Magnetic attraction

Several years ago, a colleague in a book arts class showed me how she used magnets on the closures of her boxes. It was one of those things that I never followed up on but at the same time never forgot about either.
We'll be working with magnets at Penland in a few weeks, but I decided to get a jump on the technique a bit and work some things out myself. I ordered two sizes of disc magnets and two sizes of block magnets to try out from K&J Magnetics.
It's been fun to work with these little guys (and they are little). And then there are times when they are just fun to play with. It's like 3rd grade science class all over again. They spin across your work mat to attach to the most surprising things (like the camera). And because they are so incredibly thin, it's relatively hard to pry them off.

I used the 4.5 mm drill bit in my Japanese push drill to create a pair of holes that fit the 3/16" disc magnet. The disc is only 1/32" deep, so you don't need to drill very far into your book board. In order to keep the same measurements for the other piece of board and the pair of magnets it would need, I cut through a piece of scrap paper as well. Then I used the scrap paper jig for markings on the other board.
One of the things that came back to me from 3rd grade was the fact that magnets have poles and they only attract on the opposite sides. If I had embedded the magnets with the same pole facing each other, there would be no closure. So I marked the magnets with a Sharpie ink dot on the corresponding sides before I glued them in. With a tight fit and a little PVA, the magnets are virtually invisible when covered with paper or glue. And they hold incredibly well. I really only needed one magnet on each board, but it seemed more balanced to have two.


The magnets are so tiny that I've started thinking about other fun ways to use them. It will be great to have full days and a sharp board shear (for cutting book board) at Penland for two weeks to play!