info for newbies - Rare earth magnets

Have been a magnet freak most of my life, even b4 starting in scrapping. Have found that Rare earth magnets (neodymium) have the best "pull". If you can't find any in your scrappings, you can find them online fairly cheap. Very useful investment. I have some smaller ones, rated N42 that will pick up a vitamin pill, cuz it attracts the iron in the vitamin. Some large fridge mags have a plastic casing, which makes them easier to remove and also protects them as they are very brittle. Rare earths do not tolerate high temps well, as they start to lose magnetism above about 175 deg. F and completely demagnetize around 500 deg. F. Be careful not to drop them on the ground as they will find every piece of rust or shaving that is nearby! If this happens, they can be cleaned fairly well with a sharp blast of air from your compressor.

I like playing with the neodymium magnets but I don't use them to identify scrap. They will normally attract stainless and some aluminums, also can pick up some brass. I like using the magnets from microwave magnetrons. Never in short supply, I keep one on the back of the truck and back of the trailer too. Also keep one in the cab behind the seat, stuck to the cab.

Mike

I like using the microwave magnets to test metals. Their 'feild' seems to extend furthur than the hard drive magnets.
They are easyer to pick up and hold & break into peices.

When i ws scrapping out of partly crushed cars at a ex wreckers i would put 2 or 3 into the bottom of a 2 litre icecream container (plastic) and sit another into the first one, then put mu sockets etc into the top one.
They would stay in there and the container would stick to the roof etc of the cars & not move.

Also, because they were stacked up to 4 high, I would have a couple in my front pockets, I could stand on one cars windowsill and work on the car above and the magnets would stick to anything metal and hold my balance.....
Not recommended as 'safe' though. I thought it was funny, stuck like a fly to a car..