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Thread: Rare Earth Magnets and Chisels

  1. #1
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    Rare Earth Magnets and Chisels

    Maybe a dumb question, but here goes. Is there any reason not to hang chisels on Rare earth magnets on a wall board? I have seen a lot of ways that people store chisels and most of them do not involve magnets, so I thought it was worth asking before I consider doing it. I was planning on on taking a small nice, natural shaped piece of cherry with some figure(that I already have) and drill out the holewith a forstner bit and glue in the earth magnets. Seems like an easy way to keep them both within reach and off the tables.

  2. #2
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    Jim,

    With RE magnets you could drill the cherry from the back and stop just a hair or two before poking through. The chisels will appear to magically float!

    If you aren't real familiar with RE magnets, they come in all sorts of strengths. Some have very serious warnings to not have two of them pinch your digits...can be very painful (DAMHIK!)

    eBay is a great source of cheap RE magnets. I bought a 1000 for under 4 cents each. They are small 1/4" diameter and I plan to make judicious use of them for various projects.
    Wood: a fickle medium....

    Did you know SMC is user supported? Please help.

  3. #3
    A good place for rare earth magnets is www.kjmagnetics.com. They sell on ebay also but basically the same price as the store but the store has more options.

  4. #4
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    Dave,

    That is precisely who I bought my < 4 cents/magnet from. He even threw in a few freebie magnets with my order.
    Wood: a fickle medium....

    Did you know SMC is user supported? Please help.

  5. #5
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    IMHO it is not a good idea to hang chisels from magnets. The steel in the chisel becomes magnetic over a period of time. When you grind the chisel all of a sudden you have to clean the iron hair off of the chisels. How do I know this? Years ago I had my chisels hanging from one of those magnetic tool bars.
    Possumpoint

  6. #6
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    Anything that becomes magnetized can be demagnetized.

    Perhaps after sharpening the magnetized chisels, one could also use a strong RE magnet to remove the iron filings left behind. Heck, it might be good way to clean up the steel from stones, sandpaper, etc. However, good luck cleaning up the cleaning magnet!
    Wood: a fickle medium....

    Did you know SMC is user supported? Please help.

  7. #7
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    Inadvertent magnetization?

    Quote Originally Posted by Richard Gillespie
    IMHO it is not a good idea to hang chisels from magnets. The steel in the chisel becomes magnetic over a period of time. When you grind the chisel all of a sudden you have to clean the iron hair off of the chisels. How do I know this? Years ago I had my chisels hanging from one of those magnetic tool bars.
    Richard,
    I'm so old that I still have nightmares over my adventures in the Civil War. Whatever, whether it's an old wive's tale or an actual fact from personal experience, I don't remember.

    Anyway, as the story goes, if you magnetize something by mistake, smack it with a tack hammer or something like that. That should take care of the unwanted magnetism. Apparently, the molecules in the metal are pulled toward the magnet and naturally assume a north-south orientation. The "smack" supposedly "scares" them back to their original "neutral" position. (No comments from Physicists required)

    GADS! Of all my ridiculous posts, this has got to rank with the worst!!
    I'm sorry if I have wasted your time!

    Dale T.
    I am so busy REMAKING my projects that I don't have time to make them the FIRST time!

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dale Thompson
    Richard,
    I'm so old that I still have nightmares over my adventures in the Civil War. Whatever, whether it's an old wive's tale or an actual fact from personal experience, I don't remember.

    Anyway, as the story goes, if you magnetize something by mistake, smack it with a tack hammer or something like that. That should take care of the unwanted magnetism. Apparently, the molecules in the metal are pulled toward the magnet and naturally assume a north-south orientation. The "smack" supposedly "scares" them back to their original "neutral" position. (No comments from Physicists required)

    GADS! Of all my ridiculous posts, this has got to rank with the worst!!
    I'm sorry if I have wasted your time!

    Dale T.
    Dale, that is true, though I am not sure I want to smack my Ashley Iles bench chisels, so they make a small tool that will demagnetize it for you. They sell them at sears that I know of.

  9. #9
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    Just don't try to mortise ironwood. sorry:>)
    Steve Jenkins, McKinney, TX. 469 742-9694
    Always use the word "impossible" with extreme caution

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Dale Thompson
    Richard,
    I'm so old that I still have nightmares over my adventures in the Civil War. Whatever, whether it's an old wive's tale or an actual fact from personal experience, I don't remember.

    Anyway, as the story goes, if you magnetize something by mistake, smack it with a tack hammer or something like that. That should take care of the unwanted magnetism. Apparently, the molecules in the metal are pulled toward the magnet and naturally assume a north-south orientation. The "smack" supposedly "scares" them back to their original "neutral" position. (No comments from Physicists required)

    GADS! Of all my ridiculous posts, this has got to rank with the worst!!
    I'm sorry if I have wasted your time!

    Dale T.

    I think dropping them on a concrete floor will also demagnetize your chisels.

  11. #11
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    Wrap the clean-up magnet in paper and take off the paper later.
    18th century nut --- Carl

  12. #12
    aw just send your magnitized chisels to me I dont mind using them.

  13. #13
    Jim,

    I always try to leave sharp blades and points covered in my tool storage areas. I let enough blood out with accidents, so don't need to make things potentially worse.

    Some of the really heavy duty hard disk drive magnets I have would wrestle me and win two out of three in terms of holding a chisel. Not sure I would like that, yet would like even less to see one of my chisels get bumped and fall after I go to the work to get it "scary sharp". At the same time I do like to show a few of those toys off that cost way too much or that I use a lot, so just made some simple wooden holders.

    Just some silly thoughts from here.

    bill

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