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Magnetism

Short John Bronze

Short John Bronze

Joined
Aug 26, 2020
Messages
458
Points
278

Location
UK Dorset
Why do all my tools become magnetic? Needles stick to pliers, Tweezers stick to Screwdrivers, Pins (plated steel) stick to everything. The last example is sometimes useful for picking up pins post finger nail trimming. Is it my magnetic personality, bad feng shui or is my house built on a ley line?
 
You don't have a magnet laying around your workbench or tool box by chance.

I found a similar problem with tools from my dad's old tool box and found an old plastic wand with strong magnet in end used to pick up nails, laying next to other tools had an effect.
 
Kurt Konrath said:
You don't have a magnet laying around your workbench or tool box by chance.

I found a similar problem with tools from my dad's old tool box and found an old plastic wand with strong magnet in end used to pick up nails, laying next to other tools had an effect.
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Or by an electrical current or radio transmitter. :) Both will create magnetics.
 
Even more important, is there a way to get rid of it? It would be nice to be able to turn it off and on but I think that's asking too much. :)
 
You need a demagnetiser. Basically this is a coil of wire wound on the outside of a piece of plastic rainwater pipe-- big enough to put tools inside. Connect the coil in series with an old style tungsten lamp and plug it into the wall socket. The inside of the coil now has a rapidly changing (AC) magnetic field inside it. The lamp is just there to limit the current and prevent a short circuit.

Now the good part. The rapidly changing magnetic field inside the coil makes everything dizzy (in a magnetic way) rapidly changing polarity. What you do is put a lighting dimmer into the circuit, and after a moment slowly turn the voltage down to zero. End result should be a demagnetised tool.
 
Thank you. How much of a coil do you need? If I was to use 4" PVC, how many wraps? Just roughly. 4 or 100?

PS- So if I was to use the same coil with DC I could magnetize things?
 
If you have enough wire a single layer closely wound should be ok. Andyes - if you use DC you can magnetise stuff too, though that might require more turns to make a stronger field inside the coil. The science bit is 'strength of field is related to Ampere-turns.' So the higher the current and the more wire wrapped around the drainpipe the bigger the magnetic mayhem inside.
 
My vote goes to Jimsky's suggestion. Sometimes you want something like a screwdriver magnetized, sometimes you don't. Physics makes it easily reversible!
 
if you use a demagnitizer like the one for old reel to reel decks it will eliminate the polarization... but no sooner you did it, it will return.

its the nature of the stainless steel used in the tool. its not a good stainless alloy with high nickel content. non magnetic surgical tools are what you want but they are very rare and hard to find and expensive. titanium tools have been getting popular since they are mri safe.... also expensive. plastic is another option but arent as accurate.

Biopsy Instruments / Non-Magnetic MRI Surgical Tools

www.mriequip.com www.mriequip.com
 
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Don Case said:
Even more important, is there a way to get rid of it? It would be nice to be able to turn it off and on but I think that's asking too much. :)
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Helpful info:

Magnetizing and demagnetizing - that's how it works

Would you like to know how to magnetize and demagnetize tools? ✔ We reveal how it works. Read the guide now!
www.magnet-shop.com www.magnet-shop.com
Don Case said:
Even more important, is there a way to get rid of it? It would be nice to be able to turn it off and on but I think that's asking too much. :)
Click to expand...
 
Don Case said:
Thank you. How much of a coil do you need? If I was to use 4" PVC, how many wraps? Just roughly. 4 or 100?

PS- So if I was to use the same coil with DC I could magnetize things?
Click to expand...
More wraps = stronger magnetic field generated = better too for de-magnetizing objects. The demagnetizer requires AC current, which flips the magnetic field back and forth at 60 hz (or 50hz for European countries). The oscillating field scrambles the direction of the individual magnetic fields in the item you want to demagnetize, so they no longer line up in a single direction, which is what made you tool a magnet. You place the demagnetizer against tool, plug it in to energize it, then slower move it away from the the tool until it's about 1m away, then unplug it. All the microscopic. individual grains in the tool will now have magnetic fields aligned in random directions, so they don't all contribute to make the tool a magnet. Their tiny fields cancel each other out.
 
All you need to do is give a magnetized tool a sharp tap with a hammer. This jolts the atoms enough for them to re-align themselves in the metal and become de-magnetized.
 
Get yourself a degausser machine…available in Amazon…you do not need one of the expensive ones…they work by placing tool on the machine and it is demagnetized…or degaussed…prices range from $10 to hundreds. A cheap one should work for you…
 
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Short John Bronze said:
Why do all my tools become magnetic? Needles stick to pliers, Tweezers stick to Screwdrivers, Pins (plated steel) stick to everything. The last example is sometimes useful for picking up pins post finger nail trimming. Is it my magnetic personality, bad feng shui or is my house built on a ley line?
Click to expand...
I have the same, but I put it down to using magnets as pick-ups for when tools 'jump' off my work desk! Pity they don't work on wood!!!!!!!!! I also have a 'thingy-ma-jig' for magnetising & demagnetising.
 
Extra credit trivia factoid: "Degaussing" was a process devised during WWII to "wipe" Allied ships "clean" of magnetic fields which were used to trigger German magnetic mines. Similar to the process described in this thread for tools, huge coils were used to pass ships through, or over, to "degauss" them and eliminate the natural magnetic fields large masses of iron will passively acquire naturally. The process is still used on U.S. submarines for similar magnetic "cloaking" purposes. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degaussing
 
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