TIL a magnet on your welder saves you 20 minutes a day

I kept dropping tips and electrodes into the damn tank while working on a boiler in Oakland last month. Spent half my shift fishing them out with a coat hanger. Old timer walks by, slaps a refrigerator magnet on the side of my machine. Now I just stick everything there. Has anyone else got a dumb simple fix like that that actually works?

3 comments

3 Comments

alicehernandez1mo agoTop Commenter

That thing about the screwdriver swinging into your face is a real risk. Those magnets can be strong enough to hold a hammer, so a screwdriver can definitely move around when you tilt your head. The real trick is to put the magnet on the side of your hood, not the top. That way anything you stick there stays out of the way and won't smack you if you look down fast. Also helps to use a stack of those cheap rubber magnet sheets instead of a hard one, less chance of scratching your hood.

the_emery1mo ago

... which is basically the same thing with that magnet trick. I was at a job up in Portland last year, welding on some old pipe in a crawlspace that was basically a mud pit. Drops my lighter three times in five minutes. Finally I just taped a dollar store magnet to the top of my hood. Now I stick my lighter and a few markers right there. Works great until you forget you left a screwdriver on it and it swings into your face when you look down.

ellis.susan1mo ago

That magnet trick saved my hide last year on a job in Richmond. I was welding up some railing on a loading dock and kept dropping my chipping hammer into a drainage grate. My old mentor, similar story to @the_emery, actually showed me the same hood magnet setup for my lighter, but I took it further. I glued a strong magnet to the side of my welding table and now I park my chipping hammer and a spare pair of gloves right there. Nothing fancy, but it keeps me from crawling around on my hands and knees for half the day.