Fun question - Do you have a magnet on string?

[Engineer]

Ok, so I was clearing some stuff out today and came across a magnet on a string.

Can't even remember when I last used it...but I couldn't bring myself to throw it out. There is the usual dropped keys down a drain (don't laugh - IT DOES happen - I did it myself once and that is why I started carrying one)! Can you imagine a locksmith staring helplessly down a drain with a van full of stuff for opening locks...except they are all locked up and the key's down the drain... One borrowed wire coat hanger and an arm full of slime later I'm going home with my tail between my legs.

I know a lot of key are non-magnetic, but they are nearly always on split rings that are.

Incredibly powerful magnets are easy to find these days, but not when I made this one. I managed to get one out of an old disc drive and it's amazing for it's size. If you don't mind a bit of metal work, open up an old microwave oven and you will find two rings inside the magnetron that are powerful enough to hold things in place while you weld them, let alone retrieve keys.

I suppose this does have a serious side - What if you are faced with a customer with keys down a drain or something like that? A magnet on string looks childish and very unprofessional - But works. So should I fish out their keys, or open thier car with the normal methods and leave them with a potentially very expensive bill for replacing the keys from a dealer?

[Engineer]

I mentioned this to my finacee and she is devious - I mean REALLY sneaky...

She came up with the idea of a PVC pipe, painted in some technical colour, like metallic blue or something, but hidden inside is the magnet on a long rod.

So you put this big, impressive Tool down the drain and move it around, as a cover for surreptitiously fishing for the keys.

What am I marrying??

[freakparade3]

If someone calls me and says they dropped their keys down the drain personally I'd tell them to call a plumber.

[barbarian]

[quote="Engineer"]I mentioned this to my finacee and she is devious - I mean REALLY sneaky...

She came up with the idea of a PVC pipe, painted in some technical colour, like metallic blue or something, but hidden inside is the magnet on a long rod.

So you put this big, impressive Tool down the drain and move it around, as a cover for surreptitiously fishing for the keys.

What am I marrying??[/quote]

Well she sounds very smart to me.

The last time I dropped something down a floor drain, it was a spring for something I was taking apart. So I thought about a magnet. The cover for the floor drain was steel. And the magnet on the wire stuck to it. I had to pull it up and put it down a couple of times. It was a pain. Then when I fished through all the crud on the bottom and found my spring, the magnet was covered with crap and rust etc.

Your (sorry, Her) idea of the pipe sounds good. You could use thin plastic pipe with a cap on it and it leave it opened at the top. Then like she said, use a magnet on a steel rod inside the pipe. Once you recovered your stuff then you could just withdraw the magnet from the pipe and leave any crud behind. Nice easy cleanup.

Does she want to share any other good ideas with us ?

[Legion303]

Do you have Prince Albert in a Can?

-steve

[n2oah]

Do you have Prince Albert in a Can?

-steve

I suppose you should let him out.

I have eight N52 grade magnets, they work excellent for anything requiring a lot of power (they're stronger than HDD magnets). Be careful, they'll really hurt your fingers if you screw around with them. I got them from here.

[ElizabethGreene]

I have a tool for this, though it gets more use fishing out things I drop into inaccessible spaces. Mine is the longer version of this tool.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94162

The flexible shaft is made of a heavy coil of spring, ~1 meter long. On one end is a a plastic handle and spring loaded pushbutton. The button is connected to a flexible steel wire that runs through the shaft and ends in a 3 pronged claw. Depressing the button extends the claw, releasing it closes the claw. In the US, you can occasionally find them a "Big Lots" stores for cheap. I also saw them in a Princess Auto store in .ca.

If it is a deep grate, like the ones they use for drainage, the magnet-rope-pvc sounds pretty awesome. Don't forget the bleach.

-Ellie

[jphustman]

Sort of the same concept, but I use something different. While installing electronic door locks in metal framed doors, after drilling the holes required, I use a long (10ft) length of those bb's on a chain. Like what you pull when you want to turn the fan on. I drop it down the top hole, and with the magnet on a stick you can get from the Auto Parts store, I pull the chain through the bottom hole. Then the wires you tape on the top are easy to pull through!

[Raymond]

YES!!!
I also have a magnet that I tape to my car opening tools.

I once got called to a bank where a customer droped his car key (yes, read that singular - one, with no ring) into the hollow steel frame through the latch hole. It was his only key. I tried a long wire with inside out duct tape but it only picked up dirt. I needed a mirror and a long wire light to find it at the bottom of the hole. Finally picked it up with a hook through the keyring hole. It took a lot longer than it should have but it became an obsession.

[savs2k]

honestly it's the simple tools that you will need the most. A magnet on a string isn't a high tech machine at all but when you dont have it your other tools with fail you!

[Olson Burry]

oooo partial necro.. i'm game

OK, I'm going to tell you a little story...

Years ago, before my Dad passed away, we used to be in the garage all day, he had me hold things and pass stuff as he was dissecting engines or making water pumps. Part of his work involved using booms of air filled plastic to contain oll spills and blow it in to a corner and suck it all up, amongst other things.

He always had time for me and we happened to live in a great place with 1/2 acre of pond at the front. We found this shell of a model boat, black it was, and looked pretty mean. We fitted it out with a massive battery (20 years ago they were BIG ok) and a huge engine.

This thing FLEW round the pond and then sub aquaed somewhere near the lilly pads. Dad, as ever had the perfect solution. A magnet on a string. After what seemed like a life time we had a hit and the metal motor of the small boat was attached to the end.

We never got a chance to fix it, or make it work again but that was a memorable day and a great use of; a magnet on a string.

Happy daze.

[zeke79]

I have both a magnet on a string and a magnet that has been jb welded to a wire coat hanger that has come in handy a few times as you can force the magnet to go where you want it to. It is the same type of magnet as N2oah mentioned and is about 3/16"x3/16"x1/4" in size and can pick up probably around 1Lb if it has to.

[lutonlocksmith]

saved a custonr a fortune droped car house key down drain was only there to open house as car was a toyota and i cant do toyota chiped keys magnet down drain retive keys and just charged normal call out

[Jaakko]

saved a custonr a fortune droped car house key down drain was only there to open house as car was a toyota and i cant do toyota chiped keys magnet down drain retive keys and just charged normal call out

You ate what?