Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Which are the best tools to use for magnetizing 40k models, specifically for drilling the holes the magnets go in?

I see a lot of people using Dremel hand drills but I see an equal amount of people saying not to because unless you are very careful the plastic can melt easily. I've seen some other tutorials say the holes can be made by hand with small hand drills. Which should I use?

Citadel hobby drills work.

Don't always have to drill though. If you get the right sized magnets, they will be small enough to fit where you need them, and all you need after that is greenstuff to make it a smooth fitting/hide the magnet.

Glorywarrior wrote:
Citadel hobby drills work.

So do non-citadel hand drills, for a fraction of the price...

I use a pin vice for the smaller stuff, and a 6mm drill bit in a drill press (for metal) or in my fingers (for plastic) for bigger stuff.

What about just using a power drill bit without the drill AKA by hand?

 thepowerfulwill wrote:
What about just using a power drill bit without the drill AKA by hand?

In metal models I like to start the hole by hand (drill in a pin vise) and then finish it off with a power drill. Hand drilling metal is painful, but it's also painful to start with a power drill and screw up an expensive metal model, lol.

Perhaps I should clarify:

I will be building and magnetizing a Tyranid army, and I will be working exclusively with plastic, since none of the tyranid finecast models have swappable parts. Most of the models I magnetize will be the larger MCs (Hive Tyrant, Carnifex, Tervigon/Tyrannofex) and the warriors & Hive/Tyrant Guard boxes.

I have done a lot of magnetizing in plastic (and metal).

Generally, I start with a pilot dimple made by a can opener (solid metal point with wood handle, cheap from the supermarket).
Then I use a hand drill to drill the hole. My drill is from the model train store and has a real drill chuck with 3 parts that close in on each other, that ensures that the drill bit is centered. It also came with a lot of tiny drills in many sizes.

For bigger holes I do use drills meant for power drills as well, both by hand and in metal using a Bosch Ixo. That little thing doesn't have the torque or rpm to mess things up - unlike a full size power drill or red-hot RPM Dremel.

I find it useful to start with an undersized hole and gradually open it up to the required diameter by using drill bits in increasing sizes whenever there isn't much material left around the hole and there is a risk of material being torn off by a big drill.

I also use a Bosch Ixo screwdriver. It is powerful enough to put holes in plastic and soft metal and does not spin fast enough to generate serious heat.

The chuck is a bit wobbly so it is no use for drilling precision holes but that is not what we are after for putting magnets into toy soldiers.

Glorywarrior wrote:
Citadel hobby drills work.

Not if your want a 3mm hole for a 3mm magnet. As the citadel pin vice can't hold something that large.

Although yes they do work well, cheaper non citadel alternatives probably better for less money. The old style one GW did without the rubber grips was great, I think Army Painter sell one very similar.

I use a Pin-vice for the odd hole in any material and have a set of drillbits from .05 to 1.6mm for that.

For larger holes up to 3.2mm and where I want to do plenty of holes I have a Tamiya Handy Drill.



Its actually a model kit (and a nice one at that) and at the end of it you have a really useful and surprisingly robust tool. It uses a collet system rather than a chuck but that's not too much of a bother as its the same size as Dremel so I have the chuck attachment from there as well.

As I tend to use 3mm round magnets I have used this for every magnet I have done, without it I wouldn't have magnetised anything. Well worth the £20 I paid for it.

HairySticks wrote:

Glorywarrior wrote:
Citadel hobby drills work.

Not if your want a 3mm hole for a 3mm magnet. As the citadel pin vice can't hold something that large.

Actually it can, but its less than optimal and a pretty bad fit.

I have used a power drill, dremel, and pin vise. Now that I own the pin vise, it will do all the work for drilling out magnet holes.

While they may make variable speed dremels, The one I have goes way to fast, even on it's lowest setting. Makes control tricky.

My power drill has far to much torque. That much power can be destructive. It can go very slowly, which is nice.

Pin vise goes at my speed, with all the torque I want. It also has the advantage of force-feedback, so I can tell if there is a snag or a breakthrough.

For my dreads I used a 4mm woodworking drill bit which I turned by hand. Plastic & resin are similar in hardness so this should work too. You have control over the depth which is important.
Also I would use 4mm rather than 3mm.

My basic toolkit for magnetizing consists of:

1 scribe
1 pack of blue tak for marking drill spots
4 pin vises with different sized bits, so that I don't have to keep swapping out bits. The largest bit is really just a 1/8" bit that I turn by hand.
Superglue