Tips & Techniques

An improvised pincher/gripper

Issue 181

My neighbor opened an interior wall to do some plumbing and accidentally dropped a wrench into a deep, hard-to-reach cavity. Rather than closing up the wall and losing a good tool, he asked if I had a magnet. I didn’t, but I had a small-diameter length of semirigid plastic tubing and a couple of pieces of sturdy wire. Using those parts, I devised the tool shown in the drawing. My device worked the first time and retrieved the wrench. My neighbor was delighted.

Harold S. Pearce, Christchurch, None

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