Why Are Phillips Heads So Often Used For Building Fasteners?

You will find a huge variety of building fasteners in the hardware stores today. Different coatings, materials and sizes are easy to spot and simple to choose from. But you’ll also find different fastener heads including square (or Robertson, a close relative), slot, torx and Phillips. Each of these driving methods has benefits, but you’ll find that some are more common than others.

                                                                                                        

Where Did These Different Types Come From?

Robertson or square head screws and hardware have been around for over a century and had the run of the market until around 1930. It was then that the automobile industry was expanding and assembly line fasteners were being introduced for their speed and strength under pressure. Henry Phillips stepped into the scene with his cross-shaped design that turned the fastener world upside down.

Suddenly fasteners equipped with this head could handle greater torque and be more tightly fastened. This fit the bill with assembly lines and soon the Phillips head fasteners were showing up more and more in many different places.

What About For Building Fasteners?

Phillips head fasteners are great for automobile plants and assembly lines, but will they add value to the construction site? Contractors soon found out the fasteners were perfect for framing, drywall and a myriad of other applications. It all had to do with the benefits that the cross grooved-shape delivered.

With a cross the driver or tool used to tighten the screw is contacting the fastener in more places. That means the pressure from that driver is disbursed and wear on the screw itself is less (as is wear of the tools). The chance of a stripped screw is also drastically reduced with Phillips screws are used.

Not only is wear less of an issue, but Phillips head fasteners do not slip as much as slots or squares do. Torx heads go even further by offering a six-pointed groove, but the tools are less commonly found for that type. Cutting down on slipping during installation means that Phillips screws go in faster. And when you can work faster the profits are higher and the customers are happier.

Phillips heads are so often used on building fasteners because they cut down on wear and are installed easily with speed and using common tools. Three good reasons to use a good fastener head on your jobsite.