Magnet advice

[adampierson]

Nobody mentioned the magnets in a microwave oven. Those babies are really powerful. I use them to hold some fairly big caches.

 

Just be real careful tearing into one. the capacitor for the magnetron can carry a 10,000 v punch if it's not discharged

 

How large are magnets from Microwave Ovens? My physics teacher used to get magnets from old Radar systems. They were just a little bit smaller than a brick.

[woodrufj]

He made the comment that they were so strong/powerful that one needed a lic. in order to order/own them.

 

My question is why would one need a lic. in order to own a magnet regardless of how strong/powerful it is?

I saw that episoid, and I think he said "you should need a licence to handle them". It was a quick line and I thought I heard the same thing you did at first.

 

Jay W

505/287 Dakota

[+sbell111]

He made the comment that they were so strong/powerful that one needed a lic. in order to order/own them.

 

My question is why would one need a lic. in order to own a magnet regardless of how strong/powerful it is?

I saw that episoid, and I think he said "you should need a licence to handle them". It was a quick line and I thought I heard the same thing you did at first.

 

Jay W

505/287 Dakota

I thought he said that you needed one, but I certainly could be mistaken.

[CacheNCarryMA]

The clearance section of magnet4less.com has the lowest prices. Better than Lee Valley.

[Digital_Cowboy]

He made the comment that they were so strong/powerful that one needed a lic. in order to order/own them.

 

My question is why would one need a lic. in order to own a magnet regardless of how strong/powerful it is?

I saw that episoid, and I think he said "you should need a licence to handle them". It was a quick line and I thought I heard the same thing you did at first.

 

Jay W

505/287 Dakota

I thought he said that you needed one, but I certainly could be mistaken.

 

sbell,

 

I agree I could have sworn that he'd said that ya needed one for 'em as well. Which is why I prefer to watch TV with the CC track turned on. It makes it a little easier to pick up on things like that. But the TV that I was watching it on didn't have CC:-(.

 

Digital_Cowboy

[+gnbrotz]

Has anyone tried cutting or drilling through the magnets from computer hard drives?

 

I've recently salvaged three from old drives, and while I need their strength for a cache I'm planning, half the size would be plenty for what I'm doing.

[Digital_Cowboy]

Has anyone tried cutting or drilling through the magnets from computer hard drives?

 

I've recently salvaged three from old drives, and while I need their strength for a cache I'm planning, half the size would be plenty for what I'm doing.

 

By doing so, couldn't one "break" the magnet so that it isn't/wasn't a magnet anymore?

 

Digital_Cowboy

[+gnbrotz]

Yeah, that thought occurred to me, which is part of the reason I asked. The LAST thing I want to do is try to turn one into two and end up with none!

[+Bamboogirl]

Yeah, that thought occurred to me, which is part of the reason I asked. The LAST thing I want to do is try to turn one into two and end up with none!

 

The magnets in drives are actually rather brittle. So if the attempt was made to cut one up - even with a bandsaw or such, it would likely break into a whole lot of little magnets. But then they wouldn't be much use for anything.

 

It's pretty hard to do, but if smacked just right, they can break up. That's why they are bonded to a non-conductive backing plate (I got bored in an FA lab one time and tried it)

[+Isonzo Karst]

Has anyone tried cutting or drilling through the magnets from computer hard drives?

 

I score them lightly (Dremel tool cutoff wheel) and snap them in half. Works fine, and then I have 2 small powerful magnets.

 

I've scored a rather small piece off an end 1x1.5cm for use as an attachment point. That also worked fine. I'm careful not to let them get hot as I score them, heat will rearrange the molecules and weaken the magnet. Doesn't take much of a score, and it might be possible to just grab them (with pliers or vice grips) and snap. I don't have much hand strength, I can't get that to work.