Free Powerful Magnets For Your Shop

[Keith Outten]

There are free magnets inside your old computer hard drive that are very powerful. The task of removing the magnets requires torx bits size 6,7, and 8 depending on the hard drive model.

These magnets are powerful enough to be used on your table saw or band saw for cut-off stops and for a lot of other uses around a workshop like hanging parts for painting and as clamps for thin material. Strong enough to hang your turning chisels beside your lathe or even the largest screw drivers can be held in place and they will stay put. I use several to hold screws of various sizes hanging on the edge of my CNC router table. Dip the magnet in a bucket of screws and your loaded and ready to go if you are working on a deck or a job in a tight place. Use them as an extra hand when assembling tools or equipment, the list is endless.

The pair usually has one flat magnet and one with a bent holder which is the front one in the picture below. The flat magnets when used on a table saw you may have to slide them to the edge before you can remove them. Also be careful when handling the pair, should they slip together while you are holding them in your hand they are capable of causing a nasty blood blister when skin gets between the two.

If you don't have any old drives handy visit your local computer repair store, they throw them away every day. I have about 30 pairs of these that I salvaged from old drives over the years.

.

[David Wambolt]

Those are the little guys. I work in Information Technologies and 10 years ago, drives were much larger. I have some magnets at work that are very strong. It was always fun tucking one of those under a CRT monitor and watching the complete discoloration of someones monitor. Then you could scare them to death with the degausing coil. The good old days. :)

[Jesse Thornton]

Keith, that's a brilliant idea! Good strong magnets are fantastic shop aides. I have several rare earth magnets from LV, but it would cost a small bundle to buy as many as I would like to have.
I'll be popping by the local computer repair shop tomorrow!
Another handy use: I have several pushsticks with magnets embedded in them that I stick to the sides of my tablesaw and jointer. They're always within reach without ever being in the way.

[Keith Outten]

Try a pair and you will soon find yourself driving across town for more of these.

I should have mentioned that these are not for children, they are much too strong and would be a hazard for children to play with.

The magnets in the picture are 2.5" long and when they couple together it takes a screwdriver or a strong pair of hands to pull them apart. If you get pinched the feeling is much like hitting your finger with a small hammer...jump up and down and probably use language that is not in the dictionary.

The hard drive motors use high quality bearings and will spin for a very long time. Should you salvage the drive motors and disks they would make awesome wheels for toy cars.

.

[Peter Stahl]

Keith is right, very stong. My daughter works with computers in the Navy and said one of the guys put one in each of his pockets. She said this guy was in a lot of pain when they came together, ouch!

[Mario Lucchesi]

Great idea, I have a half dozen old drives at work that are to be destroyed and I will have to take them out first. They are those old (gigantic) 2Mb drives.

[Dan Gill]

Great idea, Keith.

Just a caveat for those of you with small children: the little rare earth magnets are a real hazard for kids. Many kids will stick such a thing in their mouths, and when swallowed they can easily cause intestinal blockage, especially if there are two of them. Surgery is not fun.

I'm no Chicken Little. This is just something I'd never thought of until I saw a news report the other day.

No, I never swallowed a magnet when I was a kid. I did stick a plastic pearl in my ear, though . . . Too me a couple of hours to get it out. But I never told mom! :rolleyes: