pozi-drive... I still can't tell them apart visually.

Jim

Pozidriv have these little extra hash marks between the slots.

Look on your Lewmar winch tops if you have a certain vintage.

At least we are mostly free from the JIS standard screws found in small sizes in electronics.

[svmariane]

Screw head types? Redefined: screw up my head types.

s/v Mariane was built in mainland China back in the late 80s. Everything below decks built by the mfr was Robertson. The motor/drive train had Imperial cross point screws or Imperial bolts. Above decks was all metric for installation, with the off-the-shelf items themselves being American with Phillips crews. Flexible tubing (black/grey water, bilge pumps) was metric; through hulls were US standard. Comms gear USA; WXR instruments British. And so forth.

So I was working on something one day and asked my wife to hand over a screwdrive. Told her what I needed and that it was RIGHT THERE in the green pouch. She dug for a bit, dumped the pouch out on the deck, rummaged around, and then soft-shoe-shuffled the mess to me and said "here you go".

We can agree on the speed of light; we can send people into Earth orbit; we can develop engineering plans to send people to Mars- but we can't agree on one type of screw head.

[Fortytwo]

Originally Posted by Mr B

I also prefer Allen key heads, Whether socket heads or counter sunk,
They dont fail in the slots like the Phillips heads do,
In Stainless or high tensile, They dont come loose either,

+1 for the hex drive style.

They don’t use Phillips or slotted/flat head on bolts...

[Jim Cate]

Another benefit of the Allen head: using a ball driver, one can operate them well off-axis, something none of the others can do (at least those with which I am familiar).

Jim

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Another benefit of the Allen head: using a ball driver, one can operate them well off-axis, something none of the others can do (at least those with which I am familiar).

Jim

There are "wobble" bits available in Phipps and Pozidrive variants that has roughly the same degree of "off-axiness" but then again the Allen head never really slips

[ttex]

Originally Posted by slug

Also application

Flat head screws. Are superior in application which paint over or fill in the screw head

I wish you would have told that to the PO of my boat. I must have drilled out dozens of Philips head screws with crap caked in them.

In fact I somewhat suspect the monster put epoxy over every single Philips screw head he ever saw in his life.

[cyan]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

Just about any decent drill has a clutch setting for limiting the torque. An experienced human wrist can also sense torque.

Any fastener design which relies on the threshold of damage to the screw-head or driver-bit to limit torque is arguably inferior.

Meh. The initial clutch setting is typically a guess, and I'm really good at that guess. Not so much for my helpers. They sometimes over-torque, especially when switching back and forth from drilling to screw diving. A Phillips head or bit is rarely damaged when serving as crude torque-limit with a cordless drill in my experience.
Now, hand-turning, sure- I'll take Robertson please.

[S/V Adeline]

I prefer torx wherever I can use them. Anyone in the U.S. who has had a camper, rv, mobile/manufactured home from 1960's onward should be intimately familiar with Robertson head screws, especially in prefabricated cabinets. I have turned 5in rob screws out of some of the prefab units.

[Marathon1150]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I prefer Robertson, although Phillips is usually fine most of the time. But there is a special place in Hell reserved for the creator of the slotted head, and to any manufacturer who uses these damnable things .

When we had the standing rigging on our boat replaced the first time about 12 years ago, the riggers used slotted screws for some of the fittings that we added. I questioned their use because I hate them and was told that in their view, they are easier to repair when damaged. I believed them at the time but now believe that pretty much any screw head can be turned into a slotted version if damaged. And until a Robertson or Phillips screw is damaged and needs to be rebuilt, it is much easier and more dependable to use than a slotted head.

So I agree.

[CaptTom]

This debate could get more interesting than anchor types!

I saw that video earlier, and it was fascinating. It does help to make sense of the current mess of options.

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I prefer Robertson, although Phillips is usually fine most of the time. But there is a special place in Hell reserved for the creator of the slotted head, and to any manufacturer who uses these damnable things .

My PO is destined for that special place you mentioned. Old slot-head (as I affectionately call him) has caused me to utter many bad words, trying to remove all the slotted screws he used. They are all immediately consigned to the deep.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by cyan

A Phillips head or bit is rarely damaged when serving as crude torque-limit with a cordless drill in my experience.

I find that my Phillips bits wear out the fastest, so that spinning out has consequences, even in (semi-)skilled hands. But yeah, if a screw isn't going to be worked regularly, one or two spinouts won't destroy it. Now, THREE spinouts...

Originally Posted by Marathon1150

When we had the standing rigging on our boat replaced the first time about 12 years ago, the riggers used slotted screws for some of the fittings that we added. I questioned their use because I hate them and was told that in their view, they are easier to repair when damaged. I believed them at the time but now believe that pretty much any screw head can be turned into a slotted version if damaged.

Yes, as a last resort one can use a Dremel tool with a small wheel to cut a slot into almost any screw/bolt head.

[libspero]

I think in the grand scheme of things, I’ve had far more trouble with poor/cheap screw material than with the design of the driver head itself.

Screws made out of Swiss cheese turn into a swarf filled mess regardless the design. That’s probably why many here prefer newer proprietary designs.. they are probably made in fewer factories with stricter quality controls compared to their generic brothers and sisters of questionable lineage.

[sanibel sailor]

Only one mention of the nightmare of Whitworth.

I have heard that many of our "Phillips" have actually been replaced by JIS, a slight refinement..

[captmikem]

I have started using these.. "Dual-Torq Drive" they take either Phillips or Robertson drive.

pretty handy!

M

[Steve DAntonio]

Originally Posted by slug

And many of those fasteners that look like philips and not

They are pozidriv

Be alert

Agreed, my British car uses PoziDrive, you can tell them apart because the PD has a small X transposed across the drive X.