magnetic building system
 

i know i saw one of these mentioned, but i can find the thread it was in. I BELEIVE it may have been ken that had it.

I watnt o set one up, since im getting a 4* 120 kit in the next few days

RE: magnetic building system
 

look in the PIF thread build thread

http://www.airfieldmodels.com/

RE: magnetic building system
 

thanks. I need to find somewere that sells a 3x6 sheet of metal......

RE: magnetic building system
 

You might want to see if there are any small metal fabrication shops in your area. At my place of work we have lots of sheet steel drop off in this size. Like my company, they might sell it to you for the scrap steel price. I am also looking into building one and thinking of box bending the piece (all four sides) to help keep it straight. If you take the fab shop approach you might ask about this as well. For me it will probably cost a 6 pack to have one of the fab guys do it after shift.

RE: magnetic building system
 

Yup, Ken has one and the info to set one up. It's pretty impressive too!

Mark

RE: magnetic building system
 

I love the system. I can't imagine working without it. It's well worth the time it takes to get set up.

Ken

RE: magnetic building system
 

just gonna be a tad expensive. Ken, how much did the metal top for your table cost?

RE: magnetic building system
 

I bought 3 different sizes. The main board that you see in most of my pictures is 24"x72". I also bought two smaller sizes that I can use for smaller assemblies while the main board is in use for other things, those sizes are 12"x36" and 12"x24". All of them are 18 gauge steel and they cost a total of $42. With the cost of the magnets, the wood for the fixtures, the steel, and the misc. nuts and bolts needed the cost was somewhere right around $200. At airfield models he used an additional piece of steel to store his magnets on when not in use. If you look at the pictures of my system in the build thread I use the side panels off of a computer case to keep my magnets on. My wife and I own a computer shop so we have lost of old cases around, so I used those instead of spending money on another piece of steel.

Ken

RE: magnetic building system
 

$200 For someone who builds all the time like I presume you do, isn't bad at all. I thought it was much more expensive!


Mark

RE: magnetic building system
 

Nope, that's all it was. I haven't added up all the receipts for an exact figure, but it's right around $200. And you are right, there is something on my building board all the time.

Ken

RE: magnetic building system
 

i think i may setup with som cork board and pins on a door core for this build, and start saving money to build a nicer system

RE: magnetic building system
 

I built more planes than I can count with pins. I had to save up for the magnetic system myself. But now that I've got it I'll never push another pin again!!

Ken

RE: magnetic building system
 

yeh, i think before i start anything more complicated than the four star i will be building a setup like yours.

RE: magnetic building system
 

I'm in the process of putting together a system just like Ken's. I've got the board put together, and have started collecting wood and parts to build the fixtures. Cant wait to use it the first time! I looked at a magnetic system that is sold through my LHS the other day... I cant BELIEVE they sell that rinky dink setup for the price they do (well over $100).

RE: magnetic building system
 

I wouldn't give up my magnet system at gun point!:D
I found my steel plate at a manufacturer that produces metal stairs. He cut me a piece 30"x80" that is 3/16" thick. I have it on top of a solid core door that is dead flat and true. The guy I got it from cleaned it in some type of chemical bath that removed any corrosion and dirt. When I got it home, it got two good coats of light gray auto primer to protect it. I have made dozens of fixtures for clamping and holding components. It takes abit of time and a little investment to get it set up, but once you do, you will wonder how you got along without it.[sm=thumbup.gif]

RE: magnetic building system
 

yeah im definetly sold on the idea, but it will have to wait until after im done with my four star im afraid. i would realy like to get going on it before long, and wont have the cash to. I will be building one before i get going on another plane that more difficult to build though

RE: magnetic building system
 

Be careful with door cores. I, of course, don't know what kind you are using, but it is quite common for them to have a little twist.

RE: magnetic building system
 

For those of us that can't afford Ken's magnificient setup wouldn't this one be acceptable at the lower cost, or would we need a lot more magnets and such to build as nicely as Ken does? Or would this system be a good start for now. I am thinking of getting one of these, does anyone have this set? And what are the comments/likes/dislikes about this product?
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...XK328&P=7#tech

Thank you.

RE: magnetic building system
 

you could get started on the one ken had with that budget and get a better setup i think. remember his is much larger and he spent probably 80$ more

RE: magnetic building system
 

Where would I get a magnetic board the size of the one he has. What kind of places would have them. We have a Carr Hardware here (don't really think they would have), Home Depot (seriously doubt it). Where the heck would you fing metal sheets that big and thick enough in Massachusetts?

RE: magnetic building system
 

look for a local metal shop, the big chains arent going to carry them lol. Just go to google local and look under "sheet metal"

RE: magnetic building system
 

First of all. The one that you listed from Tower Hobbies is one of the biggest rip offs I have seen in a long time. Good grief, $120, sheez. That's more than half of what I paid for my entire setup. The board is only 48" long, which isn't big enough for some wings. There aren't enough fixtures that come with this setup to even build a vertical stabilizer, let alone a wing.

Where to find the metal?? Heck, that's the easy part. The magnets are the hard part because there is really only one place to order them from. Look in your yellow pages under "sheet metal", "metal", "steel distributors", "steel fabricators", etc... and you should be able to find a supplier for the metal part of it.

Ken

RE: magnetic building system
 

For steel I would recommend 16 or 18 gauge cold rolled steel. I scribed my 16 guage 4' x 8' with a 1" grid. I also used a paste car wax to help prevent rust. Check your phonebook for sources as Ken suggests. I found a place about a mile from my house. They sold steel in 4' x 10' sheets for $100 and cut it for me for free. For magnets, I ordered mine from www.magnetsource.com. For fixtures, follow the instructions that Paul Johnson gives on his website, www.airfieldmodels.com.
If cost is an issue, buy the steel, then save money for magnets. If you plan on building very long, it will be money well spent.

