Using Rare Earth Magnets on Wild Gears
Suze from Australia sent a picture of her setup for drawing with Wild Gears, in which she uses a heavy-duty magnetic whiteboard and rare earth magnets.
Unlike Spirograph pieces, which have a rim supporting the toothed edges, Wild Gears are laser-cut from a flat sheet of acrylic, so using putty (as you can see in my videos) actually raises the gear a bit off the surface of the paper. Holding the gear down with very strong rare earth magnets instead would keep them in closer contact with the paper.
These rare earth magnets have screw-in hooks in the top. That’s handy, as you need something to grasp in order to move/remove them – they’re so strong.
Suze writes, “I leave the screw part of them off where it would interfere with my arm movement. The acrylic does interfere with the magnetic force so sometimes I put the magnets on an angle half on and half off the acrylic. I try to be gentle with these in case I damage the teeth of the ring.”
She notes that the white/magnetic boards that are sold in the budget shops are not strong enough, so she went for a commercial grade board.
The working surface of her board is 50 x 50 cm (almost 20 x 20 inches), so it accommodates the large Wild Gears frames, which are 15 x 15 inches (40 x 40 cm).
She can even use the whiteboard (with, I assume, a dry erase marker) to make larger drawings. If she tries to use it vertically, the moving gears fall out, but it works on an angle.
This would be a good setup if one were demonstrating to a group.
She find that she saves time setting up and putting away the Wild Gears, as she doesn’t have to mess with putty.
With enough magnets, the gears and the paper do not shift. She bought 14 magnets altogether. I looked on Amazon and these are the closest I found to the ones in her photo. They’re 16 mm (about 5/8″) in diameter. There are others that are larger.
She got her commercial quality magnetic board made by ABP Group (http://www.abpgroup.net.au/) in Brisbane. They’re made for schools and work environments. It might be something one would have to source locally. If you know of any sources, please mention them in the comments.
Thanks, Suze for your interesting contribution!
Interesting idea. There is a place I’ve dealt with many times over the years, K&J Magnetics, that sells many different shapes, sizes, and strengths of neodymium magnets. I would suggest rectangular ones. I believe you could get enough of the corner of the magnet between the outer ring teeth that three of them could trap the ring in place. When using one of the rings on a full sheet, a magnet on each side of the sheet should do the job, assuming your magnetic backing material is large enough. Pinning the ring between the magnets should need fewer magnets than clamping it to the table with them.
I typically use an artist sketch board made of hardboard that’s about 1/4″ thick. I’m fairly certain a steel plate under this would provide enough attraction for the magnets to hold through the sketch board, particularly with larger magnets or a couple smaller ones stacked. Though sheet steel that size might cost more than a commercial white board. Just a thought for anybody having trouble finding an appropriate white board.
For those not familiar with neodymium magnets, they are VERY powerful and surprisingly fragile. If you let them smash together, which they absolutely love to do, they will shatter. I’ve broken more of them than I should admit to. Be careful and keep them well separated.
What size plate and thickness would you recommend for A3 drawing board for my Wild Gear spirograph
Any idea what the strength of the actual magnets is? Perhaps the Gauss value?
Amazon listings variously give Gauss or weight holding capacity (for the ones with hooks), though the latter would depend on the surface it’s attached to.
The magnets I bought are from AMF Magnetics in Sydney
https://magnet.com.au/neodymium-pot-threaded-hook-20mm-x-37mm.html
Neodymium Threaded Eyelet pull 9kg.
lol no wonder the magnets held the 40 x 40 acrylic to the wall whiteboard.
I got a 12 x 17 steel sheet and a pack of 6 rare earth magnets at Home Depot for under $20 and use it for both Spirograph and for Wild Gears. It works like a charm. No more pins, and no more putty.
Where from I’m in the Uk it’s a3 drawing board, what size and thickness of the steel place
Thanks Regards
Brian Pemberton
Are these ideal for Wild gears spirograph?
That’s what the article is about. You need a metallic surface, though. I’ve used the side of an old computer tower for a surface.
However, I usually use putty.