# Get strong magnets for free



## oh'mike

Handy tip---I thought I was the only one who just has to take things apart to see what inside.HaHa


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## shumakerscott

*More magnets*

You can get some great tiny magnets from the laser assembly of a CD or DVD player. They work well on oil drain plugs. dorf dude...


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## jlhaslip

good tip. thanks Dorf Dude.


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## Leah Frances

OMG. My neighbor just passed some of these on to me last weekend. :thumbsup: Maybe he got the idea from you. Brian S. on Sycamore are you out there?

One of these is so strong I couldn't peel it off my fridge. Had to slide it over to the side so I could lever it off.:laughing:


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## AllanJ

Do not bang the magnet to get it off the metal plate. Otherwise you will weaken the magnet significatnly.

Disney hints: http://www.cockam.com/disney.htm


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## Scuba_Dave

We have always taken HD's apart for years & saved the magnets
Glue a piece of felt over the magnet for use on a fridge or if any dirt gets under it you will scratch it


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## shumakerscott

AllanJ said:


> Do not bang the magnet to get it off the metal plate. Otherwise you will weaken the magnet significatnly.
> 
> Disney hints: http://www.cockam.com/disney.htm


That is why I mount it in a vise and bend it with a pair of pliers. I guess I should have mentioned that. The picture doesn't show exactly whats going on. dorf dude...


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## DangerMouse

Hard drives have magnets? Whodathunkit?

-=chuckle=-

DM


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## TANC

Sometimes not a bad idea to leave the metal backing plate on, you sometimes need them to use to pry them off of things (or eachother).


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## Red Squirrel

Those are fun to play with. They can hurt when they pinch you though!

Would be cool to gather enough of the same size and build an alternator. Bet it would work well too.


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## welloff

There is 2 nice ones in the mag. of a microwave oven.


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## shumakerscott

*Thanks*

I didn't know that, thanks for the tip. dorf dude...


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## DangerMouse

I'd be careful poking around in microwaves if you don't know what you're doing....

DM


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## drtbk4ever

Darn, I was looking for a couple of nice magnets to help keep our wood screen door closed at the cabin. And guess what I just destroyed and recycled, the hard drive from two old computers. Doh.


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## DIYMan.

Man I have one of these laying around I think!


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## bluejeans

*dumb question*

So its good to put magnets on your oil filter?(or oil plug?)


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## shumakerscott

*Magnets on Oil filter*

Putting magnets on your oil filter, drain plug or just on the oil pan itself is an added measure of protection that doesn't cost anything. They sell special devices that do the same thing but they want your hard earned $$ for them. I tend to want to keep my money for other things like building my house:yes:. dorf dude...


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## bluejeans

Ok, it traps metal particles,and thats good.No downside with messing with the electronics? Now who knows about the rumor that a magnet on the electric meter slows it down?


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## DUDE!

This was passed along to me by a septic guy,, inside of big speakers, a big magnet, had a heck of a time getting it out, but I used one with a piece of rope tied to it to drag around the house exterior after doing the roof. Works great getting all those nails laying in the grass. Craftsman has a telescopic magnet, I love to use when I drop small parts on the floor and can't see them, I sweep along the floor with it to find the part.


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## shumakerscott

*Pick up tool*

You could mount several of these magnets on a board and then put wheels on the ends, attach a handle and then you have a pick up tool. dorf dude...


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## albert p

And people are making generators out of them to make there own electricity also. Another use for a puter other than a paper weight.Who would of thunk it?


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## miles11we

i grew up around computers, and always was taking them apart....so my fingers got pinched all the time with these strong magnets, still was fun to play with when i was 5 though.:thumbup:


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## Jim F

I use one of those tot lock magnets to locate and remove drywall screws in my demolition but these would work well. Coincidentally, just paid $200 to have the hard drive in my daughter's laptop replaced and they gave us the old hard drive. Why they could not get her old data off it I do not know, but that's a topic for another thread.


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## jschaben

shumakerscott said:


> Putting magnets on your oil filter, drain plug or just on the oil pan itself is an added measure of protection that doesn't cost anything. They sell special devices that do the same thing but they want your hard earned $$ for them. I tend to want to keep my money for other things like building my house:yes:. dorf dude...


Only problem with magnets in/around auto engines is the rare earth type, 
neodymium magnets, don't like heat. They die about 160F. Google rare earth magnets for KJ Magnetics webpage for a bunch of info. :yes:


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## del schisler

bluejeans said:


> Ok, it traps metal particles,and thats good.No downside with messing with the electronics? Now who knows about the rumor that a magnet on the electric meter slows it down?


doesn't slow the wheel down. It is *aluminum *


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## BigJim

Thanks for the heads up DD, there is no telling how many I have thrown away but I won't throw any more away.


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## Red Squirrel

Jim F said:


> I use one of those tot lock magnets to locate and remove drywall screws in my demolition but these would work well. Coincidentally, just paid $200 to have the hard drive in my daughter's laptop replaced and they gave us the old hard drive. Why they could not get her old data off it I do not know, but that's a topic for another thread.


Do a search on "data recovery" it's quite a process. They could if they send it out to a special company but it could cost over $1k!


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## Jim F

Red Squirrel said:


> Do a search on "data recovery" it's quite a process. They could if they send it out to a special company but it could cost over $1k!


