Neodymium and Kilt Pins?

[Mr. MacDougall]

A couple of you lads have advocated the use of magnets in the place of pins, for securing the kilt pin to the outer apron. It causes less damage to the fabric, if I understand the argument correctly.

I've just been poking about on eBay, looking at neodymium (AKA "rare earth") magnets, and see that they're offered in a variety of form factors and pull weights. So I'm curious about a couple of things -- what size / form have you used? Would you recommend the same, or different?

Do you replace the pin on the jewelry with a piece of stainless steel, or do you find that there's enough ferrous content in most pewter jewelry not to need it? Have you ever had difficulty with losing a pin without noticing it?

Thanks for any advice.

[James MacMillan]

I have been using the magnets that I scrounged from old hard drives, so I don't know how they relate to other sizes, strengths, pulls etc.

You definitly need some ferrous metal in the pin for it to work. And, truth be told, I have only done it where I was too lazy to solder or epoxy another attachment.

I can't say that it protects the fabric any more or less. It's just easier in some cases.

[demobud]

I have been using the magnets that I scrounged from old hard drives, so I don't know how they relate to other sizes, strengths, pulls etc.

You definitly need some ferrous metal in the pin for it to work. And, truth be told, I have only done it where I was too lazy to solder or epoxy another attachment.

I can't say that it protects the fabric any more or less. It's just easier in some cases.

I am assuming you could epoxy/superglue one magnet to the pin and use another (reversed in polarity) as the hold, correct? I was thinking about doing this for going through airport security.

[BEEDEE]

I use 1/4 in. on the pin and 3/8 in. on the back side. Drill out a hole if possible and set the magnet in epoxy.

Brian

[Mr. MacDougall]

I am assuming you could epoxy/superglue one magnet to the pin and use another (reversed in polarity) as the hold, correct?

The ones I'm finding on eBay are fairly large, and would make odd bulges if used that way. Which is why I figured, steel on the jewelry, magnet behind the cloth. But I'm all about hearing what others have done, what's worked, and what hasn't.

[Howard Clark]

I'm using magnets from dead hard drives too. The pin it's self is a london pattern anvil profile in somwheat thin damascus, and the magnets stick right to it through the cloth. I am working on a miniature claymore in damascus, but real work has to take precedence, so it could be a while.

[demobud]

The ones I'm finding on eBay are fairly large, and would make odd bulges if used that way. Which is why I figured, steel on the jewelry, magnet behind the cloth. But I'm all about hearing what others have done, what's worked, and what hasn't.

Check out this link for magnets that are really affordable:

http://www.kjmagnetics.com/default.asp

I was thinking about attaching a small piece of cloth to the back of the apron to hold a small disk mag. That way the magnet will not get lost, and I can change out pins at will without damage to the kilt.

[LordKiltClad]

you can also order them fromhttp://www.woodcraft.com

[Daaaaang]

I just bought a bunch of rare-earth magnets at 25¢ each, and I am currently using four in a newly modified kilt pin. The magnets are a quarter inch in diameter, and my kilt pin looks the same as always. All I did was tear off the actual pin (leaving the stubs) and glued on two magnets.

I decided on two magnets so that the pin would stay oriented the same way (a sideways kilt pin would look weird). Right now I am using dollar store super glue, and just ordered some epoxy. The super glue is fine, but I figure better be safe, eh?

Anyway, I have done some running, just to see how much the pin moves, and after 10 minutes, it had moved about half an inch down the kilt. On the other hand, that is an improvement from before, when it would just fall out. I am thinking of getting a steel backing for the magnets on the other side, to strengthen the magnets (why not?) and to keep them together.

I would say to experiment with a cheap kilt pin, and you should just go ahead and epoxy a magnet to the pin. A quarter-inch magnet is not going to show (well, it doesn't on my pin anyway).

As for losing the pin, that happened a lot in pin form, but not yet in magnet form. Then again, I modified it two days ago, so I can't say for sure that it is flawless. I'll let you know in a couple weeks?

Oh, and I got my magnets from here:
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...=1,42363,42348

Also, this is my first post. Nice to be here.

Matt

P.S. I am also thinking of doing the same thing to a brooch when I finally get a fly plaid. I really don't like the idea of repeatedly putting a hole in a nice jacket. With kilt pins, at least it's down low where people probably won't look, but on a jacket, well, anyway, has anybody here modified a brooch?

[Mr. MacDougall]

I actually picked up some magnets from KJ Magnetics, and I haven't modified a kilt pin with them, yet, but I probably will soon. In the mean time, I experimented with just wearing the magnets on the apron of my kilt, and I discovered that the only real problem I had was that they would "jump" to steel objects -- the railing of a staircase, the frame of a gurney -- if I came within a few inches of them. Which was kind of embarrassing. We'll see if they do the same thing with a pin attached.