My $20 magnetic parts tray failed on a lift rack at work yesterday

I was swapping out a transmission on a '98 F-150 at the shop near downtown and had bolts laid out across the tray. The magnet let go when I bumped the rack arm, and 12 bolts scattered across the concrete floor. Anybody got a fix for keeping those trays stuck tight on vertical metal?

2 comments

2 Comments

miles_perez7d agoMost Upvoted

Dropped mine the same way last month, ended up chasing a 10mm bolt under a toolbox for 20 minutes. Ive found putting a small strip of double sided tape around the magnet edge helps grip the metal better before you load it up. Also learned the hard way to never trust those cheap magnet trays with more than a few pounds of fasteners on a vertical surface, theyre basically designed to fail.

christopher_craig6d ago

The real fix nobody talks about is hitting the back of the tray with a big industrial magnet. Those cheap ones use a weak ferrite magnet that can't hold much weight on vertical steel. Glue a neodymium magnet onto the back and it'll stay put even if you bump the rack hard. I did that with mine after watching bolts scatter like nervous roaches, and @miles_perez is dead right about the double sided tape trick too - layer both solutions together and you basically have a permanent mount. Just be careful the stronger magnet doesn't snap your fingers when you stick it on.