Spent way too much time hunting for a mounting bolt

That magnetic holder on the DeWalt has saved me and cursed me more times than I can count. I had a nearly identical thing happen while I was hanging some upper cabinets last month. I was using my Milwaukee M12 driver and dropped one of those long T25 cabinet screws. I swear I heard it hit the subfloor, but after fifteen minutes of searching trough the sawdust and debris, I realized it had caught the magnetic bit plate on the base of the tool while I was reaching for my level.

It is always the small hardware that gets you when you're working solo. I once spent an hour looking for a trim nail that I thougth had ricocheted into an open floor vent. I was acutally getting ready to drive back to the store for a small pack of 2-inch finish nails because I was exactly one short for the window casing. When I went to wipe the sweat off my forehead, I realized the nail had somehow wedged itself into the brim of my hat.

Nowadays, the first thing I do when I drop a fastener is shake my own sleeves and check the magnets on my impact. It feels ridiculous til you hear that tiny clink and realize you’ve been wearing the part you were looking for. Glad you found it before you pulled the whole ceiling fan bracket back down; that overhead work is a killer on the neck.

I actually had to stop using those magnetic holders altogether because they kept catching every rogue metal shaving and drywall screw on the site. I was working on a commercial build-out last year, doing steel studs, and my driver ended up looking like a porcupine by the end of the day. It got to the point where I'd go to set a screw and realize I had three other washers and a stray nut stuck to the side of the tool, just waiting to fall off into whatever I was building.

Now I just keep a small magnetic parts tray stuck to the top of my ladder. It’s a habit I picked up after losing a specialized brass set screw for a designer light fixture. I spent an hour searching for that thing before I found it clinging to the side of my impact driver, exactly like yours. It’s a relief when you find it, but it definitely makes you feel like you've been chasing your tail for no reason. These days, if I hear something drop and don't see it on the floor immediately, the first thing I do is pat down my pockets and check the magnetic base of my drill.

Man, I've done that way too often. Worst one for me was lookin' for a cotter pin for a solid hour in the grass. I'm practically on my belly with a flashlight, getting ready to call it a day, and I finally look down at my boots. The thing had tucked itself right into my laces. Now if I drop somethin' small, I don't even look at the floor first. I just do a little shimmy and check my pockets and cuffs. Half the time, it's just hitchin' a ride on my gear.