I am constantly having to drive in screw or unscrew one. This happens all over. Yesterday I was up on a ladder putting in a light fixture on the ceiling of my shop, but I could have been under the house in the depth of the crawlspace dealing with the plumbing, or out working on some minor problem with the truck, but wherever I am, if the task requires a screwdriver, I inevitably have taken the wrong one along with me, and have to go find the right one.
In most of the world there are usually just two choices; a regular flat bladed one (on the left), or the Phillips (in the center). I didn’t realize until I moved to Canada that there is also a third type, the Robertson (on the right). So I have three to deal with, and of course all three come in various sizes, which further complicate my life.
Robertson screws are very common in Canada. They are the easiest to screw because normally the screw will stick on the tip of the Robertson screwdriver so you only need one hand to position the screw, and the Robertson screwdriver isn’t prone to slip or strip the screw head when being driven.
If the Robertson screw is so good, you might wonder why it isn’t used more widely in the world. It is because, Robertson the Canadian inventor, refused to expand his invention out of Canada after being stung when he tried to manufacture in Britain.
Anyway, in my world there are these three types of screws (there are several other kinds, but I generally don’t have to deal with them) and I always have the wrong screwdriver along with me, and have to interrupt my work flow to go and get the correct screwdriver to continue the job.
If you want to know more about the history of the screw, I found this interesting video:
No comments:
Post a Comment