Magnetic Fingertip Gloves

Sometimes when working on cars or other projects I thought it would be helpful to have magnetic fingers. Holding screws or nuts while streching your arm inside an engine can be difficult. So I put some magnets in the finger tips of one of my mechanic's gloves and on the back of the other. It is quite handy.

I like these because the magnet is inside the glove and the project looks nice and clean.

It looks like someone is trying to market these online but why buy when you can make?

Step 1 Turn Gloves inside out and pick the stitching out of the fingertips

I decided to put magnets in the index and middle fingers of my left hand glove. I'm right handed and usually I need to hold the screws etc in my left.

I got the gloves at home depot, I liked them because they have the leather on the palm and another layer of fabric on the inside so it was easy to put the magnet in and keep it in its own "pouch"

Unpick the stitching about 1/4" on each finger in which you want to place the magnets.

Comments

[ahoshino]

This is awesome im going to make light and magnet glove

[wovenwolf]

i was thinking of trying this but putting the magnet on the back of the glove

[bobert610]

you know an easier way to do this would be to shove the magnets into the fingertips and secure them with a small piece on duct tape or Velcro

[newkiraj]

good idea, but why not just get a Neodymium implant? that way, you could hold those things, your hands wouldnt get so hot, and you'd also have magnetic vision!

[RNA-Wrangler]

Neodymium? Risky. An average strength neodymium magnet the size of a penny (or, more likely, a stack of 3 or 4) can lift 10 kg. Because of this strength, its highly likely that a nail or easily a screw driver could accelerate towards the magnets too easily; i.e. it pierces glove and flesh alike. Still, a neodymium magnet glove would be awesome, you just have to make the glove particularly strong (if you're going to use some of the stronger variants of neo magnets, or a yet more uber- powerful magnet, kevlar might not be overcautious).

[Vendigroth]

Cheaporz that's why.

[AlphaFire]

Add led lights to it, maybe, like in the "Gauntlet of Light" instructable.

[Mango Man!]

Do you need them to be work gloves or can they be any kind of gloves? If the magnet strong enough could you climb up metal walls? JK

[shadowfox009]

yeah r u????

[masterj]

lol ... ur still making the instructable in step 3

[Charlie12684]

My Dad and I said we needed to invent these things this weekend. I was installing a ceiling fan and the screws kept falling. Although our vision was a tad different but great idea!

[newkiraj]

sry 4 the double post or u could use rubber gloves so u could still have magnetic vision w/o implants and u could pick up stuff. otherwise, great instructable i'm gonna do this tomorrow!

[ntgooroo]

Some one want to send this to NASA? They appear to be having difficulty lately holding on to bolts and nuts in space. :-) Oh, and to the fireman, I wouldn't make magnetic gloves for work. You might grab a hold of something magnetic and on fire that you can't let go of. :-)

[MakeMeOne2]

Regarding NASA application,will magnetics behave the same without an earthly magnetic field ?

[moopet]

Are you saying, "magnets don't work in space"? Srsly?

[graphak]

(removed by author or community request)

[az76107]

this assumption is highly flawed since magnetism is a universal constant, the same as gravity, the strong force and the weak force. a large layered mass is not needed for a magnetic field to funtion. basically, magnetism is the same everywhere. you don't need a planet for magnets to work. if magnetism didn't work in space, electromagnetism as we know it wouldn't function in space, meaning that no electronics (or even bio-electrics (the brain)) would function in space. in regards to the comment about the moon: the moon has an iron/nickel core just like the earth. yes, it has a magnetic field. every planet in the solar system (and most moons) have magnetic fields.

[graphak]

(removed by author or community request)

[blakdragon19]

he meant to say magnets function independently of earths magnetic field. they do not rely on the magnetic field to operate. so a magnet would still work even if you were a trillion miles from anything.

[Vendigroth]

Unlike the earth's, the moon's core is statoinary and cool, not spinning, so it doesn't GENERATE a magnetic field, it's just magnetic, in the same was that a bar of steel is magnetic. Compasses won't work as compasses in space, they'll work as any other magnet would. Ah, i just read some other comments, and it seems you were right, but i'm posting anyway.

[az76107]

when i said 'highly flawed', i was referring to somebody elses comment. you are right, the moon does have a north and south pole.

[TangMu]

Cool, could possibly be developed into a game controller (or a giant etch a sketch with iron filings trapped between two layers of statically charged plastic... @_@) A while back i heard of a guy experimenting in body modification and becoming a cyborg who placed magnets under the skin of some of his fingers so he could "feel" the invisible magnetic forces that we are usually ingnorant of.... I think he's the same guy who implaned an rfid tag in his arm too...... now if i could only just remember the name O_O

[xenobiologista]

Don't nobody get any ideas about implanting magnets. The people who got those implants were all in the body modification scene (i.e. experienced with sticking bits of metal into their bodies), and the magnets were coated in silicone. Last I heard, the silicone coatings were still problematic, so it's still very much experimental.

Story herehere.

The RFID tags are a different story. People have been implanting glass-encased microchips in animals for ages, and I believe the human kind for opening your garage door or whatever are similar in form.

[trebuchet03]

it' a good idea... but it would annoy me quite a bit... every time I go near a steel part - my hands have extra force on them :P

[zachninme]

Someone posted the "become a superhero" where you just taped them down. This works better :-)

[vatosupreme]

Yeah... I don't use these for everything, It is one of those "right tool for the right job" type of things... I keep them with my tools and use them as necessary..

[GadgetmanKen]

Yeah, I have dropped plenty of stuff while working on stuff. Good idea. Perhaps you could make one that uses a nine volt battery on the cuff of the sleeve and some wire coiling inside the finger tip and a switch, then you could turn it on, and off, at will once you get down there where and when you need it. Providing you can get to the switch with your other hand..

[Unforgiven_God]

are your fingers crunched up inside the gloves because of the magnets?

[vatosupreme]

a little... I am going to replace the magnets I used with rare earth magnets

[rimar2000]

Excelente. Este es el tipo de cosas que hacen imprescindible leer Instructables.

http://www.epals.com/translation/translation.e:
Excellent. This is the type of things that they make indispensable to read Instructables.

[Unforgiven_God]

nice instructable this is helpful

[TheMadScientist]

i believe (get ready to crorect me if i'm wrong threatening with dictionaries and encyclopedias citing millions of sources while rolling up newspapers and shouting "NO, WE DONT DO THAT HERE!!!") that the earth's magnetic poles dont have much effect with how magnets react with other materials. the coorilation with magnets -> magnetic poles -> magnetic items -> back to magnets would be effected, but i'm in no position to figure that difference out....

[ve2vfd]

Thats absolutely BRILLIANT! I have to make a pair now! I drop nuts and washers ALL THE TIME. Thanks for an awesome idea.

[blindskull13]

this is a great idea i am forever droping screws and loosing them!

[TossManual]

I used to use magnetic gloves to sort all my floppies and Zips. Had a ton of them, but could never find anything on them...

[vatosupreme]

HAHAH... They also work great on Rolex watches... nothing like ruining a ten thousand dollar timepiece.

[Neodudeman]

That's awesome!

[cry_wolf]

Whoa that is awsome! I must say so myself, BRILLIANT!

[ColumbusGEEK]

(quoting the Guiness Stout commercials) "BRILLIANT!"