"Dave" wrote in message
oups.com...
DeepDiver wrote:
Perhaps you'll find the answer you're seeking if you were to
explain the actual problem that you're having.

Ok, I'm sliding it around on my table and it stands up because it is
pressing on the workpiece, then I set it aside and forget that the
contact pressure was keeping it upright, and it falls over. Maybe if I
could turn the magnet "half on" a metal surface would keep it upright
and still allow you to slide it. But not on a wooden bench or surface
plate. The larger dials make balance even worse and can be annoying to
use on a surface plate. Are lead bases perhaps used on surface plates?

I suspect part of your problem is that you are using the wrong tool(s) for
the job. Again, it would help to know what it is you're trying to
accomplish, rather than simply what you are doing. Are you trying to set up
a part in a machine (e.g., centering a round part in a lathe chuck)? Or are
you trying to take dimensional measurements?

In any case, if you are using the pressure from the indicator on the part to
help support and stabilize your magnetic base, then that is one of your
problems.

- Michael