Hi,

End-of-the-year sorting through tools (yeah, I'm a few
weeks late : ).

Noticing a fair number of tools with magnetic tips, etc.
And, a few that have picked up some residual magnetism
over the years.

For the most part, this isn't a problem for me. I know
not to bring them near media, "heads", coils, etc. Often
the magnetism is a blessing (holding small screws in
place; keeping driver "tips"/bits from falling off; etc.)

I'm wondering if there are any un-obvious (obscure?)
cases where I might screw myself by using such a tool
when I *shouldn't*?

I guess these would fall into three rough categories:
- things that you can damage by introducing magnetism
(directly or indirectly -- e.g., bringing a magnet near
a guitar "pickup" while the guitar is connected to a
typical "crate" could result in an annoying "pop"/thud)
- things that you can disturb (e.g., leaving some residual
magnetism on a tape head)
- things that can surprise you
(the guitar pickup when the volume *isn't* loud enough
to damage the amplifier)
- things that can *hurt* you
(a tool being drawn to "someplace dangerous" by unexpected
magnetic attraction)

Perhaps the safest approach would be to demagnetize all your tools, then
temporarily magnetize them as needed. I was working on something just this
morning where I wished the screwdriver had been magnetized, but decided it
was too much trouble to do so.

You can buy little magnetizer/demagnetizer blocks, but I think a bulk tape
eraser makes more sense.

You might also magnetize specific tools and keep them in their own drawer
for use as needed. All the others could be periodically checked and
de-magnetized.

Yes, I'm aware I did not answer the question asked, but made an alternative
suggestion.

On Mon, 17 Jan 2011 15:36:49 -0700, D Yuniskis wrote:

Noticing a fair number of tools with magnetic tips, etc.
And, a few that have picked up some residual magnetism
over the years.

For the most part, this isn't a problem for me. I know
not to bring them near media, "heads", coils, etc. Often
the magnetism is a blessing (holding small screws in
place; keeping driver "tips"/bits from falling off; etc.)

Don't need that.
For screwdrivers and hexnut drivers and that ilk, I use a dab of
bee's wax to hold the 'thing' to the tool.

For placing nuts in contorted locations, I bend over an appropriate
sized piece of solder and screw the nut onto the loop end for 1/2 to 3/4
of a turn. Then form the solder "lead" to allow you to place the nut
down by the hole while you're poking your bee's wax attached screw in on
the other side (while holding the mag-lite in your mouth and propping
up the chassis with your knee.)

Yes, Happy New Year!

Jonesy
--
Marvin L Jones | jonz | W3DHJ | linux
38.24N 104.55W | @ config.com | Jonesy | OS/2
* Killfiling google & XXXXbanter.com: jonz.net/ng.htm

For years, I've avoided using magnetized screwdrivers, and they're rarely
needed when screwdrivers fit the screw properly, but lately I've
intentionally magnetized a couple of tiny screw drivers for ease of picking
screws up individually.. size 00 phillips, for example.

Lightly magnetizing a screwdriver blade is easy with a magnet.. the blade is
laid on one side of the magnet, and the magnet is drawn slowly to the tip.
Repeating the strokes increases the strength a small amount.
There are some 2-piece magnets available that will demagnetize a screwdriver
blade in the same way. A tape head demagnetizer will also work for small
screwdrivers.

The only minor problem I've noticed is that a screw can be stuck to the tip
when I set the screwdriver down, then picking up the screwdriver to remove
another screw.
With the tiny screws that I often work with, this means a small screw can be
dropped, which can be a problem, particularly if it bounces when it drops.

A blob of tacky putty can be a good place to "park" the screws as they're
being removed.

For larger screws, I generally put them in a small zip bag if the unit isn't
going to be completed that day, but for tiny screws, I've found that it's
convenient to use clear tape to attach them to a large index card.
This method has been helpful in keeping track of which screws go where..
they can be grouped for different stages of disassembly, and notes can be
scribbled on the card.
This can be a great benefit to make sure that short and long screws go back
where they belong.

During the final assembly, the tiny screws can be picked out of the clear
tape "blisters" as needed.

--
Cheers,
WB
..............


"D Yuniskis" wrote in message
...
Hi,

End-of-the-year sorting through tools (yeah, I'm a few
weeks late : ).

Noticing a fair number of tools with magnetic tips, etc.
And, a few that have picked up some residual magnetism
over the years.

For the most part, this isn't a problem for me. I know
not to bring them near media, "heads", coils, etc. Often
the magnetism is a blessing (holding small screws in
place; keeping driver "tips"/bits from falling off; etc.)

I'm wondering if there are any un-obvious (obscure?)
cases where I might screw myself by using such a tool
when I *shouldn't*?

