Upright Storage of Tiny Screws Using Magnetism

[scott123]

TL;DR

Tiny laptop screw comes out of the laptop adhered to my magnetic mini screwdriver bit. I'm looking for a means of keeping that screw upright (head up) until I need it again.

It's a long story, but I'm in the process of taking apart 100s of laptops involving 1000s of laptop screws. I'm trying to come up with ways to take the screw off the drill bit, keep it upright, and then weaken the bond enough so the drill bit will pick up again- to put the screw back. Right now, I'm picturing a magnet sheet under a thin piece of plywood with holes drilled into it. Screw comes out of the laptop, then into one of the holes, the magnet sheet will hopefully be stronger than the magnetized bit and it will pull the screw off the bit. When it comes time to put the screw back, I remove the sheet and have a board with loose screws sitting upright in holes, ready for the screwdriver to pick them up.

Other than building a magnet out of a steel spike in elementary school, I'm not a magnet person. Will a flexible magnet sheet/strip outpull a magnetic drill bit?

I was also thinking of making some kind of cheap flat electric magnet that I could turn on to suck the screws off the bit, and then turn off to allow the bit to pick them screws up again.

Another thing that came to me was having two drill bits, one with a strong magnetic charge, one weak, and instead of putting the screws into empty holes, place them in something grippy like styrofoam. I could use the weak magnetic bit for getting the screws into the styrofoam and the strong bit for getting them out. I've seen inexpensive magnetizers- and DIY approaches to magnetizing screwdrivers, but I don't know if it's possible to have drill bits with starkly different magnetic pulls.

One catch. I need to do this as cheaply as possible.

 

[phinds]

Will a flexible magnet sheet/strip outpull a magnetic drill bit?

In my very limited experience, I would think not.

What I would suggest is that you forget about magnets (other than for the magnetic screwdriver bit). Just drill the holes in plywood and use tweezers to hold the screw in the hole while you remove the driver bit.

 

[Rive]

Maybe something like this silicone mat would do instead?
Takes some time to find one with the right sized stubs/bumps/whatever. How should those small things called, actually?

 

[hutchphd]

Are all the screws identical (i.e. interchangeable) ? I like to use corrugated plastic (mounted on end) to hold small screws and bits. Just purloin an annoying red yard sign. And use your hands directly to do the difficult manipulations. I usually prefer sticking a small rare earth magnet (or two) on the hex shaft of screwdriver. Gives you better control

 

[Nik_2213]

Such fixings may be non-magnetic alloys, even stainless-steels or titanium...

Have ruefully discovered that roofers' discarded batten nails come as two types. The rusty old things may be 'swept' with magnet, the new are a corrosion-resistant 'stainless steel'-- But at least they glint...

 

[DaveC426913]

Yeah, I was going to suggest something like a sheet of foam core. Just stab the screws into it. Couple of bucks for a giant sheet from a dollar store.