Mighty Mag Magnetic Base Modifications? again

Clark, you do know you can rotate the lug on the back of an AGA dial indicator, right? 4 screws; you can mount the lug in any position.

Grant

I see.

What really hurts is, I have been swapping back plates on indicators to get one with a male thread on the round magnet. I had all the clues and did not connect the dots.

I see.

What really hurts is, I have been swapping back plates on indicators to get one with a male thread on the round magnet. I had all the clues and did not connect the dots.

According to JR North :

More likely, the "hard dense black material" *was* the magnet, and the soft metal at the surface was simply the soft iron pole pieces, soft so they can be machined to match the curvature of the flywheel.

The black material is a ferrite magnet -- a ceramic -- very hard and brittle.

The same in the case of the Mighty Mag, which would have a pair of soft iron pole pieces at either side of the magnet extending to the surface, and one or more ferrite magnets between them.

Noting that the two mighty-mags were drilled at opposite ends, I still think that the actual problem was the decisions to drill vertically (which would go through the ferrite), while the horizontal drill might go above or below the ferrite magnet -- or even between two of them. If I were going to drill through one of these things, I would first try to find someone with an industrial X-ray unit, and get shots of each view to see what is there and how to miss it.

But -- why not simply turn a piece to fit in the vertical hole clamp at one end, with a flange and a threaded section so a nut could hold the dial indicator on the device -- and so it could be removed at need to use the Mighty-Mag for other purposes as well?

I'm sure that your Mighty-Mag has less grip than it did before, as you have destroyed and removed part of the actual magnet.

Good Luck, DoN.