Magnets

[+tteggod trackers]

has anyone come across neodymium magnets?

[+stora]

has anyone come across neodymium magnets?

 

loads on ebay

[+thekennelat79]

Yes, and I have bought some through a commercial sorce.

The ones I use are about 15 mm dia, shiny finish which can be painted, and stick like s.. to a blanket!

They make ordinary magnets look very puny!

[+tteggod trackers]

yes i know about them and have purchased some too 1in x1/8. any info on glue you use to stick to cache containers?

[+Moote]

yes i know about them and have purchased some too 1in x1/8. any info on glue you use to stick to cache containers?

Best to use is a hotmelt glue gun

[+stora]

yes i know about them and have purchased some too 1in x1/8. any info on glue you use to stick to cache containers?

Best to use is a hotmelt glue gun

 

yep good tip, easy to peel the glue off your fingers too

[+Pieman]

If you use two- one on the inside of the container and one on the outside you don't need glue as they stick to each other.

Edited May 25, 2006 by Pieman

[+JohnTee]

yes i know about them and have purchased some too 1in x1/8. any info on glue you use to stick to cache containers?

 

I'll take a big pass on hot melt for anything other than crafts, which my wife does. I've not found hot melt to do a very good job on things that are smooth and non-porous, unless you have a fairly large contact area. Great for fabric.

 

My top two choices are 5-Minute Epoxy or Gorilla Glue. Epoxy is good to use out in the field, as the 5-Minute will set up quickly if you need to make repairs or install in the field. I'll use either epoxy or Gorilla Glue when I'm setting something up at home. Be aware, the G.G. foams up/expands a little bit so it can get outside of the area of application. I don't know if you have G.G. on your side of the pond or not . . .

 

JohnTee

[+PopUpPirate]

Araldite would do the trick

[+FollowMeChaps]

Hot melt does stick to some shiny surfaces - I use it to stick lanimated card to my plastic food storage container caches (great value from Wilkinson). I mostly stick them inside the lid so they can be seen from without but have also stuck to the outside in the past.

 

[+Pharisee]

........ any info on glue you use to stick to cache containers?

 

I've used them on one or two caches and found that it's best to put the magnet inside the cache box. They're powerful enough to work through a few millimetres of plastic and there's no chance of them being ripped of by an over-enthusiastic cache retrieval.

I normally but the box on a steel plate, position the magnet(s) inside the box and squirt a little RTC silicone rubber over them to hold them in place.

 

Incidentally, if you have any old PC hard drives lying about that are surplus to requirements, take them apart and you'll find one or sometimes two very powerful magnets in them. They're invariably bonded on a steel back-plate that usually has a hole or two in that can be used for mounting purposes.

[+D_Skids]

Try http://www.emagnetsuk.com/

I have used powermagnet store in the past (http://www.powermagnetstore.co.uk/) who were very reasonably priced and have a good range but they seem to be down at the moment.

 

I dropped a magnet inside my micro cache (film container) and it is strong enough to work through the container.

[+purple_pineapple]

we use them as well - got 50 from ebay, about the size of a 2p coin.

 

What I would say with the glue is that when we first used them, I was placing them on the inside of a film canister, using No More Nails. The problem was the magnets are so strong that they would crush the glue (even when dried) out fom under the magnet!

 

I'm now taping them to the outside of the container. not quite so elegant, but leaves more space in the canister.

 

Another tip... don't leave them on a shelf between your wireless router and the wireless computer - it REALLY messes up the signals!!!

[+The HERB5]

yes i know about them and have purchased some too 1in x1/8. any info on glue you use to stick to cache containers?

 

Try 'bath sealant', it sticks to smooth surfaces, is flexible, waterproof and cheap.

And I bet you have some inthe cupboard too.

Edited May 26, 2006 by Nebias

[+Sensei TSKC]

Loctite gel. great glue but not reliable with these magnets. Won't take to the shiny surface.

 

I keep hearing good things about Araldite though.

 

Oss!

[+Alibags]

I would go with the silicone glue / bathroom sealant for sticking the magnets on. Hotmelt glue (dont get it on your fingernails, it HURTS!!) was the worst thing I tried. I also agree with sticking the magnets inside the container. If they do come loose, you can still use them to attach the container, if you flick it into position. The other thing I have done is wrap the container in layers of gaffer tape and insert the magnets under the tape and outside the cache. This works well, but you need to wrap the tape around and around, so it doesn't just pull off the cache.

 

As they say - Gaffer tape, it's like The Force, it has a light side and a dark side and it holds the universe together!