Who knew? I would have thought the local geeks would have some tricks up their sleeves. They always tell you "We'll do what we can." But apparently, that's not much. I use Carbonite now. It's money well spent. The only thing my daughter has to worry about is her pictures and she uploads all those on Facebook for free.


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## comp

any other place's to get magnets ??


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## shumakerscott

comp said:


> any other place's to get magnets ??


The laser assemblies of cd and dvd players have small ones, quite strong for their size.


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## AllanJ

Jim F said:


> Why they could not get her old data off it I do not know, but that's a topic for another thread.


(OT) Files may be in pieces stores in different areas of the disk. Imagine a library where all the volumes of an encyclopedia or other set were stored on different shelves and the card catalog was destroyed.

In addition the file's name is kept only in the index or "card catalog".


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## huynh

I have put a magnet on the bottom of the oil pan for years. It also helps with something else that I love it: 
Some of us may not pay attention that when we stop at the traffic lights, there are loop wires buried under the asphalt surface as shown in this photo:









(Copied from http://www.instructables.com/image/FNMM85WF6S98E5S/The-Problem.jpg)

The magnet helps to turn the red light to green faster. Your waiting time is shorter. You can googling "traffic light trigger" to read the explanation, or read here:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Trigger-GREEN-Traffic-Lights/

My own words may not be so clear to you. You will see the difference! Good luck!


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## KevinACrider

huynh said:


> I have put a magnet on the bottom of the oil pan for years. It also helps with something else that I love it:
> Some of us may not pay attention that when we stop at the traffic lights, there are loop wires buried under the asphalt surface as shown in this photo:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> (Copied from http://www.instructables.com/image/FNMM85WF6S98E5S/The-Problem.jpg)
> 
> The magnet helps to turn the red light to green faster. Your waiting time is shorter. You can googling "traffic light trigger" to read the explanation, or read here:
> http://www.instructables.com/id/Trigger-GREEN-Traffic-Lights/
> 
> My own words may not be so clear to you. You will see the difference! Good luck!


It clearly says in the video this is only for motorcycles. However, that's only the beginning. Modern traffic lights do not use inductive loops to trigger them. They are either timed or they used sensors on the light itself.

Beyond that, I don't buy the magnet trick in the first place. All it's doing is increasing the electromagnetic field to make the light realize something is there, the same thing it would do if 1 car pulled up. Lights don't change when 1 car pulls up, either.


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## harleyman

It's funny that I just randomly came across this thread. Last week a friend of mine was destroying an old computer and when I asked him why he explained that he was trying to find a really strong magnet. I was confused at this point, but a little while later voila!! Such a great random fact of knowledge for everyone to have!! :thumbsup:


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## mgp roofing

An old 3.5" floppy drive has 2 strong magnets in it also.


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## Knucklez

magnets are cheap and plentiful online, shipped direct to your door. i bought some for a crazy project i was building some time ago, they were incredibly strong. literally jumped out of my hand and smashed into my car door leaving a big mark. the jump was from 6" away. these things are dangerous.


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## metal

Ya if you've got hard drives laying around that you aren't gonna use. Strong is for sure!! Those things are powerful!


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## Joe Dirt

Check for discarded CT scan machines at the local scrapyard...

Maybe not... :laughing:

Nice tip- I have some drives laying around...


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## EvilNCarnate

Since this has been bumped. The magnets inside the hard drives are neodymium (rare earth) and can be dangerous to play with, simply because of their strength. I recently read where a child swallowed 2 and ended up with their intestines being pinched and causing necrosis of that section. I have also seen some nasty blood blisters from pinches caused by these. So take caution when playing with them.


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## <*(((><

DangerMouse said:


> I'd be careful poking around in microwaves if you don't know what you're doing....
> 
> DM


Watch out for capacitors, even unplugged they can hold a healthy does of current!


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## Furd

Every Sonicare toothbrush head has two small magnets in the end that is inserted into the battery case. They are quite small but extremely powerful.


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## alsoaclient

How do you build an alternator out of them?


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## shumakerscott

I just broke open a 160Gb newer drive and it's magnet is not like the older ones. You can tell just by picking up the drive because of the weight. Heavy is good for strong magnets. The newer drives are more energy efficient, not so good for magnets. dorf dude...


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## alsoaclient

So really I need some of those amazing *new 1MB drives, the ones you get in trouble from your parents for doing a full installation of the original Warcraft on? (Ah, those were the days...)
I work with a local organization called Free Geek (freegeek.org) and I can surely get what I need there. Thanks for the advice.

Any idea which directions the poles act in?


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## shumakerscott

alsoaclient said:


> So really I need some of those amazing *new 1MB drives, the ones you get in trouble from your parents for doing a full installation of the original Warcraft on? (Ah, those were the days...)
> I work with a local organization called Free Geek (freegeek.org) and I can surely get what I need there. Thanks for the advice.
> 
> Any idea which directions the poles act in?


The poles act like every other magnet. The flat sides either attract or oppose.


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## allthumb

*I need to erase cassette tapes.*

Are hard drive magnets strong enough to erase cassette tapes? If so Does anyone have any hard drive magnets that they don't need?


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## BigJim

I dug out a couple of the magnets from a hard drive and they are very strong magnets, I am using mine to hold my best chisels to a shop cabinet door.


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## allthumb

*Magnets for erasing cassette tapes*

Thanks Jim, That answers part one of my question. Anybody out there have any they are not using?


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