Doug writes:

I recently had surgery and have a cast on my right arm…and it gets VERY itchy after a week or so.  Chopsticks and knitting needles are all too short…but a small magnet tucked into the underside of the cast and then ‘dragged’ along by a larger magnet was a great way to scratch those hard to reach spots.  The workcover people think it’s a fantastic idea!!  :-)

Brilliant…!

Here’s a letter we received from Aussie Magnets customer Ken, who managed to cure a burning pain in his hand using Rare Earth Sphere magnets

Hi Folks,

I have used two flat bar magnets to cure a burning pain in my r/h thumb. One on the underside of thumb and the secound on top taped with sticking plaster. I left this cast on every night for 4 days and the pain disappered and never came back …now 6 years ago. I believe the magnets increased the blood flow to some possible nerve problem.

I made up a coiled band with rare earth ball 2mm magnets, 74 of them in a long chain and coilded them around my wifes index finger and taped them in position. She had stabbed hershelf with a sharp knife while parting frozen hash browns AND THE FINGER HAD TURNED BLUE AND STAYED ICE COLD. There was no blood circulation. The magnets on the first morning after wearing them reduced the blue down to 50% and the finger warmed up again. After 3 days her finger was back to normal… the knife had hit right into the bone …that’s how deep the wound was.

Hope others can experiment and try this out. It works.

Regards Ken Bornman

Well done, Ken! Magnets come to the rescue once more. There are lots of people who doubt the validity of magnets in health and pain relief (to be honest, we share some of those doubts), but it’s always fantastic to hear customers who have successfully cured their ails with a few simple magnets.

Lots of Aussie Magnets customers come to us with plans to build wind turbines, but very rarely do we get to see one that’s actually functional. When Maurice emailed us with pictures (and video) of his working wind-turbine, we were thrilled. He took an old ceiling fan, some coils, some glue, some magnets and lots of ingenuity and created a working turbine:

The turbine was producing up to 35 volts AC with only one coil assembly wired in. Further developments will include connecting both coil assemblies to bridge rectifiers to produce Direct Current (DC) that will be used to charge up about three deep cell batteries to use as a off grid backup and to run a couple of motors through a 240 volt AC inverter. Adding an extra run of magnets in the spaces between the current magnets will increase the output from the turbine and having the bridge rectifiers in series or parallel changes the volts to amps ratios. More experimenting will produce improved results and the aerodynamic design of the blades is important to reduce any noise.

Maurice, Aussie Magnets customer

Genius! And it’s not just experimental either - Maurice is producing usable power that could make a real difference to his electricity bills.

Check back tomorrow for a brief video of the turbine in action.

Thanks, Maurice! Your gift is on the way.

Here are some more photos of Greg’s uses for magnets, showing how he uses magnets as extra-hands and how he keeps his tools in order.

Greg has found a whole series of uses for magnets in his workshop. As a busy engineer running, he’s always in need of an extra pair of hands, which is where Aussie Magnets comes in!

What I use them for is in my workshop for holding down plans, tools and equipment. Also, they make use as another set of hands while welding, making sure that the heat isn’t conducted into the magnets. Uses are too numerous too list, thank you!!

Greg, Aussie Magnets customer

Greg’s mostly using our 20mm x 10mm Rare Earth Discs, but we can see a few Pot Magnets kicking around in the photos. He also mentions using magnets for “pulse counting and pulse generation” in programmable ignitions, something we’d love to hear more about.

Thanks, Greg! Your free magnetic gift is in the post.

Take a look at Maurice’s wind-turbine in action. In reasonable wind it picks up speed rather quickly and is generating up to 35 volts AC in no time at all. Very impressive.

#033: Fire Door Safety Inspections

Magnets saving lives? Perhaps. Stephen (an Aussie Magnets customer) is using our magnets to test fire doors during building audits. Fire doors are complicated creatures, but Stephen checks every single one to keep us safe if disaster strikes:

Most fire doors have a metal frame within the structure of the door, which door components such as hinges, latches, peep holes, sequencers etc are anchored in to. I use the magnets to determine firstly whether the door is a fire door, secondly whether it has been hung the right way and thirdly whether the door components are anchored into the door at the right place (you would be surprised how often they aren’t).

