[pianotech] Robertson screws, was Un-Grand revisited

[Delwin D Fandrich]

If I recall my history right Phillips never did produce the screws he
invented. He only licensed the patents out for others to make.

ddf

Delwin D Fandrich
Piano Design & Fabrication
6939 Foothill Court SW, Olympia, Washington 98512 USA
Phone  360.515.0119 — Cell  360.388.6525
del at fandrichpiano.com — ddfandrich at gmail.com


-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Jurgen Goering
Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2011 8:21 PM
To: pianotech
Subject: [pianotech] Robertson screws, was Un-Grand revisited

The Robertson story is an interesting one. The 20 second version:
Robertson was a Canadian who patented a square socket drive screw.  It was
and still is a remarkable screw for many reasons.   He negotiated with Henry
Ford about having the screws used in automobiles.  Robertson was a bit of a
strange man, wanting to be in control.  He wanted to manufacture and sell
his screws; Henry Ford wanted to produce them under license.  The two could
not agree.  Henry Phillips was more astute and willing to license out the
manufacture of his screw, to Ford and others around the world.  The rest is
history. Robertson made a living, Phillips presumably got enormously
wealthy.  Canada (and Canadian piano manufacture until its demise) has
enjoyed the advantages of Robertson screws for over 100 years now, they are
the most common screws in hardware stores here. ONly in recent years have
legal barriers fallen, allowing Robertson screws to move into other markets
such as the US, where boat builders and other "fastener freaks" had been
importing them for a long time .
Jurgen Goering
Piano Forte