Where can I get magnets?

December 23, 2008

I put out a nano cache recently. Someone accidently dropped the magnet while signing the log. I knew I should have glued that sucker in. I remember seeing magnets for sale on some website, but I can't remember which site.

Any ideas, and are the magnets in the nanos replaceable?

December 23, 2008

If they are just glued in the bottom, then yeah they should be replaceable. I never looked on the web for magnets, but I would bet most any hardware store would have a decent selection.

-edit for spelling-

being the curious type, I went and checked. There are tons of them out there. here is one page but I couldn't find pricing for them. Here is another one that looks like it has some decent prices but i didn't check on shipping.

Edited December 23, 2008 by DiamondDaveG

2.1k · December 23, 2008

Computer hard drives have amazingly powerful magnets for their size inside. 2 or 3 per drive. If you can get your hands on some dead drives, you'll have a good source.

38.2k · December 23, 2008

Lee Valley has a good assortment of rare earth magnets. Powerful little things

6.7k · December 23, 2008

You can come pull some of these dadgum fridge magnets off my skull.

Edit to say - Thanks mom.

Edited December 23, 2008 by GOF & Bacall

December 23, 2008

Thanks for the replies. I will check out those sites.

Anyone notice the ad at the top of the page for magnets?

Ha, I wonder how long thats been there.

December 23, 2008

Those ads usually are protyped for the content on the page. So if you're talking about magents, that's the type of ad that get's served.

1.4k · December 23, 2008

I put out a nano cache recently. Someone accidently dropped the magnet while signing the log. I knew I should have glued that sucker in. I remember seeing magnets for sale on some website, but I can't remember which site.

Any ideas, and are the magnets in the nanos replaceable?

This is the best place I have found

http://www.kjmagnetics.com/

4.2k · December 23, 2008

You can find neodymium (rare earth) magnets at most Hobby Lobby stores, if you have one in your area. Pretty darn strong.

If it's a bison-tube-type micro you might want to consider a tape solution as most any magnet strong enough to REALLY hold it in place will also be strong enough to pull free of glue- more so in colder temps.

For smaller loc-n-loc and other plastic containers I highly recommend putting the magnet inside the container and setting it in place with a blop of silicone. Enough to cover the magnet and spread across the bottom of the container works in most situations.

December 23, 2008

Northern Tool has a good selection too. I've bought some small ones there that are working well from inside a lip balm tin micro.

8.9k · December 23, 2008

Thanks for the replies. I will check out those sites.

Anyone notice the ad at the top of the page for magnets?

Ha, I wonder how long thats been there.

Those ads tent to relate to the topic on hand. They pick up key words and then advertise accordingly!

38.2k · December 23, 2008

Thanks for the replies. I will check out those sites.

Anyone notice the ad at the top of the page for magnets?

Ha, I wonder how long thats been there.

Those ads tent to relate to the topic on hand. They pick up key words and then advertise accordingly!

The algorithm that does that must go bonkers when we discuss hamster caching.

1.6k · December 23, 2008

Radio shack sells rare earth magnets, among others.

December 24, 2008

hey if you want the really powerful magnets check out magnets4less on ebay, they have a huge assortment and affordable. Thats where I get mine.

December 26, 2008

https://www.kjmagnetics.com/ This place is the Mac-Daddy for magnets. Any shape size or whatever you want. Be sure and use a good quality 2-part adhesive. Loctite makes some that is 3200psi of strength that you can get at lowes and just cost a few bucks.

December 27, 2008

Computer hard drives have amazingly powerful magnets for their size inside. 2 or 3 per drive. If you can get your hands on some dead drives, you'll have a good source.

You took the words right out of my mouth. If you leave the little magnets attached to the piece of metal it is glued to you will have two pre-drilled holes you can use to screw the magnet to a container. These magnets are really strong and free if you can get hold of discarded computers.

December 28, 2008

While I agree that the Internet is a great source for magnets, if you are in quick need of any of several types, a Micheal's Craft Store might a good place to check. I was in there the other day, and purchased three different shapes/strengths from a larger selection.

December 28, 2008

If you have a nearby Harbor Freight store, look for "Rattlesnake Eggs". They are egg shaped and come 4 to a pack. If you throw 2 up in the air the right way, they will buzz like a rattlesnake. I've left a few in caches in Oregon. I think they would lift about 2 pounds.

