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PSA: Model building taught me a staple pickup hack
My kid was working on a model car. He used a magnet to find dropped screws. It clicked for me with carpet staples. Tried it on a tear-out. Way better than hand picking.
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anthonyrivera1mo ago
Oh nice, that's actually a clever idea... but I gotta say, the magnet matters a lot. A little fridge magnet won't cut it for staples buried in carpet pad. You really need a strong rare-earth magnet, the kind from an old hard drive or a tool meant for pickup. That weaker magnet might find a screw sitting on top, but it'll miss the staple you stepped on and pushed down deep.
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morgan_stone331mo ago
My dad's old hard drive magnet found three staples my shop magnet missed last week. It's like that with most tools, the cheap version just makes the job harder.
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stella1111mo ago
My old shop teacher swore by a flat bar for staple pulling. I figured that was the only way. But last month I had to clear a whole room of old carpet, and my hands were killing me by noon. Grabbed a speaker magnet on a string as a last try. It pulled up maybe two dozen staples I would have missed completely, the ones bent flat into the plywood. Totally changed how I prep floors now.
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shane_morgan20d ago
Wait, the magnet on a string trick is genius, but you gotta be careful with those hard drive magnets. They're so strong they can pinch you bad if they snap together, and they'll wipe a credit card from across the room. A decent tool magnet with a handle is way safer for this. Still, finding those flat ones changes everything.
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