Magnetic Cache Question

[+Insp Gadget]

I give up. I bought a nice ceramic magnet yesterday and wanted to attach it to the bottom of a small cache container. I tried super glue, contact cement, duct tape, tie wraps etc. It seems NOTHING sticks to the magnet and the tie wrap gets in the way too much. Anyone have any suggestions?

[+Stunod]

Try 2 part epoxy.

In the words of Elwood Blues, "Strong Stuff"

Edited January 1, 2004 by Stunod

[+Johnnie Stalkers]

Duct Tape? Super Glue didn't work? Did you try scratching the magnet? Maybe if you take a knife and carefully cut a tic-tac-toe pattern on the glue side of the magnet? How about just putting the magnet inside the container?

[Captain Chaoss]

If there is residue from your earlier attempted products, say superglue, still left on the magnet, the next product(s) will not stick to that product. You have to remove all traces of previous glues so you are trying to bond directly to the magnet.

 

Try 2 part epoxy. Auto parts stores have a product called steel clay, two polymers in a stick that you knead together to activate. It bonds to many products that are troublesome.

 

Or if container is large enuff, put metal washer inside, drill hole through, and use a nut and bolt. seal with silicone. More work, but it'll stick.

 

Hope that helps.

[+sbell111]

What type of container are you using?

 

I've had good luck gluing one inch disk magnets to the bottoms of film canisters. I've had no failures in all types of weather.

 

It is best if you roughen both surfaces first.

[+The Cheeseheads]

Set the magnet where you want it on the container and slap a piece of duct tape over the whole thing to completely cover the magnet. It may not look as nice, but the magnet won't go anywhere.

[+GeoSharks]

I use a hot glue gun with glue sticks. Bought it at a crafts store.

 

Haven't had one fall off yet.

[+DustyJacket]

I use epoxy, but I learned to do that BEFORE you paint the container. Some magnets were glued to the paint, which came off.

 

if the glue is not sticking to the magnets, there are some coated magnets which glue better. (I used those.)

[+Sparky-Watts]

Here in the sticks, the farmers all rely on three things: pliers, baling twine, and elbow grease.

 

Another, more involved approach is to inlay the magnet into a small piece of wood, then glue the wood to the container. After inlaying the magnet (and gluing it into place), you can seal the wood against the elements with any number of outdoor wood sealants and lacquers.

[+FarSideX]

Epoxy will work if it is not exposed to the sun. Epoxy will melt in the hot sun, in the shade it will be fine. Silicone will stick to most anything and isn't affected by changes in temperature as much.

[+briansnat]

I use Goop glue. Works pretty well and is flexible. Also consider placing the magnet inside the container if its powerful enough. I do this with the super powerful Earth Magnets.

[+fizzymagic]

Pretty much nothing will sick to polyethylene, which is what film canisters and Tupperware are made of. There are a few solutions, however.

 

You can cover the outside of the container with duct tape, and place the magnet under that

 

You can place the magnet inside the container. This only works well for rare-earth magnets, though, as ceramic magnets tend to be too weak.

 

You can mechanically attach the magnet to the container. For example, you can drill a hole through the container and the magnet and bolt the magnet to the container. But be sure to use silicone to seal around the hole completely!

 

Don't use a polyethylene container. Metal surfaces ca, if properly prepared, hold a magnet. But ceramic magnets are kind of problematic anyway, as they don't hold glue very well, either.

[+Criminal]

If you're using an Altoids tin, put the magnet on the inside. It will stick to the steel tin and allow the whole thing to stick to whatever metal surface you need. I used a hard-drive magnet in that manner and it held very tightly.

[+Old Joe Clark]

Go to a good "home town" hardware store and ask for a 2 part epoxy called PC-7. If you are gluing plastic be sure to clean it well with a good de-greaser and roughen it before gluing. If mixed properly, PC-7 will last for years in the outdoors. Stay clear of 5 and 30 minute epoxies. They are not stable in the long run. Hope this helps.

[+hikemeister]

One thing you can do to deal with the problem of glue not sticking to the container is to drill some small holes in the bottom, where the magnet will go. When you extrude the glue (use thick epoxy), allow some of it to go up into the holes. That shuold work.

[+Lazyboy & Mitey Mite]

hot glue works great and it's cheap.

 

Then again so do magnetic key holders.

[+bigredmed]

Can you get "earth magnets" or other powerful magnets at a hardware store?

[+Prime Suspect]

You want to attach two things together? Here's the answer: J-B Weld

I've never found anything this stuff didn't work on. You can get it at any hardware or automotive store.

Edited January 2, 2004 by Prime Suspect

[+DustyJacket]

I just refurbished my magnetic cache and re-epoxied the rare earth magnets INSIDE the box.

It works great! They should never break off, now. Thanks for the suggestion.

[+Criminal]

Can you get "earth magnets" or other powerful magnets at a hardware store?

This site sells them for woodworking. I forget who here in the forums showed the site to me.

[+bons]

Can you get "earth magnets" or other powerful magnets at a hardware store?

Force Feild sells rare earth magnets pretty cheap.

 

NdFeB catalog

the $20 grab bag

[+workerofwood]

I used to make costume jewelry and other craft items, and found Goop (also called E6000) really does stick to anything and is waterproof.

[+sbell111]

What type of container are you using?

 

I've had good luck gluing one inch disk magnets to the bottoms of film canisters. I've had no failures in all types of weather.

 

It is best if you roughen both surfaces first.

I just realized that my post doesn't mention what type of glue I use. I think I'm losing it.

 

I use Outdoor Goop.

[+gbod]

hot glue works great and it's cheap.

Careful with hot glue. There are 2 types of hot glue- low temp and high temp. My wife used low temp hot glue on some outdoor craft/decorations that melted and fell apart during our heat wave last summer.

[+EScout]

Insp Gadget:

You did not say what is the material of the container. A ceramic magnet should be easy to glue to most things except some plastics. A type of glue I have been using for some things lately is Polyurethane. This slightly expands and sticks to most everything well. Just follow directions and wet at least one surface (uses moisture to cure). I have attached a ceramic magnet to an altoids container and it is a strong hold. See Gorilla glue and others at your hardware store.

BYW, Home Depot sell several sizes of magnets, on the aisle with fasteners, rope, wall anchors.

[mufasa1023]

I use plastic model glue...works just fine for many applications

[martmann]

Can you get "earth magnets" or other powerful magnets at a hardware store?

Force Feild sells rare earth magnets pretty cheap.

 

NdFeB catalog

the $20 grab bag

Amazing Magnets is the cheapest I found for Rare Earth Magnets, they have a 6 pack of 1.000" Dia x 0.125" Thick, or 3 pack of 1.000" Dia x 0.250" Thick NdFeB Disc Magnets for $12, though I haven't checked shipping charges.

 

It's funny I was just looking for magnet resellers last night, and found that site.

 

I use silicone RTV (at Radio Shack: Silicone Rubber Sealer P/N: 64-2314 $2.99) it seems to handle harsher environments (moisture/temp changes) for longer than most glues I've tried.

Edited January 3, 2004 by martmann

[+woof n lulu]

 

Woof and I just found GOOP for outdoors....good from 40 below zero to 150 in summer. We followed directions, went shopping, and when we came back it was

stuck solid...found it at Walgreens of all places ! Haven't seen it at Wallyworld tho...

[+sbell111]

 

Woof and I just found GOOP for outdoors....good from 40 below zero to 150 in summer. We followed directions, went shopping, and when we came back it was

stuck solid...found it at Walgreens of all places ! Haven't seen it at Wallyworld tho...

Thats the stuff I use. I bought it at Home Depot.

 

I've glued magnets to film canisters in the field and been able to place them after just a few minutes. I've had great results even after they have been in place for several months.

[+e_lectric]

I used a hard-drive magnet in that manner and it held very tightly.

I should think so. Hard disk magnets are insanely strong. And for me, cheap, as I regularly take hard disks apart and remove their magnets before "preparing" them for disposal.

[+crzycrzy]

Just a thought...

Did you ever try buying two magnets and putting them one on each side of the

container ?

It's far less messy and they generally will hold each other in place on their own.

[+sept1c_tank]

I use a magnetic rubber/plastic. It comes in a roll about 1-1/2" wide. It has it's own adhesive on one side, like velcro tape. It sticks to any clean surface and holds mini caches well. I can't remember what it is called.

[+SBPhishy]

Wow... that Ferrofluid looks awesome...

[+briansnat]

Amazing Magnets is the cheapest I found for Rare Earth Magnets, they have a 6 pack of 1.000" Dia x 0.125" Thick, or 3 pack of 1.000" Dia x 0.250" Thick NdFeB Disc Magnets for $12, though I haven't checked shipping charges.

 

Check out Lee Valley Hardware (see Crimnal's link). A 5 pack of the 1" x 1/8" magnets is $8.95. These suckers really stick. Sometimes getting them apart is a chore.

Edited January 4, 2004 by briansnat

[+Insp Gadget]

Insp Gadget:

You did not say what is the material of the container. A ceramic magnet should be easy to glue to most things except some plastics. A type of glue I have been using for some things lately is Polyurethane. This slightly expands and sticks to most everything well. Just follow directions and wet at least one surface (uses moisture to cure). I have attached a ceramic magnet to an altoids container and it is a strong hold. See Gorilla glue and others at your hardware store.

