So here goes my rant.....

How on earth do you keep these damn things clean?



I find myself fighting with them all the time! They pick up little shavings and wont let them go! Cant vacuum them clean. I occasionally use a wire brush and clean them slightly but never perfectly.

Is there something I am missing?

 

LOL I wipe mine down with a cloth and make sure to go around in ONE swipe so I carry all the shaving to one corner so I can kind of trap them all in the rag and pull them off. After that compressed air.

 

and what are those?

 

They are magnets for holding things at certain angles.

 

mine has an on off switch. It is pretty cool. You hit the switch and the metal lets go.

 

I have the same problem

 

Compressed air I think is dangerous. You have little bits and pieces of metal shavings flying everywhere. I like to use the wire wheel side of my bench grinder. Works great!

 

get the ones witrhn the on off switch

 

It's no more dangerous than grinding something which we all do every day.

 

brake clean. nuff said.

 

another magnet

 

how much do those cost?

 

not much usually around 20-30 bucks from what i've seen

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Soccerking3000 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">not much usually around 20-30 bucks from what i've seen</TD></TR></TABLE>
**** that


$1.99 from harbor freight!

i have like 6 of the small ones; great tools. And to keep mine clean i use a rag and compressed air and store them on my weldin cart so they dont collect shavings

/edit: if you really want to keep them clean put them in a ziplock bag; seal it up; use it on your jig; fabricate; then carefully remove the bag and TA DAH! you have a clean magnet!

 

The only good tool to come out of harbour freight lol. (mine are from there)

 

i feel your pain, if u grab one of those basterds with your bare hands u risk having about 10 000 metal filings go into your hand...

if u guys got a pressure washer, that also works wonders it rips those shavings right off. give it a shot.

 

That ziplock bag idea is the best idea i've ever heard. :thumbsup:

 

Damn....definitely like the ziplock bag idea... Simple **** that people never think of....damn me.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Dangger &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">That ziplock bag idea is the best idea i've ever heard. :thumbsup:</TD></TR></TABLE>

I've tried that.. It doesnt work that well. The damn bag gets loaded with shavings on the outside and as soon as you remove the magnet its like a pack of wolves waiting to attack!

And the HF ones suck.. Take a T square. 4.15 of mine where 86 degrees.. not 90!

 

meh; i remeber back in hs sience class we'd use bags on magnets to pick up shavings. If you did it carefully i bet you could get by with it but yea... ymmv i guess

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Want2race &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I've tried that.. It doesnt work that well. The damn bag gets loaded with shavings on the outside and as soon as you remove the magnet its like a pack of wolves waiting to attack!

And the HF ones suck.. Take a T square. 4.15 of mine where 86 degrees.. not 90!

</TD></TR></TABLE>

thats why when you are removing the magnet fromt the bag you are turing the bag insideout, like a rubber glove, so you reach inside the bag and pull the magnet out while holding the bottom of the bag so it will flip the bag insideout.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Want2race &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I've tried that.. It doesnt work that well. The damn bag gets loaded with shavings on the outside and as soon as you remove the magnet its like a pack of wolves waiting to attack!

And the HF ones suck.. Take a T square. 4.15 of mine where 86 degrees.. not 90!

</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's what wide belt sanders are for for 1.99 i'll make that ****** square.

 

I just let mine be dirty.

 

Yup harbor freight magnets and always dirty too. I just take a rag/brush and wipe everything to and end then pick up the crap w/the rag. When I'm not using 'em I stick up high on my drill press outta the way and have gotten into the habit of sweeping the bench off before I weld.

 

Man I grabbed one of those last year and stuck a nice steel shaving into my finger about a half inch, lovvvveee that feeling lol. Yeah and they arent square but for anything important shouldn't you be using a jig? Maybe I hang out with too many engineers lol