Stephen uses a strong 25mm x 25mm x 5mm Rare Earth Block, which pulls 11.5kg:

This strength of magnet is just right for testing fire doors as it allows me to undertake the task required and also allows me to get my magnet back as well. 

Its the smallest and easiest tool in my kit.

Thanks for looking out for our safety, Stephen, and congrats on your innovative use. Free gifts are in the post, here’s hoping they find a home in your tool kit!

Aussie Magnet-er Tammy magnetised the inside of her doors to save space and keep things in order. It’s certainly one of the more creative uses we’ve seen for our Flexible Rubber Magnets, and sure seems to have freed up some space.

Well done Tammy, we love it. A free gift has been posted out, let us know what use you find for it!

#031: Number Holders for Equestrian Competitors

Jenni (from Leading Designs) makes Halters for equestrian events, and has been using some Aussie magnets to bling up her ensembles:

I embellish a magnet with a rhinestone setting & a central swarovski crystal. Team that with a second magnet, these are then used in a set of four to hold competition numbers on for equestrian competitors. Traditionally safety pins are used, but these are ugly & damage expensive (sometimes into the 1,000’s) jackets. The magnets add some “bling” to the outfit.

Very clever - magnets can be gentle (sometimes!) and are far better than damaging materials with unsightly pins.

Jenni is using our 12mm x 3mm Rare Earth Discs, and attaching them to the crystals using 2-part epoxies. 

Thanks, Jenni! A free gift is on the way.

Paul writes in with a use for his Aussie Magnets:

I built a display box for a collection of knives I am proud of and used your magnets to secure the knives against a tin backing covered with felt. Very effective and the knives can be easily removed for examination and discussion.

Choosing the right magnet for this job is no easy task:

• Since tin is thinner than steel, the effective pull strength of the magnet will be reduced
• The felt layer will further reduce the strength of the magnet, since there is a greater gap between the magnet and the surface of the knife (strength decreases with distance)
• Knives are usually thin, hence a stronger magnet is required to maintain a strong hold
• The knives still need to be removed by hand, and hence the magnets can’t be too strong.

We’d probably suggest something like a 9.5mm x 10mm Rare Earth Rod, or perhaps a longer 50mm x 5mm x 3.5mm Rare Earth Block (depending on the size of the knives).

Thanks, Paul! Another great use.

#027: Drill Press Vice

Here’s a third (but probably not final) use from Erle - a homemade jig for holding small objects whilst drilling. Erle uses magnets to separate the two pieces when the vice is opened, effectively acting as an extension and a reshaping of the vice jaws.

Erle’s shed is positively brimming with magnets. Where do magnets feature in your workshop? Let us know!

#026: “Soft Jaws” Magnetic Vice

Erle is still going strong with uses for Aussie magnets, this time with a “soft jaws” attachment for his vice. To prevent the metal jaws of the vice damaging delicate materials, Erle embedded two magnets into pieces of MDF. Then, he simply attaches the MDF to the vice, the magnets lock them in place and he can work safely without the jaws causing any damage. Clever stuff.

#025: Magnetise Your Shed or Workshop

Aussie Magnet-er Erle has found some priceless uses for magnets – keeping tools handy in the shed. There’s nothing worse than being stuck without the tool you need (especially if you’re doing precision work), so Erle employs magnets to save the day:

I use Aussie rare earth magnets throughout my shed to hold the tools applicable to the various machines on the machines e.g allen keys and spanners. This means I don’t need to go searching for them when I want to make an adjustment.

I also attach small rare earth magnets to pencils and these are located at strategic places so all I need to do is put my hand out and generally there’s one there!

Above you’ll see magnets holding up various calipers, chuck keys, drill press covers, awls, allen keys, blade holders, rulers and of course pencils. Adding magnets is a simple (yet genius) trick that makes these tools endlessly handy.

Erle’s using our 12mm x 1mm Rare Earth Discs to hold up most of his tools (they hold 671 grams), but for heavier equipment he uses our 12mm x 1.5mm’s (these hold up to 1 kilogram).

Great uses Erle! We’ve sent some free magnets your way as a thankyou - be sure to let us know what use you find for them.