Thread: Rare earth magnets for jigs

Neodymium magnets are that brittle that drilling would be out of the question. The ones that come from hard drives are probably far too big for most WW tasks. The surface area that they have to grip with makes them overly strong. I take it you wish to be able to magnetise your push stick, to be able to attach it to the frame or similar when not in use? If so then I would get hold of some of those smaller ones from somewhere like McJing, and when it comes to mount them, embed them in the stick so that they are flush with the surface - giving you more surface area to glue to.

Tom.

And Mcjing also sell magnets with holes.
But one way of using the recycled magnets you have is to drill a hole to fit them..still epoxy them in...but cover the magnet and the hole with some thin plastic or tin attached to the push stick.

I've also used Builder's Bog to hole 'em in place.

What about making a flat bottomed hole (Counterbore) from the back?

Stopping 1~2mm from the bottom, glue it in and if it pulls out through the wood! then I'd say it is too strong!

Originally Posted by watson

And Mcjing also sell magnets with holes.
But one way of using the recycled magnets you have is to drill a hole to fit them..still epoxy them in...but cover the magnet and the hole with some thin plastic or tin attached to the push stick.

I've also used Builder's Bog to hole 'em in place.

Even simpler than Watson's suggestion, is to drill an over-size hole in the push stick, partially fill with epoxy, push in the magnets, hold the magnets down until the epoxy goes off, then mix up some more epoxy and fill the hole flush. Guaranteed not to fail!

Note: the magnets are encapsulated in the epoxy, not just glued by it.

Cheers

Graeme

Originally Posted by Durdge39

Neodymium magnets are that brittle that drilling would be out of the question. The ones that come from hard drives are probably far too big for most WW tasks. .

And there is the answer. Take a pair of pincers and break them in manageable size pieces. Works for me.

Better still, get the magnets that already have a hole in the middle for a screw to mount them

Thanks guys for your input. The actual magnets are horse-shoe shaped so it's not that easy to drill one hole to accommodate the magnet. I like Watson's idea and Graeme's, never thought of submerging the magnet in epoxy, they are so strong that the glue shouldn't affect its magnetism.

I accept that the round magnets would be easier to use and will probably get some when I get a chance, but I wanted to use what I had at hand.

The ones that I pulled out of the Hard Drive I used as a fridge magnet.

Once's it's on the fridge, it's on the fridge.

Here is a really cheap magnet supplier.

Alpha Magnetics Pty Ltd - Industrial Magnetic Equipment, Magnetic Separation, Tramp Metal Removal, Lifting Magnets, Lifting Magnet Testing