Ideas for refrigerator magnets? (Without turning them)

[Günter VögelBerg]

I know this is not exactly the pinnacle of fine woodworking. Bear with me. A guy I work with (an engineer) was asked by his wife to find some strong magnets to hold stuff on their fridge. Like any good engineer he procured a big box of neodymium magnets and considered the problem solved. The next day he comes in confused and says "She says I need to get pretty magnets". He is confounded by the request because he considers the task fulfilled. I said "this is why you are an engineer and I am a project manager. Give me your magnets. I'll fix it."

I have a lathe but I have never really liked turning. I haven't used it in about ten years. I opened my toolbox and my turning tools all need to be re-ground
and the jaws are in pieces. I would have to learn basic turning again and I dont really have time or inclination for that this weekend.

Does anyone have any good ideas I can use to make some attractive fridge magnets?

[Bill Dufour]

Glue on some pretty buttons or drawer knobs. Hot glue is your friend here.
Bil lD

[Rick Potter]

Inexpensive chess pieces. Cheap, easy, and gives her leverage needed to move the magnets.

[Tom Trees]

Sneak one away to the workshop and stick it to a pencil parer.

[Lee Schierer]

My first step would be to check the refrigerator and insure the door isn't stainless steel where the magnets may not stick. Then I would consider making small signs with cute sayings, hearts, trees, etc with a jig saw or really fine bandsaw. Embed the magnets in the back, do some finishing and you are done.

[Frederick Skelly]

Like any good engineer he procured a big box of neodymium magnets and considered the problem solved. The next day he comes in confused and says "She says I need to get pretty magnets". He is confounded by the request because he considers the task fulfilled. I said "this is why you are an engineer and I am a project manager. Give me your magnets. I'll fix it."

Gunter, my reply has nothing to do with your question Sir. But your description of his plight was so funny that I spit coffee all over my monitor! :) :) :) Thanks for the laugh!
Fred

[Thomas L Carpenter]

I've used inexpensive wooden draw knobs painted bright colors. I counter sink the magnets a bit. I like the chess piece idea.

[Edwin Santos]

Glue on some pretty buttons or drawer knobs. Hot glue is your friend here.
Bil lD

I think you would be better served by a dab or two of epoxy. Neodymium magnets are very strong and you only want to do this once.

[Günter VögelBerg]

I should add that my intent was to make them out of wood.

[Jim Becker]

You can mount the magnets to nearly anything and this is a great opportunity to use scrap/shorts to create cute, artsy and whimsical "covers" for the raw magnets. "The sky is the limit" relative to creativity and complexity, honestly. You could even do simple shapes and paint them in colors or designs...how about a 'fridge tick/tack/toe" set? Colored blocks that match the old child's match the shape with the hole toy? Etc. You can apply clippings, fabric, objects like buttons as someone mentioned, anything...to the wood.

You can also decide if you want a slight recess in the back for the magnets to aid in gluing...

[Steve Fish]

Agree with Jim, perfect opportunity to go outside the norm and have some fun with it. Keeping with the season you could use some holiday cookie cutters as templates and cut them on the router table. Possibilities really are endless. Bansaw or scroll saw project?

[mark kosse]

How about wood "cookies" ? They look nice and would be super easy. I'd use epoxy whatever you choose to do. Also, sand the chrome plating off because it'll give way later on.

[Bill Jobe]

They sell magnetic tape with an adhesive back.

[Keith Westfall]

Not sure where you are, (plug for adding location to your info!) but maybe check at a craft store for "wooden" things. Then put your magnet on/in it and your good to go.

[Tom Bender]

Make a few dominoes, or sacrifice some purchased ones.

Strong magnets are almost impossible to pull off a good piece of steel, and they can damage a painted surface. Some stainless is magnetic, including our fridge, though not so strong as plain steel. Make them easy to grip and wax the face that goes against the fridge to reduce scuffing.

[Ken Platt]

I like the look, feel and shape of shaker knobs, so I made some of these for refrigerator magnets. I used a forstner to drill a recess in the bottom for the magnet, which I glued in with epoxy. I made the knobs on my lathe, but they are widely available to purchase. You could cut off the tenon they usually have, drill your recess, glue in the magnet, done. Ought to take just a few minutes each. The only somewhat tricky part might be holding them for the drilling (I drilled first while the blanks were square). I remember seeing a tip somewhere to make a custom holder out of two pieces of 2 x 4 joined by a hinge, with a cutout for the thing to be drilled. THe length of the 2x4s gives you leverage for a good grip.

I still like the ones I made and use them on a daily basis. I used cherry and finished with shellac. It was a neat small useful project.

Also, this way it can be wood, and a matching set if that might matter to the giftee.

Ken

[Barry McFadden]

Gunter.... I have made quite a few fridge magnets with scraps... I glue them together and shape them by hand (the letters were done with a scroll saw) .... something you might consider..

421010

[Mike Burke]

Cool idea.
I was just going to mention we need to see some pictures of everyones Frig magnets :)