"E. Walter Le Roy" wrote in message
news:V1CUf.10331$TK2.3359@trnddc07...
Easy, if you have a D C welder. Simply wrap the lead around the piece
several times and hold it in a dead short. Check the piece and if it's
more magnetized, just reverse the polarity and short again. Keep doing
this until the magnetism is gone. Learned this from an old railroad man
back in the 50's and it worked

It just seems intuitive that it would work better with an AC welder. The
tool MAGnetizer I used to have used a DC coil in dead short with a
consummable fuse to break the circuit rapidly, and cause a strong 'ring' in
the coil as the field collapsed.

Breaking the short on a DC welder might even strengthen the magnetization of
the piece. Reversing the polarity doesn't guarantee that you'd not swing
the work to the opposite polarity, leaving it still magnetized.

LLoyd