How to De-Magnetize a Tool

[Glenn Barber]

I purchased a Crown 3/8" bedan for Christmas and discovered that it arrived magnetized. The Crown roughing gouge and spindle gouge that I got in the same order are fine. I thought I was imagining things until the bedan "picked up" a couple of allen wrenches off the tool stand.

How is the best way to fix this problem? It actually wants to "stick" to the tool rest and definately resists sliding.

Thanks,
Glenn

[David Hullum]

Maybe tapping it with a hammer. I know if you drop a magnet it will lessen the magnetism. But I would not drop a tool like that. :D Or touch it to a 9V battery.

[Jeff Bratt]

Get an inexpensive, permanent magnet demagnetizers like this (http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00945021000P?vName=Tools&cName=HandTools&sName=Screwdrivers&psid=FROOGLE01&sid=IDx20070921x00003a) or this (http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT?PMPXNO=2701509&PMT4NO=0). I have also used electric demagnetizers (http://www.em-chicago.com/Handheld_Demagnetizers.htm) both small and large, but these should not be required in your situation.

[Dick Strauss]

Glenn,
If you've got one of those soldering guns, you may be able to demagnetize it by passing it between the two electrodes. Pull the trigger, slide the tool in and that's it.

Good luck,
Dick

[Jerome Hanby]

Not sure what temperatures would be required, but heating it would destroy the magnetism. If you are going to try hitting it, make sure you don't have it aligned north-south...

[Josiah Bartlett]

Use a demagnetizer, anything else will be destructive to the temper of the blade.

[Glenn Barber]

Thanks for the responses. I'll try the demagnetizer thing from Sears. I saw the electric demag deal in Enco and was trying to think of what type of shop would have one that I could just run the bedan over if the Sears thing fails.

Thanks again,
Glenn

[Allen Neighbors]

Someone who still has the old reel-to-reel tape recorders might have a demagnetizer that they'll let you use.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Take a soldering gun and put the tool inbetween the electrodes. Pull the trigger and remove the tool while holding the gun on. It will not harm the tool at all.

[Glenn Barber]

After rumaging through the shop, I found my grandfather's old Weller 8200 PK soldering gun. And I do mean old, the receipt in the bottom of the case was a S&H Green Stamps dated Nov. 17, 1970. I did as Bernie suggested and viola, no more magnetized bedan.

Thanks for the help. As a bonus, it resulted in a little trip down memory lane to boot!

Glenn

[Bernie Weishapl]

Glad to hear it worked. I have used a soldering iron to demagnatize tools for about 45 yrs now. Won't hurt the metal at all.

[Keith Outten]

For large parts you can use a car battery. Make a multi-turn coil from a piece of solid copper then connect it to the battery terminals and insert the metal object into the coil. You must draw the part out of the magnetic field slowly until it is well away from the coil.

At 100 amps using a six turn coil you get 600 ampere-turns which is a pretty strong magnetic field. You might want to use one of your jumper cables with this technique, the copper can get pretty warm :)

Before commercial magnetic particle inspection machines were available they used to use this technique to inspect metal parts for cracks and sub-surface defects using a very fine iron powder as the inspection medium.
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