# My catchbox magnet picker-upper experiments



## Byudzai

What I'm about to ramble on about is probably obvious to all of you, but it took me a while.

The gist of it is that a bunch of magnets stacked together are as powerful as a single magnet that big, and that's the way to go.










I started getting creative by making a duct tape ball and sticking my neodymium disc magnets all around it, thinking the surface area would help. Meh. Then I made four stacks and laid them side by side in a square. Nope. I made a big sheet of them, thinking THIS will definitely work! Huge surface area! It'll be like one of those magnets that picks up cars in the junkyard!

In the end, the only thing that worked well was putting them all in one stack and taping that to the side of a stick. I can pick up **** near every ball in my catchbox that way, like a huge cluster of grapes.

Hope that saves somebody else some time someday.


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## GrayWolf

I have a supply of 30 1/2" x 1/8" neodymium magnets...might have to try this out. Maybe make a thin leather holder.

Thanks for the info.

Todd


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## Beanflip

I've been thinking of starting a topic on this. I've had a lot of bounce outs practicing for the MWST. So, a good sweeper/ pickup tool for grass is what I need. I have one of these. It works ok. I took the wheels off and wrapped some lead around the base to reduce the bounce when I drag it over the ground. The magnets are not always powerful enough to pull up the balls if there's too much grass.


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## Tag

If you have a thin piece of say 1/4 inch plywood you could make a frame half way up on the magnets and then glue the magnets to the board. Like a picture frame. I was also wondering if a frame could be built to hold a tarp so all ammo slopes towards the center. A nail pick up magnet works nice if you have a rigid edge to scrape the ammo off. Like Tupperware.


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## erniepc1

http://www.harborfreight.com/long-reach-magnetic-pickup-tool-with-quick-release-93950.html

I use it to pick up a tin can. Walk to the catch box. Release can. Pick up 50-100 steel 1/2" balls. Release them into the can. Then use it to pick up the can of shot.


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## Greavous

my experiments with magnets and picking up balls has been a mixed bag. Ive used the construction site sweeper, modified it a bit and moved on to magnets on a stick. My current arrangement for magnets on a stick makes me think im sweeping for mines in my yard. It is basically 3 three inch diameter magnets attached to a piece of plywood attached to the broom stick. It works far better than a single magnet did, pulls balls out of the grass which have rusted some so I guess they had been missed a time or two already.

What the real problem is, is that most magnets have plenty of strength to pick up a ball but the actual contact patch of that ball is so minute that it is easily swept off the magnet when grass is factored into the picture. I believe the answer is to have lots of small magnets with exposed edges. The rare earth magnets I was interested in were about 1inch in diameter and had a hole in the center for a securing screw. I was thinking of simply surface mounting a dozen or so with a spacing between the magnets where one ball might then contact two magnets and instead of sitting on top with that tiny contact area, the balls might gather between the magnets.

Ive even tinkered with electromagnet making but I dont think it will be practical.


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## flipgun

erniepc1 said:


> http://www.harborfreight.com/long-reach-magnetic-pickup-tool-with-quick-release-93950.html
> 
> I use it to pick up a tin can. Walk to the catch box. Release can. Pick up 50-100 steel 1/2" balls. Release them into the can. Then use it to pick up the can of shot.


I was gonna say...


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## Beanflip

When I drag my sweeper the balls seem to stay on pretty well. I think they roll up onto the back.


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## kenyaslinger

Beanflip said:


> I've been thinking of starting a topic on this. I've had a lot of bounce outs practicing for the MWST. So, a good sweeper/ pickup tool for grass is what I need. I have one of these. It works ok. I took the wheels off and wrapped some lead around the base to reduce the bounce when I drag it over the ground. The magnets are not always powerful enough to pull up the balls if there's too much grass.
> 
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> image.jpg





Beanflip said:


> When I drag my sweeper the balls seem to stay on pretty well. I think they roll up onto the back.


Very nice!! I'm still wondering how to pick up my lead balls


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## THWACK!

