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Hi all

While discussing a loadout for a unit on a thread the conversation has turned to talking about magnets

A dakka user by the name of Jeff White has made the following thread:

https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/783464.page

To Quote jeff:

I wanted to share this trick:
Aluminum foil.

I cannot believe I have not thought of it. Its so simple and its extremely effective and efficient! Its mind boggling..

I have finished magnetising a unit of wraithguard couple days ago with all of their close combat weapons with perfect polarisation. I got it done in in one evening thanks to this one little trick.
Last time I magnetised wraiths it took me well over 4-5 days to get it done as I kept on having to gouge out magnets because they flipped etc.. ..

I wants to share this and make this information more common and give jeff credit.
(If anyone else has banged on about this before I apologise but that's the first time I have come across this)

Please can we make his thread a sticky or something?

I have never had issues with polarities. My trick is to use stacked pile of magnets as a guide. Glue magnet onto body, stack ten or so magnets on it and glue the arm on the other end of the stack.

I usually crazy glue a marker magnet (a TINY one) to a chopstick or spare tongue depressor.
This lets me manipulate the magnet I wish to glue into place and then let the glue set briefly, and pop it off by changing the angle of the tiny magnet against the bigger one (which is less likely to rip it free). Its possible with a thin enough toothpick to glue it to the backside , and then use the depth of the wood to keep the two mags isolate. Polarity is assured, and the spacing lowers tension for withdrawing it from (for example) a plug of green stuff.

I'll try the foil, and I definitely love the mini guide magnet. I usually hollow out both parts, seat both magnets in green stuff, and use a bit of plastic cling wrap between them while everything cures. I use the same approach with flush surfaces and CA glue... basically the same trick as the foil.

 MacPhail wrote:
I'll try the foil, and I definitely love the mini guide magnet. I usually hollow out both parts, seat both magnets in green stuff, and use a bit of plastic cling wrap between them while everything cures. I use the same approach with flush surfaces and CA glue... basically the same trick as the foil.

yeah I drilled hole in torso and glued magnet in. Then drilled in arm joint put foil over torso magnet drop new magnet on the foil apply glue to the arm hole and slot that into the magnet and slide the arm off along the foil. The CA glue doesn't seem to stick to the foil at all.

Its important for doing like 5 dudes worth of load out. This way I can keep all of the arms in one place as they can go on any of the torsos because all of the polarisation is the same.

jullevi wrote:
I have never had issues with polarities. My trick is to use stacked pile of magnets as a guide. Glue magnet onto body, stack ten or so magnets on it and glue the arm on the other end of the stack.

This.

Alternatively, install the first magnet. Then put the other side on a piece of metal (I use the end of a file) in preparation for inserting it into the other side. Check against the first magnet. If it's attracted, you've got the wrong end pointing out. If it's repelled, that's the end that goes in the hole first!

It gets tricky when you do 5 dudes at once with 4 arms each and they all need to be the same.

Dunno maybe Im just dumb but the foil trick was certainly the quickest way I found.

I ise a red marker pen and put a dot on the magnets I mean to use ok the same side. Easily down when you pop them from a stack and easily controlled with the same stack afterwards

Edit: I see they mention this in that thread

I use rod magnets 10x4mm as magnetising tools. When inserting a magnet, I'll have it stuck to a magnet of bigger size. That way it will be flush, not proud of or recessed into the surface. For the corresponding magnet, I'll have several of the rod magents stuck to the already glued magnet, click the corresponding magnet at the end of that rod, then if I have several bits to do, slap the remainging magnets to the other side. Using the rod magnets keeps the orientation correct.

I like the idea of foil as well, another trick in the toolbox. =]