Magnet Recomendations

[Doom Herald]

I've been doing a bit of work magnetizing minis and while the magnets that I've bought from the craft store work well, I would rather buy larger quantities than they carry since I will be doing all my models with options this way going forward. Does anyone have any recommendations or guidelines for what magnets work best? Mostly I'm looking for the kind to use for arm joints (I play CSM) but I would also be interested if anyone can recommend smaller ones more suitable for the wrist/hand connect (if even possible). Really all magnet advice would be appreciated as well, but I am mostly looking for a good brand / product that I would be able to order in large intervals. The ones I've been using are neodymium, but it's been extremely difficult to get my amazon search to find small round neodymium magnets. Edited October 14, 2020 by Doom Herald

[Firedrake Cordova]

Dumb question, but have you tried looking for specialist magnet suppliers outside of Amazon? 

 

After seeing a video on magnetising the Sector Mechanicus terrain, I ended up stumbling upon First4Magnets, who have a vast selection of magnets.  Obviously, I'm in the UK so they're unlikely to be much help to you, but I'm guessing there'll be at least one similar supplier in the USA (it's a big place! :D).

[Doom Herald]

I was hoping someone might point me towards one. I tend to be skeptical of unknown websites. I'm not opposed to doing my own research on companies, but I was hoping someone might be able to point me towards a good supplier.

 

Also, I was hoping to find specifications on the magnets that would be most useful, such as how the strength is measured, material, physical dimensions, etc.

Edited October 14, 2020 by Doom Herald

[Guest Triszin]

I honestly just end up grabbing small ones from ebay.

 

sounds like you want the smallest ones, 2x1mm I dont know if they make 1x1

[Xenith]

I generally get my magnets from ebay. 3x2mm in the torso then maybe 3x1mm in the arm works perfectly for me.

 

I dont magnetise wrists, but I'd imagine a 1 or 2mm x 2mm might work.

[Firedrake Cordova]

I was hoping someone might point me towards one. I tend to be skeptical of unknown websites. 

Fair enough - I can't blame you!   (unfortunately, I'm on the wrong side of the Atlantic to be able to help on that one)

 

Also, I was hoping to find specifications on the magnets that would be most useful, such as how the strength is measured, material, physical dimensions, etc.

First4Magnet's FAQ is pretty excellent for learning things.   The strength is often measured in "pull weight", which is downward force required to pull the magnet from a steel surface (in kg), although there are others.

 

Personally, I went with 1.8kg pull weight 15x2mm N35 neodynium magnets for my Sector Mechanicus terrain (obviously not your use case, but bear with me).  They are strong enough to give a good pull when placed in the magnet slots in the Thermic Plasma Conduits (meaning they're about 5mm away from each other) - if you get the two pipes within a couple of mm of each other, they'll snap together - whilst being easy enough to separate.  If you've got magnet-on-magnet contact, then they are really strong and a bit of a pain to separate, and will semi-violently snap together when placed near each other, so don't go stronger than that.  Having said all that, I suspect your choice is going to be limited to "whatever is available in that size", as you'll be looking at smaller diameter ones, which tend to naturally be weaker.

 

Don't know if that's any help

 

P.S. Strong magnets can be dangerous, so don't eat them or do other silly things with them ;) :)

Edited October 14, 2020 by Firedrake Cordova

[AenarIT]

I've been magnetizing models for years now and I've always been satisfied with supermagnete.de (https://www.supermagnete.de/eng/disc-magnets-neodymium).

They can get pricey, but the quality is top notch. Cheap chinese ones don't hold as well.

As for marines: the shoulder joint holds very well with 3x1mm ones (one in the torso, one in the arm), while the wrist joint holds well with a 2x2mm in the arm and a 2x1mm in the hand.
 

In general, 2x1 2x2 3x1 and 3x2 are the ones I use most, like 95% of the time. 4x2 or 5x2 can hold an entire vehicle upside down (using a magnetized flying stem, for example).

These are three primaris vanguard vets I've magnetized yesterday using the magnets listed above:

[lhg033]

greenstuffworld sells a fair selection and has the following write if you look at any of the magnets:
"Neodymium Magnet is the strongest type of permanent magnet commercially available. They have replaced other types of magnet in the many applications in modern products that require strong permanent magnets.

The references N35 and N52 are a measurement for the quality of the magnet material. The higher the grade (the number following the 'N'), the stronger the magnet. These will explain two things:
- How much "magnetic energy" per volume is contained in this magnet material
- Up to what temperature the magnet can be used

Magnets that begin with an "N" should be used up to 80°C (176°F).
The highest grade of neodymium magnet currently available is N52. 

If you take any two magnets of different sizes and magnetisation from our range, the difference in their strength is more due to the differences in their volume than the differences in their magnetisation. That's why the larger magnet is mostly the stronger magnet, even when its magnetisation classification is somewhat smaller.

** Pull Forces: Expected pull forces based on extensive product testing. The Surface Field data is only valid for points along the center axis of the magnet, and assumes a single magnet in free space.

If you are planning to use them with wargames and miniatures we will recommend you as follows: 

- Neodymium Magnet - 3x0.5mm, for exchanging weapons, heads, arms, etc ... 
- Neodymium Magnet - 3x1mm, for exchanging weapons, heads, arms, etc ... 
- Neodymium Magnet - 3x2mm, for plastic miniatures bases.

- Neodymium Magnet - 5x2mm, for metal miniatures bases."

 

Personally I've bought from greenstuffworld, Darksphere, ebay and amazon. Careful on ebay/amazon that you are getting what you are looking for as some descriptions are a bit suspect. They say the key numbers e.g. 52 but it is not necessarily in context of the pull strength, it might be you get 52 magnets.

 

main thing to go with - Volume is more powerful than surface area so go with a deeper magnet if you want a stronger connection. 

 

also - the (old) Gamesworkshop pin vise can take bigger drill bits if you need it to (I think i've gone up to 3mm from my drill set)

 

I've only used magnets for conversions/weapon swaps but am currently considering (thanks to the topic here on cases) using them for storage too.

[Jolemai]

Hopefully this will help:

 

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/297605-tutorial-magnetisation/

:)

[Doom Herald]

Thanks very much everyone, you've all been immensely helpful!

[Sky Potato]

I honestly just end up grabbing small ones from ebay.

 

sounds like you want the smallest ones, 2x1mm I dont know if they make 1x1

They do make 1x1mm magnets, I got some from Amazon. Used them to magnetise the pintle mount on a Repulsor.

[Firedrake Cordova]

I was hoping someone might point me towards one. I tend to be skeptical of unknown websites.

Don't know if it's helpful, but EonsOfBattle uploaded a video on magnetising models today.

 

He recommends K&J Magnetics.

 

(apologies for the slight thread necromancy :))

[Brother Ramael]

Very informative thread, thumbs up!

Edited November 4, 2020 by Brother Ramael