I guess these would fall into three rough categories:
- things that you can damage by introducing magnetism
(directly or indirectly -- e.g., bringing a magnet near
a guitar "pickup" while the guitar is connected to a
typical "crate" could result in an annoying "pop"/thud)
- things that you can disturb (e.g., leaving some residual
magnetism on a tape head)
- things that can surprise you
(the guitar pickup when the volume *isn't* loud enough
to damage the amplifier)
- things that can *hurt* you
(a tool being drawn to "someplace dangerous" by unexpected
magnetic attraction)

On Mon, 17 Jan 2011 15:36:49 -0700, D Yuniskis
wrote:

I'm wondering if there are any un-obvious (obscure?)
cases where I might screw myself by using such a tool
when I *shouldn't*?

I was demagnetizing all my tools (with a bulk tape eraser) for many
years. One day, I noticed that the typical 5.25" floppy disk drive
has a rather powerful rotating magnet positioned about 5mm away from
the floppy disk. If that didn't trash the floppy, I doubt that my
screwdriver would have any effect. So, I went the other direction and
started magnetizing all my tools, which turned out to be rather handy
for inserting screws in difficult locations. The only time these
tools caused a problem was when I accidentally placed a magnetized
screwdriver directly on top of a 5.25" floppy disk. Due to increased
spacing and protection provided by the plastic case in 3.5" floppies,
I haven't had any problems with those.

Unless you're working with magnetic compasses, magnetometers, flux
gate compasses, CRT's, or magnetic field measuring equipment, I don't
seem much danger or risk from magnetized tools. However, if you're
playing with the powerful magnets found inside most hard disk drives,
methinks you should probably exercise some concientious care in
keeping them away from any magnetic storage material. A "keeper" is
usually sufficient (such as my steel desk).

http://www.wihatools.com/400seri/40010ser.htm

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Unless you're working with magnetic compasses, magnetometers,
flux gate compasses, CRT's, or magnetic field measuring equipment,
I don't see much danger or risk from magnetized tools. However, if
you're playing with the powerful magnets found inside most hard disk
drives, methinks you should probably exercise some concientious
care in keeping them away from any magnetic storage material.
A "keeper" is usually sufficient (such as my steel desk).

I still wouldn't bring a magnetized tool near an analog tape recorder's play
head. However... as you'd demagnetize the head "as a matter of course" after
servicing the recorder, it probably doesn't matter.

On Tue, 18 Jan 2011 09:33:35 -0800, William Sommerwerck wrote:

Unless you're working with magnetic compasses, magnetometers, flux gate
compasses, CRT's, or magnetic field measuring equipment, I don't see
much danger or risk from magnetized tools. However, if you're playing
with the powerful magnets found inside most hard disk drives, methinks
you should probably exercise some concientious care in keeping them
away from any magnetic storage material. A "keeper" is usually
sufficient (such as my steel desk).

I still wouldn't bring a magnetized tool near an analog tape recorder's
play head. However... as you'd demagnetize the head "as a matter of
course" after servicing the recorder, it probably doesn't matter.

Heads were always demagged before leaving my bench so it wasn't ever an
issue for me.



--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse

On Jan 18, 11:41*am, Meat Plow wrote:
On Tue, 18 Jan 2011 09:33:35 -0800, William Sommerwerck wrote:
Unless you're working with magnetic compasses, magnetometers, flux gate
compasses, CRT's, or magnetic field measuring equipment, I don't see
much danger or risk from magnetized tools. However, if you're playing
with the powerful magnets found inside most hard disk drives, methinks
you should probably exercise some concientious care in keeping them
away from any magnetic storage material. A "keeper" is usually
sufficient (such as my steel desk).

I still wouldn't bring a magnetized tool near an analog tape recorder's
play head. However... as you'd demagnetize the head "as a matter of
course" after servicing the recorder, it probably doesn't matter.

Heads were always demagged before leaving my bench so it wasn't ever an
issue for me.

--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse

I use old microwave magnetrons a number of places around my workshop
and have never had any problems, I just keep them away from crt's and
anything that has a magnetic tape involved. They are very handy for
magnetizing tools, just draw the screwdriver across the surface and
you're done.

On Tue, 18 Jan 2011 13:33:33 -0800, wrote:

On Jan 18, 11:41Â*am, Meat Plow wrote:
On Tue, 18 Jan 2011 09:33:35 -0800, William Sommerwerck wrote:
Unless you're working with magnetic compasses, magnetometers, flux
gate compasses, CRT's, or magnetic field measuring equipment, I
don't see much danger or risk from magnetized tools. However, if
you're playing with the powerful magnets found inside most hard disk
drives, methinks you should probably exercise some concientious care
in keeping them away from any magnetic storage material. A "keeper"
is usually sufficient (such as my steel desk).

I still wouldn't bring a magnetized tool near an analog tape
recorder's play head. However... as you'd demagnetize the head "as a
matter of course" after servicing the recorder, it probably doesn't
matter.

Heads were always demagged before leaving my bench so it wasn't ever an
issue for me.

--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse

I use old microwave magnetrons a number of places around my workshop and
have never had any problems, I just keep them away from crt's and
anything that has a magnetic tape involved. They are very handy for
magnetizing tools, just draw the screwdriver across the surface and
you're done.


I have a few 12" speakers downstairs that one or two draws across the
magnet does the job. I couldn't do without one magnetic tip screw driver.


--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse