Do Detroiters shop for Robertson screws and screwdrivers in Canada?

**canuck** · October-25-10, 04:31 PM

Do any of you good folks in Detroit buy Robertson screws and drivers when in Canada?

checkraisej · October-25-10, 04:53 PM

Originally Posted by canuck

Do any of you good folks in Detroit buy Robertson screws and drivers when in Canada?

No. No we don't.

**n7hn** · October-25-10, 05:45 PM

not even dont we, we have no idea what this insinuates.....

**Meddle** · October-25-10, 05:56 PM

I can only remember two items we ever went to Canada to buy. Black Diamond White Cheddar cheese before it was available in the States and some pain pills known as 222's

Went over a few times for gasoline in the 70s when it was actually cheaper even with the bridge tolls and exchange rate.

**canuck** · October-26-10, 08:36 AM

I just found this bit on the web about the Robertson screws and why they are not availabale in the States;

Basically Robertson screws are square headed screws that were invented by a machinist in Ontario dealing with among other things, Auto manufacturers. The story is debated whether Henry Ford wanted sole rights in the US or whether he wanted to manufacture them himself whereby he could manage a more secure production for his assembly lines. Basically a robertson driver has more torque and strips less than a philips one. Philips became the norm in the States and although it is widely used in Canada, mechanics and carpenters hate using them because they are a waste of time. There are for instance no decking screws with philips heads in Canada that I know of. I did notice some american companies selling them, one is called McFeely's "The Square Drive Screw Authority".
Sounds like something a dirty old man would dream up but it aint.

http://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearne...rivers_in_the/

**Johnnny5** · October-26-10, 08:41 AM

If a Robertson Screw is just a screw with a square drive instead of a Phillips then there's no reason for any American to cross the border to find them

. They're widely available at most hardware stores here in the U.S. In fact I just bought a box a few weeks ago to replace the sub floor in my parents living room.

**1KielsonDrive** · October-26-10, 12:03 PM

Originally Posted by Meddle

I can only remember two items we ever went to Canada to buy. Black Diamond White Cheddar cheese before it was available in the States and some pain pills known as 222's

Went over a few times for gasoline in the 70s when it was actually cheaper even with the bridge tolls and exchange rate.

This was the plan: we'd drive our 4X4's over the bridge to University Mall on Huron-Church. One of us would gas up all tanks [[regular and auxiliary), while one would go into the Bank of Montreal, right next to the gas station, and exchange US for CA. We'd take the excess dollars and buy painkillers [[was it 222's, 333's or 666's?), and go to a bar, drink and eat the remaining difference. The painkillers we bought would be sold for a premium to women I worked with. They gladly paid the premium so they didn't have to make a special trip.

**1KielsonDrive** · October-26-10, 12:06 PM

We'd also gas our boats at the little A-Frame gas station and store on the canal in LaSalle just south of Sunnyside. This was also back in the late 70's. The difference in price between a US gallon and an Imperial gallon was considerable and worth the trip in both instances.

**canuck** · October-27-10, 09:49 AM

Funny because My parents would go down to Burlington Vermont for a day of shopping and gas up on the way back because gas was almost always cheaper in New York or Vermont. My mom would buy a whole lot of playing cards at K-Mart at 10/15cents and and sell them at her store for a half dollar which paid for the trip.

EastSider · October-27-10, 10:34 AM

We used to cross the border for not only the 222's [[also referred to as "Deux Deux Deux") but the Tylenol 3's. I refer to it my family's drug-smuggling days, but my mom doesn't find that funny.

We'd go to University Mall, hit up the drug store and always, always stop at some store downtown to look at the damn Hummel figurines. The trip was never complete without a stern admonishment when approaching the border, "Everybody shut up! Nobody but the driver talks!"

**1KielsonDrive** · October-27-10, 01:35 PM

[quote=EastSider;193509]We used to cross the border for not only the 222's [[also referred to as "Deux Deux Deux") but the Tylenol 3's. I refer to it my family's drug-smuggling days, but my mom doesn't find that funny.

We'd go to University Mall, hit up the drug store and always, always stop at some store downtown to look at the damn Hummel figurines. The trip was never complete without a stern admonishment when approaching the border, "Everybody shut up! Nobody but the driver talks!"[/quote]
Yup, you hit that one on the head.