I want to make some rather large magnetically mounted rocks similar to this Tunze rock. I already have plenty of rock to work with and I can drill plug holes but am not sure where to buy sufficiently strong magnets to work through 1/2" glass. Any suggestions on where and which magnets to buy?
Where to buy magnets - DIY Magnetic Rock
- Thread starter srit1
- Start date
deanburchell
Well-Known Member
I buy mine through kjrmagnetics. In my experience finding a coating that's truly long-term is difficult. Initially I liked the idea of the rubber coated magnets but they eventually fail. (As in the coating breaks down). I'm sure you'll see tons of advice but I would think for such a project very carefully coating them yourself in epoxy could be the way to go. Otherwise the variety that last the longest are simple plastic coated but I've learned to buy them in white plastic so I can visually monitor whether they are leaking—because of the iron, the leak rust, which can easily be seen on white versus on black. I'm not sure the larger magnets even come plastic coated. Also, if you haven't used powerful magnets before, be very careful! I'd also recommend getting larger/more powerful than you think you need. For smaller items this size has worked though 1/2 glass—think nori holders, frag holder, etc)
deanburchell
Well-Known Member
I think you also need to consider magnet alignment as well as epoxy thick ness too—which is why I mentioned getting more powerful than you need. The heavy-duty magnets can be pretty expensive!! Also, be warned they are quite fragile on impact and can shatter.
PThanh1968
Well-Known Member
Over the years I have quite a few Jebao wavemakers failed on me, I use those magnets for tank walls ‘float’ displaying. Maybe some members who have them and not using can give you that. Just a thought.
FREAKINRICAN69
Well-Known Member
Looks awesome. Great job on that chief. Are those magnets sealed?
Taking dean and pthanh's advice I ended up using a left over (very strong) gyre magnet as one of the exterior magnets and only 3 of the avast abs enclosed magnets. It probably was not needed but man, I could feel the magnetic pull from inches away from the back glass when I was putting the rock in.
