Holding small brads for hand-nailing can be a bruising experience. In an effort to find something to keep my fingers out of harm’s way, I started digging through my miscellaneous hardware. When I came across an old magnetic catch that had fallen apart, I knew I had found the answer. In this type of common catch, the rectangular magnet has notched corners, into which a brad can nestle standing up. Holding the magnet instead of the brad keeps your fingers safe during those first few hammer taps. If you don’t have this type of catch on hand, you can use any relatively thick magnet by filing a notch into it.

Barry Goldwin, Springfield, Massachusetts