How do you embed rare earth magnets in wood?

You’re in luck… Epoxy I’d say. I think I’ve read that in numerous places.

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Vincent Van Gogh

Tom Fine Woodworking Sept/Oct 2007 says to use super glue to stick them in. I thought I read is a magazine while on my trip to use a thin wood cover over the magnet (like a dowel) to hold it in place. Test your magnets through wood before doing it to insure that they have the strength.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

I’ve used 15 minute epoxy. I gave the magnet a scuff with 80grit, though I don’t know that was entirely necessary. I used a forstner bit to bore a recess. In a lap desk I made for my daughter, I made a little pencil box that pulled out of the desk and attached to the top of the desk with rare earth magnets. I bored a hole in the hidden side on both the desk and the box, and used opposite pole orientation to attach the box. Using two magnets increased the strength going through the wood to make up for a little bit thicker wood needed to keep the forstner bit from poking through. It ended up pretty neat as you can’t tell where the magnets are, but the box sticks to the table when we were driving. The entire project has since gotten run over in the driveway, but it worked pretty cool.

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

Tom, I use a shop made edge guide on my jointer plane that I made with three magnets. Like Tom I used a forstner and glued them in with 2P-10 or how ever you say it( super glue). No problems in the last year. That’s a lot of Toms on one page.

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

I’ve used both Cyanoacrylate (Hot Stuff medium) and Epoxy. Just make sure you orient the magnets to the proper
polarity. I let them hook up and mark the bottoms with a marking pen so I know when they are dropped into the forstner hole they will draw one another. No one wants the mysterious hovering lid/cabinet door!

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

I have done exactly as Karson posted on a cabinet to hold doors closed worked great no problems

-- Scott NM,http://www.shangrilawoodworks.com

I’m using the cups and flats from Rockler to hold the doors on our kitchen. I’ve had acouple taht didn’t work quit like I wanted.

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

Tom,

since everybody else has given the proper answer, I’m going to inject a little humor.

Use a magnet!

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

Thanks to everyone who weighed in on my question. Here are some pics of what I was up to.

I needed a light on my bandsaw, and I didn’t want to drill holes in the frame of the saw, so I made this so that I could have my light.

Here’s a picture of the “magnet mounting block.”

Here it is mounted on my bandsaw with a piece of angle iron to support the lamp.

Here is what it does.

This is sweet!

Thanks to all of you for your technical support!!!

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

Very cool…I’m gonna go get some magnets.

-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org

Yeah, Bob, these things are amazingly strong. There are a gazillion applications for their use.

But, watch out. They are so strong, they can hurt you. There are even warnings on the package they come in. While I was trying to glue these into place, they got loose several times and man, they are hard to pull apart.

I remember reading about them in a woodworking magazine a while back, and then I found some in a local tool store here. I bought a couple packs of them with the idea that, one day I’ll find a use for them. Well, that day came today – now I’ve got that light I always wanted on my saw.

The light I used was a “reclaimed” desk lamp. I “reclaimed” it from the storage, where it wasn’t being used. I thought, I can use this.

I know I could have bought one for about $30 and some change, but this was way more fun!

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

Be sure to use a “heavy duty” light bulb or you will be replaceing them all the time.
Regular bulbs don’t do too well with vibration.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Gary,

Thanks for the tip. I never even thought of that.

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

Douglas . . . Im thinking a “mysterious hovering lid/cabinet door” would be a hoot to give someone.

A box with a never shut lid. You would need another box to lay on the lid to keep it shut. Hmmmmmm

-- The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them

I agree, it would be fun to see that hovering lid. I don’t think Don would like that on one of his boxes though.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

Tom, gotta love the creativity of reusing old stuff! I hate our throw-away mentality here in the U.S.! I have one of those old lamps just hanging around in my workshop. I will get some of those rare earth magnets and make it a work-light like yours. Free up some space on my desk, too!
Thanks for the great idea!
God Bless,
Hawg

-- Saving barnwood from the scrapyards

”I hate our throw-away mentality here in the U.S.!” - Hawg

I agree. Probably the only thing that would make the U.S. a “resourceful” people again would be an economic slowdown. As long as we have pockets full of money, who needs to mess around like this – just go buy what you want. But sometimes, you can’t buy what you want, and then you become creative.

