• AtHeartEngineer@lemmy.world
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    8 days ago

    Square (Robertson) and/or torx depending on application. Square should be for everyday things and torx should be for anything mechanical, yes I know there is a big gray area in the middle there, but flat head, phillips, and hex need to go.

    • kronisk @lemmy.world
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      8 days ago

      Honest question, why not torx across the board? What do square do well that’s not covered by torx?

      • BarqsHasBite@lemmy.ca
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        7 days ago

        Robertson is tapered, so you just have to hit the hole somewhat and it’ll guide itself in real easy. Torx is fickle to line up and orientate.

      • AtHeartEngineer@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        The way I see it, anything with a square bit can be done by with a hand held screw driver, and anything with a torx bit should probably be torqued to a certain amount and/or be used with a screw gun. Square/Robertson bits are used super often in things like electrical panels and electronics. They are becoming pretty common for cabinetry also. I doubt you’ll see a torx screw in cabinets.

        • kronisk @lemmy.world
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          7 days ago

          Thank you for replying. Robertson screws are not common in Scandinavia - at least I’ve never seen one IRL. I use torx for everything, never had an issue with hand screwing them, which is why I asked. But I’m not an expert or professional, just a home owner that tries to DIY as much as I can.

          Not having to deal with stripped screws is the biggest plus for me, I hate having to remove a Philips or flathead screw that someone else put in some hard-to-reach location that can’t be turned without breaking. (Which happens surprisingly often, actually.)

    • blackris@discuss.tchncs.de
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      8 days ago

      I have never in my life seen such a screw. Hexagon is the shit here, when it isnt Phillips. Maybe coming from Ikea, I don’t know. Is this format a (popular) US thing?

      • AtHeartEngineer@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        Ya Ikea standardized on hex because it’s cheap to mass produce. It definitely strips though.

        Torx has slowly been gaining popularity in the US for a decade or two now, but sadly Phillips is still pretty popular and hex is pretty common also, you will see the square/Robertson screws a lot in electrical panels and in cabinetry but not super common at the hardware store.