magnetic parts trays
 

A friend came by the other day and saw the magnetic parts tray my wife got me for my birthday a few years back. His shop is a steel shipping container and he told me he keeps bolts/ nuts / washers etc stuck on the walls so he knows just where everything is--- sideways. Tonight I was bolting fenders onto bedsides by myself and no place to set the nuts and washers into easy reach. (fender moving all around and the sloping flareside tilting inwards...), So I did what Ron does. I wish I had thought of that 30 years ago.

Re: magnetic parts trays
 

Paradigms are sticky things - we often can't see past our current practices.

Re: magnetic parts trays
 

Funny story about those handy magnetic trays. Once my dad was working on a RC helicopter that had a bunch of small pieces. He came up one fastener short. Much time and many colorful words later he found it stuck to the OUTSIDE of the tray!

Re: magnetic parts trays
 

Re: magnetic parts trays
 

When I finally stuck it to the side the only thing that fell out was a hose clamp!

Re: magnetic parts trays
 

I use them a lot in my old vehicles. To much plastic on a new car under the hood for them to stick anywhere....... Mark

Re: magnetic parts trays
 

I use large magnets to hold patches in place. One of the big problems comes about if you grind...filings get on the magnets and are the dickens to remove. A tray may be easier to clean dunno

Re: magnetic parts trays
 

I made my own magnetic dish about 10 years ago using a stainless dog dish from the dollar store and glueing a large magnet I scrounged from an old speaker.
I also remember when you could get them free from Harbor Freight with a coupon.

Re: magnetic parts trays
 

I've done it upside down on the frame while working under the car. One drawback to these is do not use them for parts you do not want magnetized. I was taking a transmission apart and as handy as it was to throw all the needle bearings into, they were not parts I wanted magnetized.

Re: magnetic parts trays
 

Not to hijack your thread, GB but I find this magnetic finger to be invaluable, especially when working solo.

Re: magnetic parts trays
 

Wow! That's great! Now I can stop "Super-Gluing" screws to my finger tips.