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magnetized parts tray good idea or not?

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thunderbyrd

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Feb 5, 2021
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i was at Harbor Freight recently and found a neat thing: a magnetized parts tray. no more digging under the deep freeze for that screw and tiny spring and so forth. but after i got it home, it occured to me that maybe this thing could magnetize parts and that might not be good with guns, especially semi-autos.

what do you think?
 
I think they come in handy. But I really only use them if I'm crawling around under a truck, when sometimes keeping hardware within reach and secure while upside down is helpful.
On a bench? I tend to grab a small tupperware or the like.

I don't think magnetizing gun parts is a real hazard, and wouldn't worry about that
 
I made a tray out of 1/2" plywood, with a 3/4" edge around it. I don't use it on my bench now because it's a touch big. But I used it on the kitchen table before I built the bench. It's about 18"x24", large enough to tinker on just about any gun. Plenty of room for cleaning supplies and parts. I still use it, if I take my kit outside to clean.
 
I have 6 of them I believe. Everything from small magnet dishes up to a tray I can put most of a pistol's parts on. Yeah it can attract shavings. But I keep brushes on my work bench to clean them off. The trays have paid for themselves in lost parts I haven't had to replace after they try going somewhere else.
 
After getting a couple those, I discovered the Wif was paying attention.

She took them. Put 1 sewing kit and the other in craft box.

HF had some coupons to get the magnetic bowl FREE! I managed a couple more.
 
thunderbyrd said:
magnetized parts tray good idea or not?
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Not a good idea, a GREAT idea! :)

I have used them in the form of the little steel bowls with rubber-encased magnets on the bottom for decades. I have them all over the house, truck, garage and shop. They are on refrigerator & freezer doors and one nice, little-bit-more-spacious blue one (it may be my original one from the 80s(?)) lives at face-level on the inside surface of my garage door. ;)

Sometimes I will have multiples loaded with parts during a more complex exercise.
 
YES. I have several, in the garage where I work on trucks/motorcycles and in my shed where I work on guns. I encouraged my students when I was a weapons instructor at Ft Bragg to buy them to set parts in when they were disassembling the numerous weapons they were trained on. I keep mine stuck on the side of my tool chest or under my rolling tool cart for when I need them. I wouldn't worry about a gun part getting magnetized- I'm sure things like recoil impulse, slide mass and spring energy, etc. will trump magnetization and the gun will work just fine.
 
I have been using them for years for lots of things including gun parts. All of mine are HF and I have had none of them come apart. I even drop non-metallic parts in them to keep them away from the shop gremlins.
 
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Magnet bowls, magnet wands, the little push button claw parts retrievers… I use them all. :thumbup:

And yes, the cheaper ones will separate the magnet from the bowl at some point. :(

Stay safe.
 
I hate trying to find little screws and springs. I can look and curse for hours and then my Wife will walk in and so "Oh this little thing"

I think I will install a large, strong electron magnet above my workbench and create a magnetic field around the area!:rofl:

Yes, I use the little trays.
 
Yes, I have several from HF ranging from one magnet bowls to 4 magnet large trays. They have worked GREAT especially disassembling small metal part projects.

Best part? I keep them stuck to the sides of rollaway tool chests for out of way storage and easy access.

For around the gun/reloading bench, I actually prefer the multi-drawer storage units and Ziplock/Rubbermade flat plastic containers. They are cheap, stack neatly and clear so I can see the contents.
 
I took an old soft refrigerator magnet and glued it to the bottom of a small disposable plastic bowl we got at some restaurant. It isn't very strong, but enough that if I accidentally bump it, the small parts don't dump out. If I knock it on the floor, the parts to go everywhere. It's a slight benefit to keep what I'm working on at hand and not rolling around under stuff. I do have some of the commercial ones that are stronger, I just don't think I need them on my work bench when working on a pistol.
 
Cheap trinkets and gimmicks, serve a purpose, at times.

HF is great for that tool you need occasionally, but don't work hard or often.

If I am buying a circular saw, I get a DeWalt, Porter Cable or such.
When it needed a grinder/cut off tool. I went to HF. Used it for 10 minutes and put in tool cabinet. I have used it, maybe 6 times, in 8 years.
 
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