Magnets in the Workshop

Just as in the living area, magnets are used in many different places in the workshop and make our work easier. You may not even know all the places where these little helpers can be used. That's why we have put together a few examples.

A well-organized workshop should be tidy. Nothing is more annoying than having to search laboriously for your tools before every task. To make it easier to keep things tidy, there are special magnetic strip fasteners for the workshop. The selection ranges from a small, narrow strip for holding screwdrivers, for example, to a complete magnetic wall that neatly holds your entire tool collection.

In some cases it is necessary to extract small metal parts from a liquid such as engine oil. A special magnetic tray can be used for this. Basically, it is an ordinary metal tray, similar to a bowl in the kitchen, except that the material has been magnetized beforehand. After the liquid has drained into the tray, you can simply dispose of what was collected, while the metal parts remain in the bowl. Such a tray is also very useful for checking, for example, whether there are metal shavings in engine oil, transmission oil or coolant.

Even in a very well-lit workshop, you could run into problems when you have to work in hidden and awkward areas of a car, for example. A work light is therefore a must. However, it won't stay put everywhere on the vehicle and is often impractical. It is much better to use one or more LED lights with a magnetic mount. These lamps are now available in many versions from specialist tool retailers. They can easily be attached to any metal part of the car and shine exactly where you need them. Some lights also have built-in joints so they can be positioned and adjusted even more precisely.

An extremely practical helper in the workshop is so-called magnetic tape. At first glance it looks like ordinary adhesive tape in the typical roll form. What makes it special, however, is that this tape contains a mesh of thin metal threads that have been magnetized. Such tape can be used in many ways in the workshop. For example, it can hold small parts such as bits, screws and nuts in the toolbox or on the tool wall so they don't get lost. Magnetic tape can also be used for short-term repairs of metal parts such as exhaust pipes, since not only the adhesive strength comes into play but also magnetism as an additional force. As a result, the bond lasts much longer than with ordinary tape.

In the workshop, magnets can really show off their practical value. We can use them to search for lost screws or to bring order to a chaos of tools. As you can see, the possibilities are enormously diverse!