Scott

RE: magnetic building system
 

I did exactly the same as Saramos. Like I said earlier, the steel was 18 gauge and I was able to have it cut to the size I mentioned earlier and it all cost me $42 which was a very pleasant surprise. Once I got the steel home I used 120, 220, 320, 1000, and then steel wool to clean the rust off and semi-polish the steel. I then drew a grid on each board and I sealed the sheets with Rustoleum Clear Enamel to keep them from rusting. I also keep a good coat of automotive wax on them between projects in case the clear enamel gets scratched. This keeps it from rusting. I bought the latch magnets from [link=http://www.magnetsource.com]www.magnetsource.com[/link], and I bought 300 of them. That was enough to make all of my fixtures and still have about 150 left to use in the build. So far it's worked very very well. As it was said earlier, I wouldn't give it up at gunpoint. I'll never push another pin to build.

This system isn't for everybody. But if you have built more than 2 planes and you are planning a 3rd then you're probably going to continue building and I would recommend this system for you.

Hope this helps

Ken

RE: magnetic building system
 

Listen to Ken on this one, and pass on the Great Planes magnetic system. It is no where NEAR worth the money they charge for it. This is the same system I looked at in my LHS not a week ago. I told the guy I was building one, and he asked if I had ever seen the GP system. He opened it up for me, and I can tell you that the plastic fixtures are flimsy and cheap, the magnets are not very strong, and the board is small. You couldnt build anything bigger than most .60 size aircraft on it, and some of those would be a stretch. Besides that, there aren't really enough magnets and fixtures for it to be all that effective as far as I'm concerned. At Tower's price, by the time you figure in shipping, another $50 and you could build a GOOD system like Ken has, and have all you need to build just about anything you want. From what I have seen of the GP system, I can pretty much guarantee that you wouldnt be satisfied with it.;)

RE: magnetic building system
 

Ken, I think I see the magnet you've got, is it item number CA41LWH?
If so, they don't list a price. I asked for a quote. I know prices change, but about how much each in quantity? I'd probably order about 150 to start with, but I don't know how much they are...

RE: magnetic building system
 

2slow2matter,
If you follow the link off of airfield models to the magnet source they have a page set up just for this. Here is the link [link]http://www.magnetsource.com/airfieldmodels/[/link] For 150 they are 55¢ each. The prices and stock # are listed on the link I just posted. When I called to order I talked to the guy for a bit as he got ready to place the order. I ordered 250 at the time and he went ahead and gave me the price break as if I ordered 500, which was 46¢ each. Since he did that I was able to afford a few more so I ordered 300.

Hope this helps

Ken

RE: magnetic building system
 

That helps a ton. Good gosh, if you put four of those on each fixture, you'd have a total of 48 lbs of pulling force? How do you pull those off without tearing up the fixtures?

RE: magnetic building system
 

im glad i started this.....its a good discusion to get going ;)

RE: magnetic building system
 

You don't pull them off directly. You tilt them to one side and then lift them up.

Ken

RE: magnetic building system
 

so ken is 300 all you needed to use, or did you end up needing more?

RE: magnetic building system
 

I've done 2 builds with 300, and I'm currently doing the LT-40 with that many. It's actually plenty. I build extra fixtures above what Paul recommends, but other than that 300 is plenty.

Ken

RE: magnetic building system
 

One thing to note on this system. The magnets do start to lose their effectiveness after a few years. I think that can be avoided somewhat if the magnets are stored on a metal plate with the same side down or something like that. Honestly I don't know how it works, but I did read something somewhere that explained why magnets lose their pull and how to avoid it.

I use so many magnets with my system that it's not worth the trouble of figuring out which end is up. I bought 500 magnets earlier this summer to replace mine and just bought another 500 for fixtures that I build for folks.

It is an excellent system. I've been using it for about 5 years now and still love it.

BTW - the magnets from the magnet source are the exact same as the ones in the GP system. The difference is that GP charges a lot more for them.

RE: magnetic building system
 

CafeenMan,
Great!!! Here's the man himself. The one that got it started for me. Thanks for stepping in to answer some of the questions.

Ken

RE: magnetic building system
 

you know you cna get a magnet recharger right. We had a few of them in the chem lab for a while

RE: magnetic building system
 

Does it work for LiPo magnets? :)

How much is a charger vs. $0.46 ea. for magnets?

RE: magnetic building system
 

dunno ill talk to mom and see if she has any of her classroom supply catalogs left. Ill also drop a line to my chem prof while im going...

RE: magnetic building system
 

Howdy Ken!

I took a long sebatical (sp?) this summer. My computer burst into flames and I built a new one which runs circles around my old one. So I spent those month playing all the games I have that lagged too much on my old system. Half Life 2 consumes a lot of time! :)

Then the fan on my new processor died and I couldn't keep my computer running for more than 20 minutes before it would overheat and shut down. I've got all that fixed now and I'm back working on the SR Eindecker I started last Spring. Just put on the last clear coats, so all that's left to do is glue hinges, final assembly and attaching pull-pulls. SR says "2 weeks of leisurely evenings." Umm... ok.

RE: magnetic building system
 

Magnet "rechargers" are just very strong magnets themselves that are used to re-polarize the magnets. They work well on some magnets, and not real well on others. The cheapest ones use permanent magnets, and run between 50 and 100 dollars. The BEST ones are electromagnets and run over 150 dollars, I believe (it's been a while since I've ordered one). Not worth it for a .46 Magnet!!

RE: magnetic building system
 

Well, it might be worth it if I'm shelling out $250.00 for 500 magnets every couple years. But that would depend on how well it works and how long it takes. If I have to spend more than 10 seconds per magnet it's not worth it.