Magnet's (Iron Filings Help)

[Confusion]

As some of you may know, I have been adding magnets so some of my Battletech Figures

http://www.sweetconfusion.net/bt/blackjack.htm, http://www.sweetconfusion.net/bt/longbow.htm, and http://www.sweetconfusion.net/bt/magnets/

Anyway, a project has come up, me and my buddy are going to be assembling a large number of Battletech pieces, (50 Mechs, and 30 Vehicles) and well, we want to articulate them with magnets as appropriate. However, working with magnets on such small pieces, is well a pain the the a@#. So, I'm looking to an alternative to putting two magnets on each 'joint' but I'm completely stumped.

Does anyone know about magnets at all? I cannot seem to find much except expiraments... Basically, what I'm doing know is drilling a hole, and dropping a magnet in. Getting the magnets in the holes to line up well, i.e. lie flat is difficult since the hole from the drill is slightly rounded.

So, what to do? I thought of putting in a few drops of superglue and letting it dry on the side would help even it out, but I've gotten mixed results with that. I am also thinking of iron filings, but I have not really used them much since Junior High School Physics type stuff. Basically, I want to drill the hole, fill it up with Iron Filings, and attach the magent to the other piece. But how much iron should I use? Anyone have an idea? Or a suggestion for something else.. There is a Learning Store type of place near me, so getting them is not a big deal, I'll probably get them this weekend. But I'm hoping for some advice on the subject.

Geez, that was long and ramling.. sorry for that, but I think you all get the idea.

[en'til Zog]

Hi Confusion,

Google for "the magnet man" or "forcefield.com" for a guy that sells lots and lots of little Neodymium magnets. Even ones that can fit neatly into a mech - like 1/8th inch dia. in dots or even thinner rods.

Mounting? Drill hole, a bit deeper and wider than necessary. Sploodage in some epoxy. Drop in the magnet. Then place a piece of greased steel on top of the joint flush with the surface. The iron will pull (well, should pull) the magnet into alignment with the surface and flat to it. Greased? So the epoxy won't stick to the steel sheet! In the 'attaching' piece you can use a bit of steel rod, or another magnet - all surfaces well greased to prevent unfortunate permanent attachment. Make sure you have matching polarities on the magnets that are supposed to attract each other....

Well, it's an idea....

Good luck, and MODEL ON!

[Umi_Ryuzuki]

Depending on the strength and type of magnet, and how deep you bury it in the model, the magnet can easily lose up to 75 percent of its "grip".
Regular refrigerator and hardware magnets are affected greatly this way, and would require a magnet on each side.

Neodymian magnets are so strong, that once they are together, it is troublesome, at best, to get them apart. If one side can be fitted with such a magnet, the joining part needs only a metal plate, or pin to remain attached. Still, much more than 1/16 inch of separation between the metal and magnet can allow the parts to slip away from each other. 3/8 of an inch of resin is about the limit of two neodymian magnets

If you let the magnet into a depression in your model, it is a good idea to set it a little deep, and have recess remain. Then the joining part can use a metal rod to seat into that socket and keep the parts aligned. This will also allow you an opportunity to create a friction point so that a raised arm may hold its pose. Otherwise the part may continuosly drop to the low point.
Ideally, I would set the magnet in about 1/32-1/16 too deep, then fill over the top, but leave an opening sized for the metal pin. That way the metal pin could still make direct contact with the magnet. The opening could be drilled after the magnet has been set in place and puttied, or covered over.

Have fun.
8)

[haywire]

This is what I am doing with my heavy gear miniatures

Purchased magnets from Amazing Magnets because these suckers are STRONG

Took the stack of round magnets and colored each end with two different colored sharpies (red and black for instance). Then broke the stack into two stacks.

Red stack was the weapon/arm
Black stack was the body

I did one test mini and sized the hole with a dead paintbrush handle by putting the paintbrush in the hole and marking the depth.

Now you are ready for the assembly line

- Drill hole with dremel and check depth with brush
- Place zapagap
- Grab magnetic stack and put stack in hole slide to the side to leave the single magnet in.

Hope this helps

[Confusion]

Ok, I have magnets.. D21's and D1Y1's from K&J Magnetics http://www.kjmagnetics.com/products.asp?cat=10

The link's I posted before showcase a couple of the machines I have done previously with magnets.

I like the greased steel sheet idea. Since the bulk of my trouble seems to be getting the magnet's in the drilled holes to line up properly. However, in some cases, I drill the hole double depth since some of the arms just don't have the meat for it. This is where a lot of the problems arise in lining things up.

Looks like I need to shop around a bit more then, for random metal bits.. not a bad thing.

Thanks Guys.