I read somewhere that when one has dropped something and can't find it
among the carpet pile, one should put the toe of a discarded nylon
stocking inside a vacuum-cleaner hose, turn the rest of the stocking
inside out over the hose, secure with rubber bands, and vacuum the
carpet.

I rather imagine that one could tie a shop towel over the mouth of the
hose and use it like a magnet.

But I drop needles on vinyl floors, and my Grabbit (magntic pin
cushion) finds them just fine. It even makes a loud click when it has
found the needle.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at centurylink dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/

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On 2023-12-10, Joy Beeson <jbeeson@invalid.net.invalid> wrote:

I read somewhere that when one has dropped something and can't find it
among the carpet pile, one should put the toe of a discarded nylon
stocking inside a vacuum-cleaner hose, turn the rest of the stocking
inside out over the hose, secure with rubber bands, and vacuum the
carpet.

That is a great idea. None of the girls around here wear
stockings or nylons but I'll bet cheescloth or any kind of
thin cloth will do the trick.

I rather imagine that one could tie a shop towel over the mouth of the
hose and use it like a magnet.

But I drop needles on vinyl floors, and my Grabbit (magntic pin
cushion) finds them just fine. It even makes a loud click when it has
found the needle.

I always like to have an extra ball or two on hand before
taking things like that apart. I've become a big fan of
"captive nuts" and the like these days with my hamfists.


pH

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Joy Beeson <jbeeson@invalid.net.invalid> writes:

I read somewhere that when one has dropped something and can't find it
among the carpet pile, one should put the toe of a discarded nylon
stocking inside a vacuum-cleaner hose, turn the rest of the stocking
inside out over the hose, secure with rubber bands, and vacuum the
carpet.

I rather imagine that one could tie a shop towel over the mouth of the
hose and use it like a magnet.

But I drop needles on vinyl floors, and my Grabbit (magntic pin
cushion) finds them just fine. It even makes a loud click when it has
found the needle.

Thanks for that, I didn't realize there was a commercial product. I
have been using a small rare-earth magnet on the inside of tin to hold
pins for a while, but I don't think it would work well for picking them
up off the floor.

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On Sun, 10 Dec 2023 21:53:51 -0500, Radey Shouman
<shouman@comcast.net> wrote:

Joy Beeson <jbeeson@invalid.net.invalid> writes:

I read somewhere that when one has dropped something and can't find it
among the carpet pile, one should put the toe of a discarded nylon
stocking inside a vacuum-cleaner hose, turn the rest of the stocking
inside out over the hose, secure with rubber bands, and vacuum the
carpet.

I rather imagine that one could tie a shop towel over the mouth of the
hose and use it like a magnet.

But I drop needles on vinyl floors, and my Grabbit (magntic pin
cushion) finds them just fine. It even makes a loud click when it has
found the needle.

Thanks for that, I didn't realize there was a commercial product. I
have been using a small rare-earth magnet on the inside of tin to hold
pins for a while, but I don't think it would work well for picking them
up off the floor.

I use several magnetic pickup and floor sweeper tools. <https://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/specialty-hand-tools/magnets-retrieval-tools/magnetic-floor-sweepers.html>
<https://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/specialty-hand-tools/magnets-retrieval-tools/heavy-duty-magnetic-pickup-tool-42288.html>
The rollers are useful for finding nails and construction scrap in my
dirt road. Long ago, I was dragging a home made version of the roller
behind my bicycle when cleaning the road.

The magnets are rather powerful and will magnetize anything that
touches the magnet. For demagnetizing, I use one of several "magnetic
tape bulk erasers". <https://www.google.com/search?q=magnetic+tape+bulk+eraser&tbm=isch>

For inside the house, I have an old Roomba vacuum cleaner: <https://www.google.com/search?q=roomba+vacuum&tbm=isch>
No magnet involved. The Roomba collects quite a bit of debris. When
I empty the dust bin tank, I sift through the debris with a magnet.
Every time I try to sew something, I accidentally drop a few pins into
the carpet. The Roomba usually catches them. Also staples, paper
clips, tiny hardware, and steel shavings from when I stupidly sharpen
something indoors.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

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