[+Learned Gerbil]

My experieince is that not al lbath sealant is equal. It used to be excellent but recent attempts to use a batch of the same stuff from the same company have proved a major failure.

[+Hi-Tek]

Incidentally, if you have any old PC hard drives lying about that are surplus to requirements, take them apart and you'll find one or sometimes two very powerful magnets in them. They're invariably bonded on a steel back-plate that usually has a hole or two in that can be used for mounting purposes.

Seconded - a very good and cheap source of strong magnets (albeit an 'odd' shape) and there are two of them.

[+SUp3rFM & Cruella]

The magnets from HD's are very powerful... I lost 4 of this great magnets, just because i let them get really close to one another. The literally smashed against each other!

[+Rebel Alliance]

HDD magnets are great but can be troublesome to get the right size if you are using them for micros or small containers.

They can be broken or cut but EXTREME care must be taken with appropriate safety equipment in place.

If you do not know what that equipment is then you should not attempt to cut/ break them.

Cutting/ breaking also diminishes their attractive properties but not to such a level that would have any great impact for caching containers normally.

The fine dust that is generated during cutting is also HIGHLY flamable.

 

I have always used hotglue of adhering magnets on the insides of objects, the only time you need anything stronger is if the magnet is attached to an object where it's magnetic proprtites are attracted to a responsive surface for any length of time.

 

This link may help others with this sort of task if you are unsure:

http://www.slotforum.com/forums/lofiversio...php/t12691.html

[+marinor]

the magnets come in lots of shapes and sizes, several of which have a countersunk hole in the centre, useful with a washer for clamping on a container, or for a screw to a lump of wood, dead tree branch etc.

Just be extra bcareful when handling them, if two slap together by accident or design, they usually shatter.

 

stay safe

Bill

[+Knight2000]

I would go with the silicone glue / bathroom sealant for sticking the magnets on.

I hate to bring up an old post, but this is for any future cachers searching this topic.

 

Im not sure what bathroom sealant is being referred to, but i just had a bad experience with silicone. From my construction background we used silicone to adhere to many things. I thought it would work great for what i used it for (mags to plastic container). It didnt. The cache lasted 3 days with 8 visitors and the silicone came loose from the plastic.

 

I did not rough up the plastic.

I did not drill a hole in the plastic to allow the silicone to ooze inside. I have heard those suggestions. I am still in the process of deciding what to do now.

[+GeoCornetto]

As they say - Gaffer tape, it's like The Force, it has a light side and a dark side and it holds the universe together!

 

Strong is the power of Gaffer Tape!

[+KlustaDuk]

Has anyone ever wiped their credit card or stopped their pace maker by accident when using very strong magnets. I've got a few for caching purposes and sometimes they scare me witless....Is it just me? Occasionally they make me very nervous when you see what they can do!!

 

[+minstrelcat]

Has anyone ever wiped their credit card or stopped their pace maker by accident when using very strong magnets. I've got a few for caching purposes and sometimes they scare me witless....Is it just me? Occasionally they make me very nervous when you see what they can do!!

 

 

Unless you have a pacemaker or some ferrous metal in your body, I wouldn't worry. Those magnets are no stonger than those used in MRI scanners and a lot smaller. There is some evidence that pacemakers are OK in MRI scanners so you are probably OK even if you do have a pacemaker.

 

Lisa

Edited April 28, 2007 by minstrelcat

[Edgemaster]

Has anyone ever wiped their credit card

You won't wipe the chip though, which is becoming much more prevalent since the introduction of chip and pin.

[+currykev]

It is IMHO that most magnets are used for micros. Keep up the good work!

[+t.a.folk]

Has anyone ever wiped their credit card or stopped their pace maker by accident when using very strong magnets. I've got a few for caching purposes and sometimes they scare me witless....Is it just me? Occasionally they make me very nervous when you see what they can do!!

 

 

Unless you have a pacemaker or some ferrous metal in your body, I wouldn't worry. Those magnets are no stonger than those used in MRI scanners and a lot smaller. There is some evidence that pacemakers are OK in MRI scanners so you are probably OK even if you do have a pacemaker.

 

Lisa

 

if the info on this link is correct . link

 

and the use of neodymium magnets becomes common for placing micro caches on pieces of street furniture ,then might someone with a heart pacemaker unknowingly get very close to such a magnet if they happened to lean against a piece of street furniture that had such a micro cache attached to it's unseen side. ?

[+DonB]

has anyone come across neodymium magnets?

 

loads on ebay

I don't know if this place ships overseas.

 

http://www.kjmagnetics.com/