Microwave ovens - those are wimpy. How about real pro grade
magnetron magnets. e.g. Heavy power Mil grade.

After 40 years mine are still strong. I got two pair in the 50's as
well. They are lower power - wimpy tube compared to the newer one.

Martin

On 4/1/2012 10:45 AM, wrote:
On Sun, 01 Apr 2012 19:39:15 +1000, John
wrote:

formulated the question :
I'm sure lots of you already know about this trick but I just figured
it out a couple days ago and thought I'd share it. So, you know how
sometimes you need to drill a hole in some type of electrical cabinet
or similar and it's already full of stuff you don't want any metal
chips to fall on? Well, I had to drill some holes in a machine's
electrical cabinet the other day and finally figured out that if you
put a strong magnet close to the drill while you are drilling the hole
all the chips wind up on the magnet and none fall into to cabinet. I
set a magnet from a magnetron on top of the cabinet right next to
where I was drilling the hole and it attracted all the chips. For my
next trick I'm going to make a magnet that attracts aluminum, wood,
and drywall.
Eric

A magnetron Magnet !! in 2012

What about a hard drive magnet. Much stronger in a small space.

But good idea never the less.
I have hard drive magnets, assorted other NdFeB magnets, and magnetron
magnets salvaged from dead microwave ovens. The one I used just
happened to be handy. One advantage of the magnet I use was the large
surface area used to collect the chips.
Eric