My magnets cost me $3.50, and I still have (2) left.

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

watch out hawg, them magnets is really RARE!! I want to see th hovering lid as well. I think we should appoint Zuki to build it for display. All in favor????

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

Yeah, Zuki better get busy.

: ^ )

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Tom, you might also want to consider using a small compact fluorescent bulb. They can handle all kinds of vibrations and since you have that metal cover on the lamp it wouldn’t even matter if you were to bang the occasional piece of wood into the lamp, they can take that too. Plus they only use about 7 watts versus whatever the bulb you’re using now consumes.

-- Isaac, "It's no coincidence that Jesus was a lumberjock too"

Isaac,

That’s a good idea! I just picked up some of those over the weekend (along with more magnets) ;^D

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

Working on another box just now. Since it’s another “good neighbor” box, I’ll probably have to skip on “the Mysterious Hovering Lid” feature. Maybe if I decide to make a “bad neighbor” box.
Or Zuki can make one for his neighbor that needs a whack. He can use it to store his organo-phosphates.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

I had a few of those rare earth magnets left over from another project. The guys thought it would be a good idea to glue them to shop tapes so they could be left around the shop, anywhere there was metal.

The problem was trying to center the magnet on the tape box. It wanted to move over top of the tape rather than stay in the center. So I let it. Even with 5 minute epoxy I could not hold it in place.

So now I can put the tape on the bandsaw, or the table saw, or the dust collector pipes, or whereever. Really handy.

-- No piece is cut too short. It was meant for a smaller project.

RARE earth magnets ain’t that rare, Tom. www.woodcraft.com You can find a good selection, there.
They make a good way to replace a latch on a box or cabinet.

God Bless,
Hawg

-- Saving barnwood from the scrapyards

So they’re just “earth magnets” then? There’s a name that doesn’t make any sense unless they are clods of magnetized dirt.

I’m seeing the next contest challenge – the hovering box lid!.. or a gag kitchen cabinet install – Doors that never close! – handy feature on a childs toybox too – no pinched fingers!

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Vincent Van Gogh

The super of all super magnets is the Neodymium Iron Boron magnet (NdFeB).

You can put on of them on each side of your wrist and they will stick.
The larger ones will also stick through a 2 inch piece of wood.

A magnet in the shape of a 1/2” cube has a pull force of over 24 pounds. So using just 4 of them would
be almost 100 pounds of pull force.

If you want some, then take apart an old hard drive and you’ll find 4 of them in there.
That’s the most common thing they are used for.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Hey, Scott – I already have those kitchen doors and they don’t even have magnets in them!!

I too want to do the hovering lid technique. I want to make a gift for my granddaughter’s 5th birthday. I think a box with a hovering lid would be pretty cool.

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

”So they’re just “earth magnets” then? There’s a name that doesn’t make any sense unless they are clods of magnetized dirt.” - Scottb

For those who wish a detailed analysis of “rare earth magnets,” click here.

They are available at Woodcraft, Rockler, or Highland Hardware. I found mine at a local tool retailer (no shipping charges).

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

GaryK,

Thanks for the information on “The Super of All Super Magnets.” I’ll have to salvage some when my next hard drive crashes.

Magnets are truly an amazing phenomenon. Like electricity, they exert power that cannot be seen – but it is there.

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

Hmmm . . . well I just happen to have a couple of rare earth magnets in the shop.

I have started playing with my poplar and may just have to make a “Hover Lid Box” or “Nev-R-Shut” cupboard.

-- The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them

Sounds good Zuki!

We’ll wait for the post of the “Hover Lid Box.” Maybe you could do a little live video for a better effect ;^D

You never know, there may be a market out there for this type of novelty.

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

Now, will the lid actually hover or just get knocked out of the way?

I’ve been thinking of putting magnets in the inside edges of some bi-fold doors, and then this here post shows up! Gotta love how this all works! I guess I’ll be using super glue – seems to be the preferred adhesive!

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

”I guess I’ll be using super glue – seems to be the preferred adhesive!” - Dorje

Yes, that’s what I used, and it worked fine. Hey, Walmart even sells a generic brand now with (4) tubes for $1. You can’t beat that!

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28