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Thread: Magnetic ?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
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    York, North Yorkshire UK
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    Thumbs up Magnetic ?

    Hi Guys,

    Something weird is going on ! All of a sudden everything is becoming a magnet ! I drilled a 6 mm hole in a piece of steel yesterday and the chips stuck to the drill and workpiece ! I flycut a piece of material on the mill and the same thing happened. The swarf wants to stick to the work, the vice and the table. It even sticks to the HSS toolbit in the fly cutter. The body is SS so it doesn't stick to that.

    I've cleaned everything, tried different steel materials and different drills and they all seem to become magnets within seconds of using. I've demagnetised the drills only for them to become magnetic again the instant they are used.

    I've been using these items for a number of years without this happening ! The only thing that I can think of is that we have had some really severe lightening storms over the past three days and several big lightening strikes within a fairly close range. One at a phone tower about 120/150 metres away a couple of days ago.

    Can anybody cast further light ?
    Best Regards:
    Baron J.

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Hi Baron J.
    There is a phenomenon called Lightning-Induced Remanent magnetization (LIRM) is the magnetic mark left on materials after they were struck by lightning.

    Also if your area has high deposits of lodestone around it this can exacerbate the lightning strikes.

    Cheers
    Grahame

  3. #3
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    Have you had any vaccinations lately. Maybe you have developed some super power?
    Gold, the colour of choice for the discerning person.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by .RC. View Post
    Have you had any vaccinations lately. Maybe you have developed some super power?
    Naw, The last one was my second Covid19 jab ! The next one is the "Shingles" one in a few weeks.


    Grahame, thank you for that info ! I didn't know about that other than I knew that magnets could be created using a very high current. Now I'll have to start demagging everything I want to use. Even the steel stock in the trays is magnetic now.
    Best Regards:
    Baron J.

  5. #5
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    Apr 2019
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    Wild stab in the dark.....minor electrical short/earth leakage.....or aliens

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mk1_Oz View Post
    Wild stab in the dark.....minor electrical short/earth leakage.....or aliens
    Hi Mike,

    I'll go with Aliens ! Ever watched "Skinwalker Ranch" on TV ?
    Best Regards:
    Baron J.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2020
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    It is more likely the start of a polar shift. You may now be at the new north pole .
    Of course it could be something else but nothing seems logical.

    Steve

  8. #8
    Join Date
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    Adelaide
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    Quote Originally Posted by BaronJ View Post
    Hi Mike,

    I'll go with Aliens ! Ever watched "Skinwalker Ranch" on TV ?
    Never seen it and after reading a few reviews it might stay that way lol

  9. #9
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    All very plausible explanations however what REALLY is happening is you have a small black hole forming under your shed and all your machines are getting closer to the event horizon as the black hole goes in size.....

    Simon

    Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
    Girl, I don't wanna know about your mild-mannered alter ego or anything like that." I mean, you tell me you're, uh, super-mega-ultra-lightning babe? That's all right with me. I'm good. I'm good.

  10. #10
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    If a bar containing magnetic material is oriented N-S and tapped lightly one end for a long enough period the earths magnetic field will slightly magnetise it - holding and tapping it again in a S-N will negate the N-S magnetisation and eventually set up a S-N magnetisation.

    It doesn't have to specifically be tapped., it can be any vibration from a machine. Usually there's enough random vibe (including lots of up/down with gravity as a driver) etc going on in a workshop that continual destroys as much magnetisation as it creates so its not usually too big of a problem but every now and then not quite random choices plus the shed gremlins conspire to generate a piece with a relative stronger field than usual. The magnetised piece can also then induce magnetism in anything nearby and it can become a PITA.

    If it worries you there are quick methods/devices to remove the magnetism that uses a coil connected to an AC source - insert magnetised object in middle of coil, leave it there for a few seconds and remove before turning off power to a coil. We had such a gizmo at work and used to use it to magnetise things screw drivers for certain jobs and then demagnetise them afterwards.

    Here's a You tube link to "fairly dodgy" use of an old (intact) 3P electric motor winding to act a magnetizer/demagnetizer.

    The safety of the setup in the vid can be vastly improved by making up an insulated insert that covers the windings and includes insulated holder to hold the objet you wish to magnetics and demagnetise in a specific location within the coils. I've seen a simple insert made out of a couple of PVC flanges and a short section of PVC pipe.

    A further useful improvement could be an adjustable timer controlled switch that turns the mains V off after a predetermined time (ie a few seconds) so's the coils don't overheat and burn out.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by simonl View Post
    All very plausible explanations however what REALLY is happening is you have a small black hole forming under your shed and all your machines are getting closer to the event horizon as the black hole goes in size.....

    Simon

    Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
    Hi Simon, Guys,

    If anything is getting closer to a black hole, its me !
    Best Regards:
    Baron J.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by simonl View Post
    All very plausible explanations however what REALLY is happening is you have a small black hole forming under your shed and all your machines are getting closer to the event horizon as the black hole goes in size.....

    Simon

    Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
    Ive got one in the shed that everything that gets dropped disappears into.
    peter

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