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So this is my take on the magnetic bottle opener. All credit to those before me who worked out how to do it, etc. - I am forever in your debt because this thing is pretty dang cool!

I have been the lucky recipient of hardwood scraps as of late, so I have been able to work with walnut, padauk, bubinga, wenge and even some mahogany as a result. None have been large enough to make furniture of course, so I needed to figure out projects that could use thin strips and odd shaped scraps - hence the bottle opener.

Not a difficult project by any means - rip thin strips, glue them onto not so thin strips, rout, sand and bore a Forstner hole in the back to accept an N50 rare earth magnet and Bob's your uncle!

The big cost, of course, is the metal bits - magnets and bottle openers. But the finished products have been hugely popular thus far and I am wondering how many of my friends might want one now!

The magnets I am using can hold at minimum a 12 pack of caps before the wife comes round to scoop them away - I have little doubt they could hold at least twice as much, but I can only get so drunk!

I chose to have the whole works mount through the bottle opener itself into the wall - I may change my mind on future renditions if this fails. Sanded to 220, the finish is a simple coat of butcher block oil to bring out the natural feel of the wood. I quite like it!

Sorry for the bad image quality - but after 12 craft brews….

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Comments

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I be liken it.
Would like to see a pix of the back with the magnet installed.
Great color combos….............................
 

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Looking to do this with whiskey barrel staves, what strength magnet did you use and where did you find them?
 

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Nice project. I'm curious if you could add another magnet to the top, and if it would work on a fridge door?
 

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mkondor , I am not sure what strength or size magnet he used but the N50 that he mentioned is the Grade of material used on his magnet. Here is a good source for them that has all sizes and strengths in different shapes.

http://www.kjmagnetics.com/
 

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Thanks to all for having a look!

As to the question regarding magnet strength, Richard is correct in saying N50 is the grade. For the first couple I used 2" x 1/4" disc magnets with a pull rating of nearly 60 pounds epoxied into a hole on the back of the board. Amazingly strong to say the least, even through the 1/4" of wood hiding the magnet from view. I believe it's a bit of over kill and the price of the magnets is causing me to experiment with other sizes in the N50 grade.

As for hanging it on a fridge, I am sure the magnet would hold it up, but the force needed to open the bottle may cause it to shift. Also, by placing a magnet(s) near the opener itself may cause the cap to stick up top and not drop to the lower collection area. I could be wrong though, so if anyone tries this let me know how it goes!
 

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Ya, you might be able to mount two smaller magnets at the top, above/to the side of the bottle opener, so it doesn't catch the caps there. I'll probably try it out, thanks for the inspiration.
 

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72hw , 2" x 1/4" disc magnets with a pull rating of nearly 60 pounds , man that should hold a full case of bottle caps.
 

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What magnet did you use?
 

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How did you hold the magnets in place? When I use super glue, the magnets rip out of the back of it and onto the magnetic surface
 
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