Here's an improved way to use magnets to hold your water cup to your metal watercolor set. I embedded three small neodymium magnets (1/4"x1/16") in an epoxy sculpting compound called Magic Sculpt. The compound sticks to the bottom of the water cup.
This way I don't need to drop a magnet into the water itself, which will rust eventually. And it holds better to the metal. It would even hold just fine if you held it upside down and shook it.
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Neodymium Magnets 1/4" X 1/16"
10 comments:
Another tip: one can salvage great neodymium magnets from old hard disks. Just take one apart, it's just one panel and generally a paper seal around it... you'll know where the magnet is. They are boomerang-shaped and very strong. I use a plastic cup with a magnet inside and I stick another magnet under whatever surface I want it to stick to. So far neither has rusted.
many thanks for the magnet info...i've been trying to find them for a while..
Hey James,
I just listened to the Chris Oatley Podcast, and I think you might be interested in this new product called the "Nomad" which will be available soon. It seems like at amazing way to quickly and comfortably sketch!
http://www.nomad-artist.com
Thanks for always sharing your ideas and expertise!
-Abigail
This is a great evolution of the magnet idea. Another possibility I plan to try for an upcoming trip is to use a collapsible steel cup:
http://amzn.com/B0042B36Q8
This still requires carrying the water supply in a Nalgene container, but the steel cup collapses to such a small object that it hardly adds to the kit, and it should pair well with the magnets. There are slightly larger cups (5 0z.) available. I'll let you know how it works.
Another approach I've considered is cutting a self-adhesive magnet sheet to fit the bottom of the Nalgene container..
http://amzn.com/B005HY990G
...then using the neodymium magnets.
Are neodymium magnets something that one is likely to find in any sort of store - hardware or the like - where they might be sold for other purposes? Or, aside from hard drives (thanks Excessit) can they be obtained from other objects?...Just trying to avoid mail order (that is, getting more than I need/want and paying shipping).
Tom, I haven't seen them in hardware stores, but I think you can get them at Hobby Lobby. Another mail order source is magnets4less. They're also called rare earth magnets, and they're insanely strong: much more than regular magnets, and you should keep them away from your electronic devices.
If you have a Harbor Freight store in your area, they carry rare earth magnets.
If you don't have anything that accepts a magnet, I recommend using one of those dashboard no-slip sticky pads (designed for holding cellphones, iPods, change, etc). They're very inexpensive, can be cut to size, and sticks to practically any flat surface. That's what I use and it works really well.
I suppose we could use velcro too.
They can also be cut to size.
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