BYW, Home Depot sell several sizes of magnets, on the aisle with fasteners, rope, wall anchors.

I am trying to glue the magnet onto a small Tupperware container.

[+DustyJacket]

Insp Gadget - I would recommend a slightly larger "rare earth" magnet INSIDE the container.

 

One of my experiments was a 1/2" x 1/4" x 1" rare earth magnet inside a platsic container. I would estimate the holding power to be somewhere above 5 pounds.

 

I have refurbished my Altoids tin containers to have small magnets inside them, but they are steel so small magnets work well.

[+Darkmoon]

I have found some wonderfully powerful magnets at the Hobby Lobby stores and they come in all sizes! Almost as powerful as the hard drive magnets that I have used! Make sure the plastic is roughed up and at room temperature before using your choice of glue! I have had great luck with the two part epoxies that require a 2 hour set up peroid and on some of my plastic containers, I use a high end waterproof silicone that is made for aquariums! It stays flexible when dried so that it won't allo the magnet to flex off and of course it is waterproof. Make sure to have the magnet clean of oils and fingerprints by wiping them down with alcohol and letting them dry and then using latex gloves while working with the glue, makes clean up easier and keeps the plastic and the magnets clean. Good luck.

 

Darkmoon

[+Wulfster]

I second the comment on JB Weld. That stuff is amazing, and you can find it almost anywhere.

[+Will+Bill]

Try using a metal Container.

[+Confucius' Cat]

1/4 drill

1/4-20 bolt

1/4-20 nut

1/4 fender washer

(optional) 1/10 oz silicone sealer

 

directions:

drill hole in magnet and tupperware

place 1/4 bolt through magnet and tupperware and fender washer

(optional) liberally spread silicone sealer on washer before assembly

place 1/4-20 nut on 1/4-20 bolt and tighten as tight as you can get it

give it a 1/4 turn clockwise

place cache on ferrous metallic surface

[+OneOfEm]

Before using epoxy on a smooth surface, scuff the surface with Scotchbrite until water spreads across the surface instead of beading. If you do this, unless you're trying to attach the magnet to teflon or the like, it will stick. I picked up this tip from a chemical engineer who KNOWS epoxies.

 

JB Weld is my epoxy of choice.

[+Wulfster]

I ordered a 50 pack of 1/4" by 1/16" disk magnets from Amazing Magnets last Sunday night and they arrived today. With shipping, it came to only $10.25! They included a sample pack of their other magnets; they're fun!

 

The 1/4" magnets are a little smaller than I envisioned, but they'll easily hold up a micro (I plan on using 4 on an altoid-sized tin). They are very strong for the size. Some of the larger ones in the sample pack are amazingly strong and were difficult to pry apart.

 

I'd recommend these guys to anyone looking for rare earth magnets.

[+JohnnyVegas]

I give up. I bought a nice ceramic magnet yesterday and wanted to attach it to the bottom of a small cache container. I tried super glue, contact cement, duct tape, tie wraps etc. It seems NOTHING sticks to the magnet and the tie wrap gets in the way too much. Anyone have any suggestions?

I have had very good luck with a hot glue gun, Any craft store or hardware store will have these. I have also use two part epoxy. I just find a glue gun faster and easier. I have never had good luck with super glue, and contact cement does not work all the time.

[Pixie_Tracker]

I second Johhny's comment on the hot glue gun. It seems that this works in a lot of cases where the other glues fail...

[+bob393]

Clear silicon glue works for me. Just be sure to give it plenty of time to cure.

[+JohnnyVegas]

Pretty much nothing will sick to polyethylene, which is what film canisters and Tupperware are made of.  There are a few solutions, however.

 

You can cover the outside of the container with duct tape, and place the magnet under that

 

You can place the magnet inside the container.  This only works well for rare-earth magnets, though, as ceramic magnets tend to be too weak.

 

You can mechanically attach the magnet to the container.  For example, you can drill a hole through the container and the magnet and bolt the magnet to the container.  But be sure to use silicone to seal around the hole completely!

 

Don't use a polyethylene container.  Metal surfaces ca, if properly prepared, hold a magnet.  But ceramic magnets are kind of problematic anyway, as they don't hold glue very well, either.

I have quite a few 35mm film cans with magnets on them, try using a hot glue gun and don't be stingy with the glue

Edited January 30, 2004 by JohnnyVegas

[+Delta-S]

GOOP in all of its forms (aren't they really all the same?) is amazing stuff. Very useful.

I had to abrade the surface of the magnets to get epoxy to stick to them. I actually sandblasted one. Worked fine.

 

But most commonly, I wrap the {item + magnet} in electrical tape.