My hand tools-- wire cutters, long-nose pliers, screwdrivers, etc.-- have become magnetized and have the nasty habit of attracting bits of wire (especially cut-off ends of capacitor leads, which seem to be of some iron alloy), small screws, nuts and lockwashers, and numerous other small ferrous objects. It's driving me stark, raving crazy.

Many, many years ago my father had a really nice degaussing coil that did a good job of de-magnetizing tools and curing this annoying problem. But it's long gone now, and I'm looking for a replacement. I've scoured Amazon.com and found nothing, other than the kind of degaussing coils used on CRTs, and I suspect they might not be suitable.

Does anyone have any ideas about where I might find such a thing? Or any ideas on what else might solve my problem and civilize my pesky little hand tools?

--OBW, hoping for sanity

 

It's been a while since I have seen one (more than 10 years).

Not a direct answer to your question, but I have found success using ceramic magnets from hard drives to tease the magnetic field away. This was both on color CRTs and hand tools, screwdrivers being the easiest because of their simple geometry.

 

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-magnetizer-magnet-and-demagnetizer/p-00945021000P

 

Microwave oven transformer?

 

My hand tools-- wire cutters, long-nose pliers, screwdrivers, etc.-- have become magnetized and have the nasty habit of attracting bits of wire (especially cut-off ends of capacitor leads, which seem to be of some iron alloy), small screws, nuts and lockwashers, and numerous other small ferrous objects. It's driving me stark, raving crazy.

Many, many years ago my father had a really nice degaussing coil that did a good job of de-magnetizing tools and curing this annoying problem. But it's long gone now, and I'm looking for a replacement. I've scoured Amazon.com and found nothing, other than the kind of degaussing coils used on CRTs, and I suspect they might not be suitable.

Does anyone have any ideas about where I might find such a thing? Or any ideas on what else might solve my problem and civilize my pesky little hand tools?

--OBW, hoping for sanity

Take an old transformer or wrap wire on a plastic tube.( make a coil)
connect this to a ac current source and put your tool in for a while ( depending on the current.)
I did 30 turns pipe dia 4 cm 5 Amps for 2 minutes.

This worked for me.

Picbuster

 

Hello,

The majority of my tools got magnetized over time.
In my job I have to work with strong NMR magnets.
The strongest magnet that I have been working on was 21 Tesla.

Bertus

 

My hand tools-- wire cutters, long-nose pliers, screwdrivers, etc.-- have become magnetized and have the nasty habit of attracting bits of wire (especially cut-off ends of capacitor leads, which seem to be of some iron alloy), small screws, nuts and lockwashers, and numerous other small ferrous objects. It's driving me stark, raving crazy.

Many, many years ago my father had a really nice degaussing coil that did a good job of de-magnetizing tools and curing this annoying problem. But it's long gone now, and I'm looking for a replacement. I've scoured Amazon.com and found nothing, other than the kind of degaussing coils used on CRTs, and I suspect they might not be suitable.

Does anyone have any ideas about where I might find such a thing? Or any ideas on what else might solve my problem and civilize my pesky little hand tools?

--OBW, hoping for sanity

Your alternative would be for you to go flying off the face of the earth. Would that make you happy?

 

My hand tools-- wire cutters, long-nose pliers, screwdrivers, etc.-- have become magnetized and have the nasty habit of attracting bits of wire (especially cut-off ends of capacitor leads, which seem to be of some iron alloy), small screws, nuts and lockwashers, and numerous other small ferrous objects. It's driving me stark, raving crazy.

Many, many years ago my father had a really nice degaussing coil that did a good job of de-magnetizing tools and curing this annoying problem. But it's long gone now, and I'm looking for a replacement. I've scoured Amazon.com and found nothing, other than the kind of degaussing coils used on CRTs, and I suspect they might not be suitable.

Does anyone have any ideas about where I might find such a thing? Or any ideas on what else might solve my problem and civilize my pesky little hand tools?

--OBW, hoping for sanity

I have a problem with rust.



I also had a degaussing coil. No idea what happened to it either.

 

I suggest a series incandescent lamp to limit the current in a coil such as that described in post #5.

 

I suggest a series incandescent lamp to limit the current in a coil such as that described in post #5.

Put the tool in the coil and then slowly withdraw it.

 

https://www.ebay.com/p/RadioShack-44-232-Intermittent-Duty-Magnetic-BULK-Tape-Eraser-S71/1603904197

 

Hi,

Here is an idea that might work if you feel like trying it.

If you can hot glue or epoxy a strong magnet to a dowel or nail or something, then stick it into a slow speed drill, then hold the piece near the rotating magnet, then draw it away slowly.

It might work depending on the metal of the piece and the strength of the magnet.

 

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_6?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=demagnetizer

 

Lots of good ideas here. I ended up doing this:

Here is an idea that might work if you feel like trying it. If you can hot glue or epoxy a strong magnet to a dowel or nail or something, then stick it into a slow speed drill, then hold the piece near the rotating magnet, then draw it away slowly. It might work depending on the metal of the piece and the strength of the magnet.

I took a neodymium magnet and glued it to the end of a brass rod; chucked in the drill press and spun, it does a great job on the magnetized tools.

Thanks, all!

 

Lots of good ideas here. I ended up doing this:

I took a neodymium magnet and glued it to the end of a brass rod; chucked in the drill press and spun, it does a great job on the magnetized tools.

Thanks, all!

Excellent tip, thanks for sharing. Question, how did you orient the magnet when you glued it to the rod?

 

Question, how did you orient the magnet when you glued it to the rod?

The magnet is one of these with its magnetic axis perpendicular to the hole; so with the rod cemented in the hole and spinning in the drill press, the magnetic poles are facing outwards.

 

The magnet is one of these with its magnetic axis perpendicular to the hole; so with the rod cemented in the hole and spinning in the drill press, the magnetic poles are facing outwards.

Glad you told me. I have several round diametrically oriented magnets laying around that should work just as well then.

 

I used an old Weller 150 watt soldering gun. I made a coil of about 4 turns from one wire scavenged from #12 Romex and replaced the tip. The opening in the coil was made large enough to accept whatever I wanted to demag. Hold the "tool" a sort distance from the magnetized item, pull the trigger, slide the coil over, then off the item, release the trigger. The high current through the coil creates a powerful alternating magnetic field and does the job.

 

I used an old Weller 150 watt soldering gun. I made a coil of about 4 turns from one wire scavenged from #12 Romex and replaced the tip. The opening in the coil was made large enough to accept whatever I wanted to demag. Hold the "tool" a sort distance from the magnetized item, pull the trigger, slide the coil over, then off the item, release the trigger. The high current through the coil creates a powerful alternating magnetic field and does the job.

I used to have one of those, too, and used it the same way for degaussing. I didn't make a coil, though, just used the opening in the tip. It worked pretty well and I'd do it again, but I'm not about to pay $40 or so for a new solder gun. Wish I'd kept the old one...

 

Your alternative would be for you to go flying off the face of the earth. Would that make you happy?

How would that help?