Rare earth magnets are super strong and should be treated with respect! Here are some handling Dont's and Do's:
Don't
- Get your fingers or skin caught between 2 magnets or between a magnet and a steel plate! Its amazing how strong these magnets are - and how much pain can be inflicted.
- Let magnets snap together. All rare earth magnets are brittle. A good way to chip or break these magnets is to allow them to snap together.
- Leave magnets sitting on a non-magnetic surface. This is an accident waiting to happen. If steel or another magnet comes in proximity, even 6" away, the stationary magnet can launch itself into a high speed collision. Often the collision involves your fingers as well as the passing steel or magnet.
Do
- To work with the magnets, put them on a thin sheet metal surface. Thin sheet metal gets saturated so the magnetic force from the magnet isnt large making it easier to place and remove the magnet. A magnet won't tend to jump out of your hand when placing the magnet on thin sheet metal. Keeping all your magnets on thin sheet metal keeps them safe from jumping to a passing magnet or piece of steel. When putting multiple magnets on one piece of sheet metal, keep the magnets separated by at least 2-3".
- To place a magnet on steel try to move the magnet in from the side rather than coming straight down on the steel. Similarly, to remove a magnet, slide the magnet off to the side of the ferromagnetic surface.
- To separate two magnets, put one magnet on the edge of a desk or bench and push the other magnet down, shearing the two magnets apart. Once their separated, hold them firmly in separate hands until they can be placed on a sheet metal surface.