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/

On Sun, 10 Dec 2023 00:05:54 -0500, 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.

Well... maybe. But neither I nor my wife wore nylon stockings. Or for
that matter any stockings :-) But it does sound like a good idea.

>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.

--
Cheers,

John B.

On 12/9/2023 9:05 PM, Joy Beeson 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.
>
> 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 have a super magnet that I use to find screws that fall off the mower
and things like that. I do have to be careful not too get close to
anything steel and large.

A heavy plastic bag around the magnets makes it easier to remove objects
and unwanted "dirt".

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

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.

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