Now Why Didn't I think of This?

Craftsman Magnetic Steel Bowl

A symptom of my being a geologist is that I tend to look down more than up. As a side effect of that habit, I tend to find an awful lot of things that people have lost: two birth control pill holders, an orthodontic retainer, a Lexmark printer, bunches of flash drives, and a Starbucks card are some of my recent treasures.

It's pretty rare that I go more than a few days without finding a tool of some kind lying in the street, and the most common tool is a socket. As an occasional shadetree mechanic myself, I have a pretty good idea where a lot of them came from. They're the ones mechanics dropped while working on their cars and just couldn't find to get them out. Trust me: I've lost some myself, not to mention the occasional bolt, lots of washers, several gross of screws, and more nuts than I'd care to think about. I don't lose 'em anywhere near as often these days, however; I now have the cure for common "dropsy": a Craftsman Magnetic Steel Bowl.

This little gem (part number 9-41328) is one of those "now why didn't I think of that" kinds of products. It's a stainless steel bowl, six inches across and an inch deep, with a big ol' magnet glued onto the outside of the bottom. Just to keep from scratching "delicate" surfaces, that magnet's been coated with rubber. And that's all there is: simple, no?

Simple, yes, and yet – or perhaps therefore – incredibly useful. Up to your elbows in your car's engine? Slap one to the underside of the hood, where it'll sit until you peel it off. The magnet's powerful enough to hold a handful of small tools, nuts, bolts, screws, or springs – anything made of steel or iron. Working underneath the car? Stick it somewhere on the frame – the magnet is powerful enough to hold a 1/2x8" steel bolt hanging by its head, though you're probably safer with bolts that will fit in the bowl.

Not working under the hood? The rubber-coated magnet won't mar your paint as long as you keep scraps of metal cleaned off it. And it you're not working on a car at all, it still proves useful whenever you have lots of small metal parts that you have to keep track of. Just drop small parts in, and you'll feel safe that they won't be spread all over the floor even if you do bump the bowl. Send the bowl sliding, knock it over, even turn it upside down; all the parts will be right where you left them.

If six inches across is a little small for you, Sears also sells a magnetic tray that measures 5-1/2x9" - you can get two of the trays and two of the bowls in a set. That'll hold a lot of metal parts! Of course, if those parts are aluminum, copper, or brass you're out of luck. But steel? Steel and magnets are best friends; just like this magnetic steel bowl is a do-it-yourselfer's best buddy! Summary PLUS: securely holds steel and iron parts and small tools, whatever the project MINUS: only six inches across WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: Mechanics, handypeople, do-it-yourselfers: get one. Heck, get two!

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