I'm sure lots of you already know about this trick but I just figured it out a couple days ago and thought I'd share it. So, you know how sometimes you need to drill a hole in some type of electrical cabinet or similar and it's already full of stuff you don't want any metal chips to fall on? Well, I had to drill some holes in a machine's electrical cabinet the other day and finally figured out that if you put a strong magnet close to the drill while you are drilling the hole all the chips wind up on the magnet and none fall into to cabinet. I set a magnet from a magnetron on top of the cabinet right next to where I was drilling the hole and it attracted all the chips. For my next trick I'm going to make a magnet that attracts aluminum, wood, and drywall. Eric
A neat trick!
Apr 01, 2012
6 Replies
Use a small paper cup on the drill bit, especially for drilling overhead in drywall. Pack the drill bit with grease, chips will stay stuck in the grease.
snipped-for-privacy@whidbey.com formulated the question :
A magnetron Magnet !! in 2012
What about a hard drive magnet. Much stronger in a small space.
But good idea never the less.
I have hard drive magnets, assorted other NdFeB magnets, and magnetron magnets salvaged from dead microwave ovens. The one I used just happened to be handy. One advantage of the magnet I use was the large surface area used to collect the chips. Eric
Microwave ovens - those are wimpy. How about real pro grade magnetron magnets. e.g. Heavy power Mil grade.
After 40 years mine are still strong. I got two pair in the 50's as well. They are lower power - wimpy tube compared to the newer one.
Mart> >
Magnet naturally in a plastic bag to keep the swarf off the magnet and drops into the trash when the plastic is pulled off.
Mart> >
Stick a wad of Plasticine or similar on the other side.
-- Boris
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