DIY Magnetic Pickup Tool

I've been using my pedestal drill press and lathe quite a lot and producing lots of swarf. When the workshop was new and clean I was able to walk around with bare feet (while not actually doing any work, ducking in & out to grab something) however I've now implemented a "footwear required" rule in my workshop after I got a couple of very small metal pieces embedded in my feet after I was using my die grinder. Cleaning up swarf on the lathe is relatively easy with gloves on but I wanted a more effective way to pickup the smaller pieces around the base / floor of the the drill press and lathe.

A work colleague gave me several rare earth magnets from some old computer hard disks and suggested to use those for a pickup tool. This is not a unique idea and there a various DIY options from small magnetic pickup tools to magnetic floor sweepers - just search on Google or YouTube.

I used a simple design made from scrap MDF, a piece of dowel and magnets hot-glued to the MDF. To use it, a plastic bag (or even a thin plastic container) is placed over the magnets and waved over areas to be cleaned. With the bag removed, the metal swarf can be disposed of in the bin. I can't get into tight corners with it but for now, it's quite effective for picking up small pieces of metal - even ones that I can't easily see.