Your Toolbox Needs a Magnetizer
If you’ve ever opened an appliance, you’re probably familiar with the frustration of seeing screws and small parts roll out or fall inside the open machine. And when working on cars, magnetic bits and wrenches will help you avoid dropping parts into the engine. If you’re considering a renovation that involves a lot of small screws, a magnetizer may be the right solution for you.
How do magnetizers work?
A tool magnetizer uses a magnet with positive polarity to rearrange electrons in the tool metal to align with the magnetic field of the tool magnetizer. This increases the strength of the magnetic field in the metal of the tool, “magnetizing” it. The demagnetizer uses a magnet with negative polarity to rearrange electrons in the metal of the tool in accordance with the magnetic field of the demagnetizer. This reduces the strength of the magnetic field in the metal of the tool, “demagnetizing” it. A magnetizer can either use a built-in magnet designed to position tools perfectly when placed in a slot or hole, or it can use electricity to create a magnetic field to change the magnetic polarity of your tool. Magnetizers/demagnetizers only work with ferromagnetic metals such as iron, cobalt, nickel and some steels. The magnetizer will not work with non-ferromagnetic metals such as aluminum, copper, brass or stainless steel.
What can a magnetizer be used for?
A magnetizer can be useful when you’re dealing with small parts, such as screws from appliances or the nuts and bolts under the hood of your car. Magnetizing the screwdriver or wrench will help you avoid dropping parts when installing or removing them. The magnetizer can also be used with impact driver or drill attachments, allowing you to work on screws and nuts on a ladder without holding onto the hardware. You can also magnetize the ends of the tweezers to hold very small parts. You can use a magnetized tool to remove dropped parts, especially small parts that are difficult to grasp with your fingertips.
What can a degausser be used for?
A tool degausser can be useful for use with tools before working on electronics that may be damaged by magnetic fields, such as hard drives, electronics with magnetic sensors such as laptops, or older style CRT monitors. To avoid damaging electronics, you may want to demagnetize your tool before using it to clean these items, as well as vintage tape or video tape media.
How to use the magnetizer tool
The tool’s magnetizer will have slots or holes labeled “magnetize” or “demagnetize.” You can also use a larger replacement model that can accommodate slightly larger tools if you plan to use the magnetizer with wrenches or other larger tools. Simply insert the tool into the slot labeled with the function you are trying to use. Once you pull out the tool, it will be properly configured for your task. When you’re done, you can change the magnetization completely if you don’t want magnetic tools all the time.