2.2k · December 28, 2008

kjm has worked well for me, too. As for ads at the top of the page, on a discussion of premium member only caches, there was an ad for "audit logs." It was a supply store for accountants!

December 29, 2008

I got mine from supermagnete.de.

There's some funny pictures of things (e.g. bikes) and people hanging from a magnet.

2.6k · December 29, 2008

I'm another happy customer of KJ Magnetics -- although you get on their email list, like, forEVER. As in, why am I getting magnet spam?

Also, Sonicare electric toothbrushes have amazing little magnets in the heads. It soothes the pain of the price you pay for replacements.

December 29, 2008

You can get really good cheapo hide-a-key magents at Home Depot in the key section.

January 12, 2010

I see some of the references above to good places to buy magnets but with so many options at each place I am left with a question about how strong they need to be. Yes I know caches can vary in size greatly but I don't have a reference to judge against. What I do know is that I have seen fairly large, thick fridge magnets that have trouble holding up a single sheet of paper, let alone a small lock n lock with a note pad and a small pencil.

I've been more than one site like KJM which list pull force as their measurement so thats probably a good comparison point.

So.. how strong do these magnets need to be as a starting point?

1.1k · January 12, 2010

x6 for K&J Magnetics. I check their clearance section once in a while for bargains.

19k · January 12, 2010

Computer hard drives have amazingly powerful magnets for their size inside. 2 or 3 per drive. If you can get your hands on some dead drives, you'll have a good source.

Kind of big for a replacement magnet for his nano container, wouldn't you say?

By the way, hard drive magnets are just "rare-earth" or neodynium magnets just like the other "super magnets" that you can get online.

Edit: Sorry, I didn't realize that I was responding to ancient history.

Edited January 12, 2010 by knowschad

3.4k · January 12, 2010

Probably cheapest source is to buy a bunch of the blinkies, not the ones painted by sellers targeting geocachers, but the party favor blinkies. I bought a gross of them for about 20$US a while back.

7.7k · January 12, 2010

Best price I found so far in the U.S. is magnet4less.com a.k.a. Applied Magnetics. I bought a bunch from them, other than that I have no relationship with them.

For your micro containers, I find 3/8" x 1/16" to be about the perfect size. If you want to put your magnets on the inside, maybe 3/8" x 1/8".

DealExtreme has some cheap magnets if you're not in a hurry.

January 12, 2010

right... so I resurrected this thread to ask about a minimum strength to use as a reference point :grin:

3.3k · January 12, 2010

Computer hard drives have amazingly powerful magnets for their size inside. 2 or 3 per drive. If you can get your hands on some dead drives, you'll have a good source.

I was going to suggest that. At work we destroy all our old drives, and The Destroyer has a huge pile of super powerful magnets. I have taken a few home, but sofar have not used any in a cache.

19k · January 12, 2010

right... so I resurrected this thread to ask about a minimum strength to use as a reference point

Well, you really answered your own question, I think... "Yes I know caches can vary in size greatly" There really is no reference that we can give that covers the gamut. A blinkie/nano obviously needs much less strength than hanging an ammo box from a girder.

But with the advent of rare-earth magnets, I think that you will find that the problem is more one of "what is too strong" than "what is strong enough". Even very small ones can hold a lot of weight, and very powerful rare-earth magnets can be very difficult (and yes, even dangerous in some cases) to remove. They're not very expensive... get a few different sizes and experiment.

Besides... they are very cool to experiment with in other ways.

January 12, 2010

Thanks. Sounds like "buy one or two rather than a large batch" is the best approach. I will find a couple and play around. In the meantime I think I do have a dead harddrive or two around. In fact I think I have a dead laptop drive right behind me I should take home and carefully dissect.

7.7k · January 12, 2010

right... so I resurrected this thread to ask about a minimum strength to use as a reference point

It depends on what you're trying to hold, and what you're holding it on to.

The thick ferrite magnets are not very strong. I wouldn't bother with them. The rare earth / neodymium / NdFeB (all referring to the same thing) are the cheapest "supermagnets". The strength is usually quoted as N42, N45, N50. The higher the number, the stronger the magnet.

If you're purchasing, I suggest getting a bunch of 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" disc magnets, 1/16" to 1/8" thick. Then you can experiment.

