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Hey guys, just wondering if anyone has any tips on magnetization, specifically aligning the magnets so that they will touch in the right spots when you have to drill holes in each piece.

So, for instance, if I wanted to magnetize a space marine arm, I need to drill two holes, one in the body and one in the arm but not sure how to get those two holes lined up in the appropriate position - a tiny misplace can ruin the posing.

In writing this I just realized I could drill a hole just in the arm deep enough for two magnets, then it's a simple matter of putting some glue on the outer magnet and sticking it the body in the desired position. But open to any suggestions on how to mark a drill location in this kind of situation (and what if you don't have enough thickness in the item to drill 2 magnets deep)

Thanks

Try this...

Drill a small hole, like you'd use to pin something. Insert your favourite pinning material into the one side (I use paperclips). Clip off the pin with only a small amount extending past the edge of the material.

Align the pieces, and then press the two pieces together hard, so that the little bit of the pin that's extending leaves an indentation in the other piece.

Those marks are now aligned. Use tweezers or pliers to remove the pin, and simply make the holes in each piece large enough to hold the magnets.

Brilliant, why didn't I think of that haha. Thanks!

Along the same vein, I use a dot of paint, and I've seen other people use the tiniest amount of blue tac.

Yea I tried the ink and even glue dot technique but if at first you have the wrong placement then you have to start over. I like the pin method because you can press it in firmly once you are happy with the placement.

They're all methods to get the same outcome. Use whichever method works best for you.

Another one that is similar that I have used ever since I heard about and has worked great.

All you do is drill the hole in one side then put blue tac on the opposite piece you want to pin/magnitize.

get some saliva on your finger and put it on the side you all ready drilled and push the two together.

when you pull them apart it should leave you with the perfect nub to show you exactly where it would match up and just drill right on the nub and Boom goes the dynamite.

All these have worked in the past for me but the one I just explained has been the best most consistent for me at least.

 UnCool Villain wrote:
Another one that is similar that I have used ever since I heard about and has worked great.

All you do is drill the hole in one side then put blue tac on the opposite piece you want to pin/magnitize.

get some saliva on your finger and put it on the side you all ready drilled and push the two together.

when you pull them apart it should leave you with the perfect nub to show you exactly where it would match up and just drill right on the nub and Boom goes the dynamite.

All these have worked in the past for me but the one I just explained has been the best most consistent for me at least.

Ah very sensible, thanks!

another simple solution, if you are using larger magnets, and not the bare minimum size, is to put magnets on the torso, and metal into the arm. the arm becomes universally compatible with any magnet polarity, and you save $$$ on magnets

 UnCool Villain wrote:
Another one that is similar that I have used ever since I heard about and has worked great.

All you do is drill the hole in one side then put blue tac on the opposite piece you want to pin/magnitize.

get some saliva on your finger and put it on the side you all ready drilled and push the two together.

when you pull them apart it should leave you with the perfect nub to show you exactly where it would match up and just drill right on the nub and Boom goes the dynamite.

All these have worked in the past for me but the one I just explained has been the best most consistent for me at least.

This technique has been gold for me.

 poda_t wrote:
another simple solution, if you are using larger magnets, and not the bare minimum size, is to put magnets on the torso, and metal into the arm. the arm becomes universally compatible with any magnet polarity, and you save $$$ on magnets

Yea great idea, I was thinking about this the other day actually since I have some thin scrap metal lying around.

You reminded me of another question I had too. How are you guys drilling out holes for bigger magnets? The manual pin vice drills and even my dremel don't support drill bits bigger than 3 mm diameter. Is it just a matter of getting a drill with a bigger bit capacity? For really big stuff I don't imagine these would be very gentle or useful on plastic/resin because of the spike:

those are not going to work for you.... in most cases, the larger drill-bits are fine for doing it by hand. If not, you may just have to take some rubber band and wind it around 500 times to get a grip. This is of course all assuming you are NOT drilling metal. if you ARE drilling metal...well..... nuts. You may have to use drill.

Agreed. The 1/8 inch bit I use for the larger D201 magnets, I have to twist by hand. However, if you start with smaller bits and work your way up, it's not to hard. Wrap some duct tape around the shaft that should give you a decent enough grip.

How large are the magnets you're trying to use? I use a powerdrill for everything and haven't had any problems with any normal size magnets.

The trick is to work up to the size you want slowly. Don't go straight for the 1/8th inch bit, start with the pin vise, then use the 1/64th, the 1/32nd, and 1/16th. It takes a little longer, but you have a lot of control, without having to hand-crank a drillbit.

Power drill, and I lightly pull the trigger while I monitor what I'm drilling into to make sure I don't go all the way through.

Keep in mind that I am considerably more comfortable around my drill than my paintbrush.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I always forget how soft the plastic is, can definitely just hand turn the drill bit with some grip. And very useful the advice to work your way up in bit size as you make the hole.

poda_t - I don't ever touch metal minis anymore since too hard to do conversions (and artscale)

Redbeard - I've got some magnets little over 1/4". Things like tank turrets, dreadnought arms, who knows in the future (titans?)

Matney - yea, same here, much more comfortable with construction tools than with the paintbrush

I don't think increasing the size of the drill bit over 4 or 5 stages is actually that good. By the time you get away from a small bit in a pin vise and get up to the 1/16" and 1/32" there is no way you have kept the same centre as the pin vise, and your hole has wandered.

 Conrad Turner wrote:
I don't think increasing the size of the drill bit over 4 or 5 stages is actually that good. By the time you get away from a small bit in a pin vise and get up to the 1/16" and 1/32" there is no way you have kept the same centre as the pin vise, and your hole has wandered.

Good point. I also don't think its worth doing for small holes (pin size). I just make a center starting point with my knife

 Primarchz wrote:

 Conrad Turner wrote:
I don't think increasing the size of the drill bit over 4 or 5 stages is actually that good. By the time you get away from a small bit in a pin vise and get up to the 1/16" and 1/32" there is no way you have kept the same centre as the pin vise, and your hole has wandered.

Good point. I also don't think its worth doing for small holes (pin size). I just make a center starting point with my knife

i was about to say this, that drilling a small guide hole will significantly improve your odds of not screwing up with a larger drill.