So I bought another mag chuck for my little Sanford Surface grinder.

(The chuck I bought initially does not have the holding power I'm hoping
for)

Problem is, this chuck is about 50 years old, and has been sitting
unused for about 30.

Needless to say, the grease inside it has gotten THICK and HARD and so
engaging the magnet is HARD WORK.

Now, the chuck comes apart quite easily (once the lead is fished out of
the heads of the allen screws).

I removed the bottom plate. I was a bit concerned about demagnetization and
whatnot, but the chuck was not useful as is, so why not.

It's basically five major pieces,

.. a pair of end plates (angle brackets, really)
.. the top
.. the bottom ( a single piece of flat steel 4" x 8" x 3/4") and
.. what I assume is a magnet, because it's what you rotate to "turn it on".

The "magnet" looks like nothing more than a 1.5" diameter round shaft covered
in old grease.

So, I can just dump the whole thing into a tank of solvent for a week, hope
the grease dissolves, hope I get all the solvent out and then hope I can get
fresh grease into all the places it needs to go.

Or I can remove four more allen screws, disassemble it completely and
clean it properly.

Here's the question. If I disassemble it completely, am I likely to
demagnetize something somehow ?


Thanks for any insight.


Alan


--
Alan Rothenbush | The Spartans do not ask the number of the
Academic Computing Services | enemy, only where they are.
Simon Fraser University |
Burnaby, B.C., Canada | Agix of Sparta