Tascione

A while back, I was having problems with small parts sticking to my tweezers and screwdrivers, so I decided it was time to create a demagnetizer. A little digging around in my junk box turned up an old Black and Decker pistol drill from the mid 1950's, with bearings that were nothing more than a fond memory. So I snatched out the field coils, and wired them together in series. Coming up with a suitable power supply was a little harder, but then I remembered I had a Sola Constant voltage transformer in the basement, that had a 110 V primary, and a 19V secondary. A few pieces of scrap brass as non-magnetic standoffs, and a piece of angle iron, so the thing would stand up with the coils horizontal, and I was in business. It isn't very elegant, but it does the trick. And, it turns out the inside of the coils is just the right size for a medium sized pill bottle from my local pharmacy to slide in, so when I want to demagnetize small parts, I just put them in that and seal the cap so that they don't "dance" out onto the floor.

Hey Dave....Thats fantastic, Thank you for sharing this. unfortunately for me....anything to do with electricity shockingly leaves me in the dark William

They say electricity is like water. In my experience that is pretty much true, but with one scary exception; by the time you see a leak in electricity, it is too late!

I was fortunate in that both my father and his father were Westinghouse engineers, so I learned just enough about electronics to be dangerous.

I keep thinking that one of these days, I really ought to cut that power cord, and install a fuse and a switch. Right now I turn it on and off by inserting and pulling the plug. But I figure that is better than it was when I first made it - at least I am no longer just sticking the bare ends of the wires into each side of the socket.

Hi Dave,
Great Idea. Is there any special reason you dropped the mains voltage down to 19v?

Thanks, Murray