This article was automatically translated from Japanese using AI. The Japanese version is the authoritative version.
When you swap a PC’s HDD for an SSD, reapply thermal paste, or try to fix a broken appliance or piece of furniture yourself, it’s all too easy to lose the screws.
Once you lose a screw, you have to buy a replacement at a hardware store, and finding one that fits exactly is no easy task.
I lost a screw myself when I tried to repair a Switch Pro Controller, and ended up having to go buy one.
In recent years, electronic components circulating in the Chinese market have become available through AliExpress, Wish, and similar sites, and junk items are now easy to pick up on flea market apps like Mercari. As a result, far more people are trying their hand at repairs themselves.
With COVID keeping people at home for longer stretches, I think this trend has only accelerated.
Still, keeping track of screws is a basic part of fixing anything—and, I’d argue, one of the most important.
So I’d like to share how I manage screws when repairing junk items.
You can make this with a magnetic sheet with an adhesive backing and a clear tray, both available at a hundred-yen shop.
When I bought mine, the magnetic sheets were in the stationery section and the clear trays were in the storage section.
Just cut the magnetic sheet to a suitable size and stick it on—that’s all there is to it.
Stackable trays work even better: stacking them in the order you disassembled the device makes it easy to tell which screws came from where.
Being able to keep small parts alongside the screws is another selling point.
It’s easy to put together, so give it a try.