ThumbSaver helps you hold nails and screws without fear

The “ThumbSaver” is a magnet at the end of a slightly bent rod, which is normal for just about everyone, so it really shouldn’t be insecure about it. It’s about $20 everywhere, should you need a better way to line up a nail or screw than any of the other countless ways.

1. [Ian70]

   What’s with the “Handier than thou” attitude? Do you guys scoff at wheelchair ramps too?

2. [JamesProvost]

   What are these “other countless ways” you speak of?

3. [Daniel Rutter]

   Nail-holders are very helpful if you’re hammering small tacks, and they become almost compulsory if you’re hammering those tacks in some awkward place. Half-assed upholstery repair, for instance.

   I’ve always just used a piece of paper for this – the comb idea’s neat, too. Now that I see this thing it’s obvious that you could use a magnetic pick-up tool or something as well. (You’d think that someone who’s Google hit #4 for “rare earth magnets” would have thought of that already, wouldn’t you?

   I think this gadget’s Unique Selling Point may be that it’s got a notch in the end, making it easy to line the nail up just right, but I’m not sure that this is actually the case. And I think the price is at least somewhat justified; if you just stuck a rare-earth disc magnet to the end of a stick, the first time you accidentally gave the fragile ceramic magnet even a gentle tap with a hammer, you’d have to get a new magnet.

   You could just put tape or something over the end of a home-made version, though. A few coats of Plasti Dip would be even better.

4. [zuzu]

   Do you guys scoff at wheelchair ramps too?

   I do when I hang out with Dean Kamen, because he invented a wheelchair that makes those ADA provisions obsolete.

5. [spazzm]

   Won’t work too well on bronze/copper screws and nails, methinks.

6. [grimc]

   @ian70

   Who would use a wheelchair ramp to hold a nail in place?

7. [dculberson]

   Zuzu, which is sadly unavailable new as of now.

8. [LightningRose]

   #15, FTW. A reasonable pair of needle nose pliers can be purchased for less than $20.

   For upholstery and carpet tacks, a magnetic hammer works well.

9. [searconflex]

   gy.

10. [zuzu]

    Zuzu, which is sadly unavailable new as of now.

    I just read that; more proof of how broken the principal-agent problem of insurance-dependent healthcare is in the USA… FDA-approved and prescription-only, which means it’s over-priced to be available to practically no one… so now J&J has given up even making them.

    Now, if instead of being a “medical device” it could just be an appliance anyone could buy for $5000 (i.e. the price of a Segway)…

11. [Dan Wineman]

    Use a comb.

12. [muteboy]

    or a piece of paper or card. unitasker monday!

13. [monstrinho_do_biscoito]

    needlenose pliars. just better than a magnet on a stick would be.

14. [Tenn]

    -holds up broken and poorly healed finger-

    I concur with Takuan. That’s what the kid is for.

15. [The Lizardman]

    Not that I have never hit my thumb but why not just aim more carefully? Yeah it hurts but if it is happening so often that you need a resolution like this maybe you should get someone else to do your hammering.

16. [Takuan]

    that’s what the kid is for.

17. [zuzu]

    No “dumb” tag?

18. [grimc]

    People who need this shouldn’t be anywhere near hand tools anyway.