Magnets

[4424ever]

Don’t get all freaked out this is totally not slot car related
Anyone have a suggestion on the best way to cut a magnet. I’m thinking a of cutting down a hard drive magnet or use as a light mount and need it’s strength due to the weight of the light

[chrisguyw]

Most magnets found in Hard drives are Neodymium, and while very hard, due their manufacturing process, are also very brittle,....additionally they tend to start losing their strength at anything over 80 degrees C...............so,..........they can be cut, but, do require some care.

You can use a dremel with a cut off disc (diamond preferred), but make a series of very shallow cuts, with some time (20/30 secs.) between cuts, to let the magnet cool a bit. It is also highly advisable to support/hold the magnet in something other than your fingers.

To remove neo dust (nasty stuff, wear a mask) from your cut to size magnet use masking tape or playdough/plasticine/silly putty.

Hope this helps
Cheers
Chris Walker

[RichD]

The dust from cutting a neodymium magnet is likely to be toxic. The magnets are plated because neodymium corrodes quickly. You might consider buying a magnet that is the correct size, McMaster-Carr has a good selection and the lifting capacity is rated. https://www.mcmaster.com/magnets/mag...ium-magnets-7/

[SpeedyNH]

there's also K&J Magnetics.

[chappyman66]

What Chris said.
Done it, wouldn't do it again if I could avoid it. I would plan my mounting depth to accomodate the magnet size to avoid cutting. Not sure if that's possible in your application. You can also just score and break them if you really want......