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Hello, I've just got one or two quick questions about magnetising stuff.
Is it generally done with two magnets on either side of the 'body' and object that's to be attached, or will one of the magnets be substituted with a piece of metal?
Also, do magnet-magnet attractions and magnet-metal attractions have differences in terms of strength, if the magnets in question are the same ones used?

Thanks in advance!

To answer your first question, that is more personal preference and if you have the money and magnets to do both sides or just one magnet and metal on the other side.

As for the second question, I don't know for sure, but magnet to magnet will probably be a bit stronger then magnet to metal. I don't think its much of a difference though. If you need more strength, you just need a larger/stronger magnet.

Hope that helps you out.

 DarkKnights44 wrote:
To answer your first question, that is more personal preference and if you have the money and magnets to do both sides or just one magnet and metal on the other side.

As for the second question, I don't know for sure, but magnet to magnet will probably be a bit stronger then magnet to metal. I don't think its much of a difference though. If you need more strength, you just need a larger/stronger magnet.

Hope that helps you out.

Thanks! So I suppose it's about the available amount of cash that can be spent on magnetising I suppose?
Hm, I think I'll go and get some rare earth magnets.

Thanks for the reply!

With the potential exception of bases magnetized for transport/movement trays, models almost always are done magnet-magnet. Whether it's really necessary to do so, I couldn't tell you, but the prevailing wisdom is that two magnets are stronger than one, so you might as well. It's also easier to countersink a disk magnet discretely and securely (drill bits bore out cylinders, after all, and disk-shaped magnets have more surface on the sides for glue to grip than thin-gauge steel sheet) than it is a steel sheet.

Honestly, magnets aren't particularly expensive, if you find a decent distributor. Double the magnets means bulk pricing becomes practical - you can likely find a number of vendors online that sell packs of 100 for the price of three 10-packs from the hobby/craft store. Don't know about Asian stores, but lots of US hobbyists use K&J or Ebay sellers, for that exact reason.

In my experience I have found that a good piece of steel and one magnet is enough. Two magnets in strong, but I've had issues with magnets, especially strong rare earth magnets, knocking each other out of the glue when they clack together, etc. This does require some metal snips, a good hack saw, and some patience with metal lacerations, but it's never done me wrong.

For my two full magnetized predators, the magnets are glued at the mount point of the weapon, and then either sheet steel or an embedded piece of a nail is glued into or on the weapon. I used to have these magnet to magnet but the hull magnets kept coming off with the weapons. These were 1/8" diameter magnets around 1-2mm thick.

For my infantry models I put a magnet in the shoulder and a piece of steal round bar into the actual arm piece. This is small, small round bar, and it's super glued in place, slightly depressed from the surface where you would normally glue, then a little liquid GS goes over that and it's filed smooth. Looks good and holds to the magnet great.

oadie wrote:With the potential exception of bases magnetized for transport/movement trays, models almost always are done magnet-magnet. Whether it's really necessary to do so, I couldn't tell you, but the prevailing wisdom is that two magnets are stronger than one, so you might as well. It's also easier to countersink a disk magnet discretely and securely (drill bits bore out cylinders, after all, and disk-shaped magnets have more surface on the sides for glue to grip than thin-gauge steel sheet) than it is a steel sheet.

Honestly, magnets aren't particularly expensive, if you find a decent distributor. Double the magnets means bulk pricing becomes practical - you can likely find a number of vendors online that sell packs of 100 for the price of three 10-packs from the hobby/craft store. Don't know about Asian stores, but lots of US hobbyists use K&J or Ebay sellers, for that exact reason.

I think I know of a place to get rare-earth magnets for cheap, but I'm not too sure. If I can get a relatively cheap source for magnets I guess I wouldn't mind using two magnets.
Also, thanks for clearing up if magnet-magnets are stronger! I'll take that into account!

Zygrot24 wrote:In my experience I have found that a good piece of steel and one magnet is enough. Two magnets in strong, but I've had issues with magnets, especially strong rare earth magnets, knocking each other out of the glue when they clack together, etc. This does require some metal snips, a good hack saw, and some patience with metal lacerations, but it's never done me wrong.

For my two full magnetized predators, the magnets are glued at the mount point of the weapon, and then either sheet steel or an embedded piece of a nail is glued into or on the weapon. I used to have these magnet to magnet but the hull magnets kept coming off with the weapons. These were 1/8" diameter magnets around 1-2mm thick.

For my infantry models I put a magnet in the shoulder and a piece of steal round bar into the actual arm piece. This is small, small round bar, and it's super glued in place, slightly depressed from the surface where you would normally glue, then a little liquid GS goes over that and it's filed smooth. Looks good and holds to the magnet great.

Do you think I could just use small nails/screws as the embedded metal? Would that change anything besides amount of surface area to magnetise?

Magnet to magnet generates a stronger field and requires more force to dislodge. For really narrow components I actually stack additional magnets, for example at the wrist of a space marine, to increase hold strength. When you're working with such small magnets, weight of even a plastic bit can become a real factor, especially if it's unbalanced like a thunder hammer magnetized at the wrist. As noted, bulk purchasing can make even total option magnetization of a flexible HQ rather cheap.

There is a hidden advantage to magnetizing the small parts, you can stick them to junk metal to prime without them moving around in the spray.

Magnet-Magnet is best if possible. On smaller models, like Necrons or Eldar, magnet-metal works well enough to get the job done.

GreyHamster wrote:Magnet to magnet generates a stronger field and requires more force to dislodge. For really narrow components I actually stack additional magnets, for example at the wrist of a space marine, to increase hold strength. When you're working with such small magnets, weight of even a plastic bit can become a real factor, especially if it's unbalanced like a thunder hammer magnetized at the wrist. As noted, bulk purchasing can make even total option magnetization of a flexible HQ rather cheap.

There is a hidden advantage to magnetizing the small parts, you can stick them to junk metal to prime without them moving around in the spray.

Liquid Squid wrote:Magnet-Magnet is best if possible. On smaller models, like Necrons or Eldar, magnet-metal works well enough to get the job done.

I'll probably just be magnetising the arms at the shoulder, since I don't really want my troops to use both hands to carry a single bolter. I'll go with magnet-magnet if I can find a good and cheap source!
Thanks for the replies guys!