Where does the term "Fillister" (as in Fillister Head") comes from?

[poly.de]

Hi,

I couldn't find a better fitting category, so I put it here:

Does anyone know where the term "Fillister" (as in Fillister Head) comes from?

I searched the web, but to no avail.

Any answer would be greatly appreciated!

poly

 

[dalmatiangirl61]

I think it might be covered here Robertson, Phillips, and the History of the Screwdriver - YouTube

 

[Illinoyance]

I can add to the confusion. There is a woodworking tool, a large molding plane, called a moving fillister.

 

[Rudd]

the video just discusses screwdriver types - slotted, robertson, and philips.
Fillister is an old word that can mean a slot or groove. I've never seen anything but slotted fillisters (a.k.a. "Cheese head screw" but there are lots of slotted head screws that are not called "fillister head". It strikes me that almost every fillister I have encountered has been in a counterbored hole - but a counterbore is not a slot....
good question.

 

[Kevin T]

All I know is that a good Pan Head Screw can be turned down to make one!

 

[Metalurgent]

Probably has something to do with a guide, or fence attached to a tool.
From my woodworking days, a rebate or shoulder plane fitted with a fixed fence became a fillister plane. If the fence was adjustable, it was a moving fillister plane.
As for the actual word...? Dunno, but curious too..

 

[Metalurgent]

Actually more likely to be the edge detail that the plane made, fillet being a cutout, or applied edge detail.
So Fillister =Fillets-maker?

 

[Mechanola]

Possible that fillister stems from Philister. That people was known for its developed fighting. A Philister screw head can be understood as a fortified one, higher than a pan or a dome head. My 2 shekel

 

[jmm03]

the filister screw was actually invented in 1897 by Sir George Filister who was knighted for his valuable contribution to the already overcrowded alternative fastener department at the Whitworth company.

 

[ramsay1]

Interesting that there are two types : "fillister head machine screws" and "fillister head cap screws", according to Colvin and Stanley.... Cheers; Ramsay 1

 

[Georgineer]

I am familiar with fillister planes - I have a wooden one which I occasionally use - but I think that the term fillister when applied to screws must be a US usage, as I have never come across it in the UK (notwithstanding JMM03's flight of fancy)

An image search with Duckduckgo indicates that it is probably what I would call a raised cheesehead. However, the image search also throws up almost every other imaginable combination of head shape and drive style, which leads me to suspect that a lot of people don't know what it is but use the term anyway.

George

 

[reggie_obe]

Can't comment on the origin of the head style, but we sold tens of thousands to the aerospace industry with the heads cross drilled for safety wires.

 

[Doozer]

I prefer the brazier head screws.

-D

 

[Scottl]

Just a guess here but I believe the Fillister head screw was developed as a high strength clamping screw that functioned in a similar role to the more modern hex cap screw and is probably why they were commonly found on industrial machinery, firearms, and eventually motorcycles. The thicker head is more resistant to flexing under heavy load and the small diameter concentrates clamping force and allows them to be used in counterbores.

 

[dalmatiangirl61]

the video just discusses screwdriver types - slotted, robertson, and philips.
Fillister is an old word that can mean a slot or groove. I've never seen anything but slotted fillisters (a.k.a. "Cheese head screw" but there are lots of slotted head screws that are not called "fillister head". It strikes me that almost every fillister I have encountered has been in a counterbored hole - but a counterbore is not a slot....
good question.

I watched it again last night, while Robertson and Phillips were the main subject, there were several other designs mentioned, and it seems they were all named after the inventor. My guess is a Mr Fillister designed the Fillister screw, maybe there is a way to search the patent archives and find that name.

 

[poly.de]

First, thanks a lot for all your input! I hadn't expected to get so many replies.

As to the Sir George Filister jmm03 mentioned: Have you got any source for this?

I checked with the Shaw, William Arthur et. al.: The Knights of England. Sherratt and Hughes, London, 1906.

There is no Fillister, Filister, Phillister or Philister in the index.

But maybe it was only a good joke regarding all the threads Whitworth invented.

What I did find out in the meantime: It seems to be that the term fillister was used some time ago to denote a kind of grove in a metal or wooden object:

Collins states: a rabbet or groove, esp. one in a window sash bar for a pane of glass.

And Wiki yields two results:

- In "18 Warriors of Sui-Tang Period": ... The Tilu Spear was a long spear with a fillister near the spearpoint. When enemies were hit by the Tilu Spear, their blood would come out quickly through the fillister which might lead them to die...

- In "Hobe Fort": The sub-wall next to the barbette has a row of shell-shaped fillisters used for shell stockpiles.

Both the Wiki-entries relate to things Chinese. So maybe both texts were written by sinologists using a dictionary which was prepared centuries ago by a Portuguese or Italian monk.

But in Italian, Portuguese and Latin I could only find words with one "l" and pointing to our Philsters.

...so the mystery remains...

Have a nice weekend!

poly

 

[Leg17]

I think the wood planes are spelled FILLITSTER

 

[JohnMartin]

I think the wood planes are spelled FILLITSTER

Usually spelled FILLETSTER.

 

[beege]

I've surmised that since the woodworking tool is a rabbet plane (primarily for window sashes) that a fillister screw is one that fits in the groove created by the rabbet plane.

And my wife's BS meter hits the red zone.

 

[SIP6A]

I would say that it is a family name.