Wood Screws

[fried1765]

Me too. Robertson is pretty much all I use.

I just sold my Summer home in Nova Scotia.
Had never even heard of Robertson screws (I am from the US) when I started building there in 2004.
Used stainless Robertson screws on the big ocean front deck, and Robertson elsewhere as well.
Probably won't be going back to Canada anytime soon (I am 78), but I brought back quite a few pounds (liters??...Ha Ha) of Robertson screws, because I love them, and they are difficult to find in the USA.

 

[GeneD14]

I have used the "Robertson" or square drive screws for many years. There is a mail order company called McFeely's that sells wood screws and machine threaded screws that are all square drive. The last 2 residential electrical panels that I installed utilize square drive to hold in the breakers and wire clamps. I used to trim houses and hang doors and cabinets for a living and I think that square drive is where it's at! Here is the square drive online resource: Screws, Tools & More | McFeely's

 

[downsizingnow48]

I get all my square drive screws at McFeely's too. The quality of the screws and their impact drivers bits has always been tops. Hope it stays that way.

 

[GLyford]

I like the coated deck screws, especially since I am always messing with PT wood for things like fences, not just decks. Regardless of philips or torx, I really like the newer ones with the groove on the tip that cut as they go in. So much easier to start and drive.

Around here, the only robertson I regularly see is in stainless, and as mentioned they are bad for stripping out since stainless is soft. Build a picnic table with them, and some years later when I redecked the top I cut the board around them and cut them flush with a grinder. Put on composite, the coated composite screws that replaced them were much nicer to use.

The quadrex/pozisquare/deckmate phillips/square combo was nice on deck screws, but they only lasted a few years before deck screws switched to torx. I keep a bit or two around just to fix stuff I built with them.

 

[downsizingnow48]

I've done two decks with McFeely's stainless steel square drive screws, total of about 6000 screws. 3-1/2". In all that I had zero heads strip. I had a few break when I ran into something hard. I think some stainless steel screws are better than others. And it is important to use a good impact bit.