#038: Impromptu Tool Belt

Need help holding your tools while you’re working? Put a few Rare Earth magnets in your pockets and you’ve got a home-made tool belt. Strong magnets won’t let go and will hold relatively heavy tools. You might also keep a magnet in your pocket to magnetise your screwdrivers, ensuring screws don’t fall off the tip.

Any Rare Earth magnet should do the job, but you’ll need to consider the thickness of the material (this will reduce the effective pull strength) and the weight of your tools.

#035: Instant Compass

Need a compass in a hurry? Sandwich a thread between two very strong magnets, let it hang gently and you’ve got an instant path to the Pole.

(Via evilmadscientist).

#014: Removing Stubborn Batteries

Sometimes batteries just don’t want to budge. They’re easy enough to insert, but what happens when you need to change them?

Evil Mad Scientist Lenore M. Edman has been using magnets to remove batteries from toys and other difficult gadgets. It’s safer (you don’t need anything pointy) and definitely easier on your fingers!

A stack of 10 x 10 x 10mm Rare Earth Blocks should do the trick, as should any strong magnet you’ve got lying around the house.