2.5k · January 12, 2010

While getting magnets online will probably get you the best price (and a bigger selection of sizes), most craft stores will have a small selection of rare earth magnets, too, if you don't want to wait for shipping.

Thanks for the replies. I will check out those sites.

Anyone notice the ad at the top of the page for magnets?

Ha, I wonder how long thats been there.

Those ads tent to relate to the topic on hand. They pick up key words and then advertise accordingly!
The algorithm that does that must go bonkers when we discuss hamster caching.

Hmm... I wonder how many times the word "hamster" has to occur before it gets advertised?

hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster hamster

January 12, 2010

Re: gluing magnets to caches, I recommend an epoxy glue like JB Weld or PC-7. They're found in any hardware store. I especially like PC-7 because it's putty and doesn't run like most epoxies.

Cyanoacrylate (Krazy Glue, Super Glue) cracks over time, especially in moist environments, and white glue (Elmer's) isn't good for plastic, metal, and other non-porous surfaces.

January 12, 2010

I get all my magnets from dead hard drives. I've gotten fairly handy at disassembling them. I can tell you that if your current computer has a Western Digital in it, you've got a great candidate. The primary cause of death is almost always dust, and WD has only a cheap piece of adhesive tape over the access port on their cases. Recipe for disaster.

I've been totally unsuccessful in getting my hamsters to learn the ins and outs of cracking HD cases. Maybe by 4/1/10 they will have gotten the knack.I hold out hope that you can train hamsters to do most anything, given enough time, patience, and tequila. :grin:

4.7k · January 13, 2010

i've been very happy with the goofily-named wondermagnet.com.

they have a good grab bag of strong magnets that i've been pleased with:

http://69.175.14.181/catalog/product_info....0be610ea4c363d7

38.2k · January 13, 2010

I see some of the references above to good places to buy magnets but with so many options at each place I am left with a question about how strong they need to be. Yes I know caches can vary in size greatly but I don't have a reference to judge against. What I do know is that I have seen fairly large, thick fridge magnets that have trouble holding up a single sheet of paper, let alone a small lock n lock with a note pad and a small pencil.

I've been more than one site like KJM which list pull force as their measurement so thats probably a good comparison point.

So.. how strong do these magnets need to be as a starting point?

Very strong. If you want to make things easy, strong enough to hold the cache securely with the magnet INSIDE the container. Rare Earth magnets can do this. Otherwise you have to worry about finding the right adhesive which is hit and miss.

1.9k · January 15, 2010

right... so I resurrected this thread to ask about a minimum strength to use as a reference point
Well, you really answered your own question, I think... "Yes I know caches can vary in size greatly" There really is no reference that we can give that covers the gamut. A blinkie/nano obviously needs much less strength than hanging an ammo box from a girder.

But with the advent of rare-earth magnets, I think that you will find that the problem is more one of "what is too strong" than "what is strong enough". Even very small ones can hold a lot of weight, and very powerful rare-earth magnets can be very difficult (and yes, even dangerous in some cases) to remove. They're not very expensive... get a few different sizes and experiment.

Besides... they are very cool to experiment with in other ways.

I got the ones that can hold 11 pounds. I cut them into 4 pieces. a quarter of one is plenty for a small tin. 2 pieces will hold an altoids pretty tight.

5.7k · January 15, 2010

Here's an idea:

Go to google.com. Click on the 'shopping' link. Type 'magnets' in the search window. Press 'Enter'.

7.7k · January 15, 2010

Here's an idea:

Go to google.com. Click on the 'shopping' link. Type 'magnets' in the search window. Press 'Enter'.

Here's another idea. Ask the forums, where many people have purchased magnets. Learn from their experience which vendors are preferred.

7.7k · January 15, 2010

I got the ones that can hold 11 pounds. I cut them into 4 pieces. a quarter of one is plenty for a small tin. 2 pieces will hold an altoids pretty tight.

Which type did you get? The neodymium magnets are usually plated with nickel and I don't think they can be cut without damaging the magnet.

2.1k · January 15, 2010

Here's an idea:

Go to google.com. Click on the 'shopping' link. Type 'magnets' in the search window. Press 'Enter'.

I bet you would really like this link:

Let Me Google That For You

Edited January 15, 2010 by GeoGeeBee

Where can I get magnets?

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