todays top tip, use a magnet.

[Lloydy]

to hold your camera at an angle when you're working on it.





that's a magnet ripped off the back of a old loudspeaker, they are good because they have a case around them that is non magnetic so your screwdrives aren't flying across the workplace.
I was using this carefully so as not to scratch the camera back, I have a bigger magnet in my workshop that will be better and I'll put a layer of duct tape across the magnetic surface to avoid scratches.

[ForenSeil]

I wonder if it might influence some exposure meters

[cooltouch]

I doubt it will influence exposure meters. Might play hell with a mirror box or shutter that uses magnets for their release, though.

Another good thing about using an old speaker magnet is many of them are alnico, which are quite powerful for their size -- usually the small ones that have the u-shaped bars around them. The large, beefy round magnets you see on the backs of some speakers are not alnico and are not nearly as strong per given amount of weight, either. Which is why they've got to be so big.

I'll wager the one you're using is alnico.

While we're on the subject of camera repairs and magnets, I picked up this tip from an old camera tech I know. He keeps a large horseshoe magnet on a string in his workshop, so that WHEN he drops a tiny screw or spring or what have you on the floor, he just drops the magnet and then slings it around some to retrieve all the little magnetic bits and pieces that may have fallen from his workbench. I have a rare earth magnet that I keep close by my desk for the same purpose.

Call that Tip #2 of the Day.