Question: Demagnetizer

[waltmagic]

is there any one can tell me where
I can get a demagnetizer that will work on my engraving tools. I have got two small ones (WIHA) another with no name on it, will not work. waltmagic

 

[KCSteve]

I use a bulk-tape eraser I got at Radio Shack years ago.

Take off your watch and anything else you don't want scrambled, plug it in, hold the graver against it. Hit the trigger and then slowly raise the graver away from it. After a foot or so release the switch and you're done.

 

[leroytwohawks]

Look on ebay I got one like Steve is talking about for $29

Kevin

 

[DakotaDocMartin]

I have a wand type demagnetizer designed for the old cassette tape recorder heads. It has to be plugged in to an outlet to work. But, if you go on Amazon.com and search you can find all sorts of different kinds. This one is cheap and you don't even have to plug it in:

http://www.amazon.com/Wiha-40010-Magnetizer-or-Demagnetizer/dp/B00018AONE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1277435430&sr=8-1

 

[tim halloran]

I Got A Heavy Duty One At Gesswein. I Think It Was About $69.00 It Will Last A Life Time.Tim Halloran

 

[leroytwohawks]

Stick with the plug in style!!!!!

Kevin

 

[Peter E]

There are MANY options. I had zero success with the cassette head demagnetizer, and the same with passing it between the opening of a Weller soldering iron tip.

I paid about $35 for a plug-in model from Enco and it works EVERY time. It looks VERY similar to what they had in the classroom at GRS.

 

[mitch]

i've tried a bunch over the years and haven't found any that will reliably demagnetize a graver enough to keep the microscopic chips we make from sticking. maybe the bigger stuff, but not the tiny shading chips. maybe Los Alamos or Oak Ridge makes something better, but the off-the-shelf stuff is largely inadequate for my needs. look at it this way: you can magnetize something by exposing it to an electro-magnetic field. you think you're going to completely reverse the process by.......exposing it to an electro-magnetic field? at best, you can disrupt the process for awhile.

i gave up long ago and started my search for alternate tip chip removal methods.
oil clay? not sticky enough and left an oily residue.
silly putty? not sticky enough.
fimo? not sticky enough.
kneadable erasers? not sticky enough.

the winner? Duck/Loctite Poster Putty
http://www.duckbrand.com/Products/craft-mounting-products/mounting-products/poster-putty.aspx

it's sticky enough to hold the finest steel 'dust' from bulino work. sticky enough to stay in place on the workbench. bright blue color so we near-sighted folks can see/hit it without leaning around the microscope and squinting. leaves absolutely no residue- i've even used it to de-lint, de-oil, de-smudge a surface before photographing. i've seen it in Lowes & HD for about $3.00- which is enough for several lifetimes. one quick stab into the ball and your graver is spotless.

 

[mbroder]

Sounds interesting , Mitch...I'll give it a try!

 

[KCSteve]

Mitch

The electro-magnetic demagnitizers work by using AC (alternating current) to create a rapidly flipping magnetic field. This keeps switching the orientation of the individual magnetic domains from one way to another.

When you hit the switch with your graver right up against it the fields are strong and every little domain gets flipped back and forth. As you slowly draw the graver away the fields get weaker and some of the domains stop moving. In the end you wind up with them pretty well all scrambled, pointing any old way. Which is the state known as 'demagnetized'. Over time various things - including simple vibration - can get the domains lined up again enough to produce a noticeable field and require another trip through the scrambler.

The tool demagnetizers (the plug-in ones) do the same 'strong start then slow fade' internally (probably via a capacitor). If I ever happen to run across one I'll probably get it just for the slight physical convenience, but since it is slight I won't pay a lot for it.

 

[Tim Wells]

is there any one can tell me where
I can get a demagnetizer that will work on my engraving tools. I have got two small ones (WIHA) another with no name on it, will not work. waltmagic

Bseides the content of this thread, if you were to use the search feature here and do a search on demagnitizers, I bet you would end up with more info than you know what to do with. This subject has come up several times and has been well covered. Good luck.

 

[mitch]

i remembered one more thing about the 'poster putty'. it is the greatest stuff ever for positioning small parts for photographing! instead of propping things up on erasers, etc. to get just the right angle for lighting, stick a wad of it on the back of the piece, push until it's where you want it and there it stays. no spring back, no slippage, no problems. just make sure it's well hidden so the bright blue color doesn't peek out behind anything.

and KCSteve- i'm well aware of the processes involved and have tried at least half a dozen different makes & models of demagnetizers over the years. without exception, i was utterly unimpressed with their ability to sufficiently demagnetize a graver to keep the finest chips from clinging. i also tend to re-sharpen frequently, so between grinding them down and using the poster putty, before they're really annoyingly magnetized i'm ready to retire them anyway. i'm also pretty particular about my graver lengths- especially squares- so they've only got about 3/8"-1/2" of useful life to me.

 

[Joe Jacob]

Demag

I made a demagnetizer using a Weller soldering gun. Just replace the soldering tip with a coil using some 12 ga copper wire. About 4 turns is enough, about 1/2" ID. Just turn it on and slowly pass the graver through the center of the coil, in and out, then turn off the gun. Should take about 5 sec. The coil will become hot, just like the soldering tip it it is turned on for too long.

 

[John B.]

Another product that works well is Dap BlueStik reusable adhisive putty.
It's $2.00 at Lowe's.

 

[JAT]

Hey Mitch, awesome advice on the sticky putty. I was doing some fine shading on piece of steel the past few days and I was wondering what would work really well, that is the answer. As for demagnetizing, sure I would do it if my gravers were really badly magnetized but, and this is a big but, a lot of steel is magnetized a little anyway, so you can demagnetize your gravers all you want but the chips are still gonna stick, because the chips are what's magnetized. If you really want to fight it try demagnetizing what ever your working on and your gravers, I still dont know if that would work but I'm curious if it will (I don't have a demagnetizer that big). I'm not real sure about this but I think some steels will magnetize your graver just by cutting into the steel whether it is magnetic or not, good question for a physicist.

 

[KCSteve]

And sometimes magnetism isn't the problem at all.

I know that wasn't what was making the copper chips stick to my graver yesterday. But a little bit of the transfer wax I used for the layout - that was enough to make those tiny little chips stick and a quick touch to some sticky putty would have been an easy one handed solution. Not having any handy I had to use my other hand to wipe them away.

 

[mitch]

JAT-

You make a very interesting observation/hypothesis. Maybe it's the CHIPS that are being magnetized as they're being cut- so no degree of demagnetization of the tool would have any effect. I never thought of that...

 

[quickcut07]

Sam is right this is like a dog chasing his tail as long as it is there he is going to chase it. As long as blunt force is used there will be magnetism. Like Mitch I keep a cloth ,gauze, putty what ever is handy . As well a Etic watch demagnetizer. They all help, none completly cure the problem. I find certain gravers have a magnetizm problem more than others. Like transfers what works for one does not always work for others. Too many variables. Good luck !

 

[monk]

or you can get a used 110 vac plug in transformer that outputs 24 v ac. on the output side, attach a small, hollow wire wound coil. in the out put side, install a normally open push button switch. works nicely. most of the stuff available at surpluss outlets, flea markets etc. when not using , unplug the transformer.