Could someone please suggest a good pc repair tool kit - I'm looking for
tools which are slightly magnetized
so that tiny screws will not be dropping onto motherboards/etc. etc.
don wrote:
> Could someone please suggest a good pc repair tool kit - I'm looking
> for tools which are slightly magnetized
> so that tiny screws will not be dropping onto motherboards/etc. etc.
Take a screwdriver and a small magnet. Stroke the length of the screwdriver
shaft with the magnet, lift off the magnet, and place the magnet back on the
fridge.
Test the magnetic strength of the screwdriver. It if is not sufficient, get
the magnet and stroke the shaft again with the same side of the magnet as
before.
Repeat until sufficienty magnetized.
To unmagnetize, repeat, but with the magnet flipped upside down.
On 2009-07-29, Jon Danniken <jondanSPAMniken@yaSPAMhoo.com> wrote:
>
> Take a screwdriver and a small magnet. Stroke the length of the screwdriver
> shaft with the magnet, lift off the magnet, and place the magnet back on the
> fridge.
>
> Test the magnetic strength of the screwdriver. It if is not sufficient, get
> the magnet and stroke the shaft again with the same side of the magnet as
> before.
On Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:31:35 -0500, "don" <don@panix.com>
wrote:
>Could someone please suggest a good pc repair tool kit - I'm looking for
>tools which are slightly magnetized
>so that tiny screws will not be dropping onto motherboards/etc. etc.
>
>
No offense intended, but I always marvel when someone writes
"best", as if it really needs to be the best.
Wouldn't a good tool set be fine? How much are you willing
to pay for the best? Generally speaking, average tool sets
cost "X", good tool sets cost 5 * X, and best tool sets you
give away your first-born for.
Better to back up a bit. Does it need to be in a fancy
zippered pouch? If not, the type of repairs you actually
do (meaning your particular skill level, some people even
take a soldering iron and butane torch with them (me!)) will
dictate what tools you need, meaning you can go to local
hardware stores and/or shop online and hand pick the best
cost-effective tools per your budget.
Generally I would say that someone starting out building a
tool set should not splurge on "best" tools, get an average
quality set of the basics and build from there with one
exception: Get a very high quality tiny phillips bit
screwdriver for when you work on laptops, because you can
too easily strip a screw head with a junk tiny screwdriver
and this is only one tool to buy so the extra cost isn't
much.
As for magnetic bits, a decent driver handle with a magnetic
1/4" shaft will let you put any bit in your want to
have/buy, and will be magnetized enough to pull the screw
out. For travel purposes it also makes more sense to own a
good driver handle plus a bit assortment than separate
drivers w/handles for every tip you might want to have, as
they are both much smaller and much less expensive... and it
is faster to pick a different bit out of a holder than to
fish around in a larger compartment till you find the driver
size you need.
Also keep in mind that while most hard drives have large
magnets in them, some also have a small, roughly 5mm x 8mm
magnet in them. If you remove such a magnet and keep it
with your tools, you can attach that near the tip of most
screwdrivers and immediately make them magnetic enough to
pull a loose screw out. It's not what I'd do for everyday
tasks but to have it for certain situations is good.
IOW, the ideal tool set for your methods and skills will be
built out of inspiration, time, and budget. Any kind of
"standard" tool set won't be as versatile as you will be
able to be once you hand pick what you need.
Best Tool Kit? 
Linear Mode
