Weekend Project: Lost Screw Finder


Ever have a screw loose? If so, you might need this easy to build attachment to help you find that screw -- including plastic ones that a magnet would miss.
Thanks go to Frank Ford for the original article in MAKE, Volume 13.
To download The Lost Screw Finder video click here and subscribe in iTunes.
Check out the complete Lost Screw Finder article in MAKE, Volume 13 and you
can see that in our Digital Edition.


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Posted by: Dave on November 13, 2009 at 8:35 AM

Don't want to harsh anyone's mellow but...

Didn't Kip Kay make a video not to long ago showing how to get an earing out of a sink by putting pantyhose on a wet vac nozzle? The same method could be used here, fast cheap and easy.


Posted by: KipKay on November 13, 2009 at 10:14 AM

No that wasn't me but if it ever happens I'll know what to do! Thanks!


Posted by: Pete on November 13, 2009 at 10:48 AM

I tried this!

...but all I caught was a spider and 4 ants. They didn't even fight each other or anything. xD Now I'm scared to put my hand down there tho. D:


Posted by: Aud1073cH on November 13, 2009 at 7:12 PM

great project. I'll have to make one in case I upset my small screw bin again.

The first thing I do when I drop a screw is listen. On a hard surface, I can usually hear the general location of where it stops.

Second I grab a flashlight - I always have a couple around. I turn it on and hold it at floor level. The beam doesn't light the floor, but anything sticking up higher than the surface. (Laser pointers also work well.) I've even found eyeglass and laptop screws using this method.


Posted by: Aud1073cH on November 13, 2009 at 7:13 PM

great project. I'll have to make one in case I upset my small screw bin again.

The first thing I do when I drop a screw is listen. On a hard surface, I can usually hear the general location of where it stops.

Second I grab a flashlight - I always have a couple around. I turn it on and hold it at floor level. The beam doesn't light the floor, but anything sticking up higher than the surface. (Laser pointers also work well.) I've even found eyeglass and laptop screws using this method.


Posted by: Joy Sharma on November 15, 2009 at 12:18 PM

guess we all face this problem ...
i just use a few magnets at the end of a stick :-)


Posted by: KipKay on November 15, 2009 at 1:47 PM

Yea that does work but only on magnetic screws. If it's plastic or brass like the one I was trying to find...you need something else.


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