Byudzai said:


> What I'm about to ramble on about is probably obvious to all of you, but it took me a while.
> 
> The gist of it is that a bunch of magnets stacked together are as powerful as a single magnet that big, and that's the way to go.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I started getting creative by making a duct tape ball and sticking my neodymium disc magnets all around it, thinking the surface area would help. Meh. Then I made four stacks and laid them side by side in a square. Nope. I made a big sheet of them, thinking THIS will definitely work! Huge surface area! It'll be like one of those magnets that picks up cars in the junkyard!
> 
> In the end, the only thing that worked well was putting them all in one stack and taping that to the side of a stick. I can pick up **** near every ball in my catchbox that way, like a huge cluster of grapes.
> 
> Hope that saves somebody else some time someday.


You can get these li'l magnets in the crafts section of Wallyworld, four to a card. My rrefrigrerator door and the magnets have become very close.


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## THWACK!

Byudzai said:


> What I'm about to ramble on about is probably obvious to all of you, but it took me a while.
> 
> The gist of it is that a bunch of magnets stacked together are as powerful as a single magnet that big, and that's the way to go.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I started getting creative by making a duct tape ball and sticking my neodymium disc magnets all around it, thinking the surface area would help. Meh. Then I made four stacks and laid them side by side in a square. Nope. I made a big sheet of them, thinking THIS will definitely work! Huge surface area! It'll be like one of those magnets that picks up cars in the junkyard!
> 
> In the end, the only thing that worked well was putting them all in one stack and taping that to the side of a stick. I can pick up **** near every ball in my catchbox that way, like a huge cluster of grapes.
> 
> Hope that saves somebody else some time someday.


Re: VERY STRONG magnet acquistion - see my post under this forum's topic "Simple magnetic bracelet for metal ammo".


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## THWACK!

Here's the problem as I see it: With those steel-toed boots there may be a calamity if your sweeper gets too close to your toes!

I've been thinking of starting a topic on this. I've had a lot of bounce outs practicing for the MWST. So, a good sweeper/ pickup tool for grass is what I need. I have one of these. It works ok. I took the wheels off and wrapped some lead around the base to reduce the bounce when I drag it over the ground. The magnets are not always powerful enough to pull up the balls if there's too much grass.








image.jpg

:screwy:

Horror Freight sells a magnet which will support up to 150#. It has a ring on it's top. Somewhere in this forum(or another) I provided an image of it attached to a long rod, which is useful to prevent backache, and to use as a back scratcher.


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## THWACK!

erniepc1 said:


> http://www.harborfreight.com/long-reach-magnetic-pickup-tool-with-quick-release-93950.html
> 
> I use it to pick up a tin can. Walk to the catch box. Release can. Pick up 50-100 steel 1/2" balls. Release them into the can. Then use it to pick up the can of shot.


Used to be, we'd have to get off our butts to change the channel or the volume of the TV. Now we have "remotes".

Used to be, we'd have to write a check, envelope it, put a stamp on the envelope, and mail it. Now we have internet billing.

Used to be, if you shot steel ammo at a target and you wanted to retrieve it, you'd walk up to it, bend over and pick it up, then shoot all over again.

But "magnets"? What's this attraction to magnets?

:screwy: :screwy: hee-hee :neener:


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## Beanflip

These are at the local farm store.













They look good but I think the price is a little high for what you're getting. Approx $50


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## Greavous

the nail sweeper might be the way to go if you are harvesting balls out of very short grass or on a hard surface but I found that if you are sweeping in the yard that when a ball is picked up the grass is likely to sweep it back off right away. Also, the magnets arent powerful enough to pick up 3/8 ball for much more distance than where the sweepers wheels place the magnets. If we were shooting hex nuts or some other shape of ammo they would work perfectly im pretty sure but the problem is the sphere has so little contact surface against the magnets flat surface that the ball easily gets dislodged.

What I have returned to is a mine sweeping like action with one 3" dia magnet on a stick. The thought came to me to place the magnet inside a similar sized plastic container which is shallow enough to place the magnets face about 1/2" below the rim of the plastic container. The idea being to use the plastic container to brush up and plow trough grass while keeping anything the magnet picks up out of the way of the brushing action which normally dislodges the ball.

Ive had a spell of the lazy bones, this cold snap and other projects keeping me from actually experimenting with the idea but I feel it has promise so if you understand what Im getting at give it a go and report back!


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## Byudzai

I don't know how well this would work as an outdoor design, but a fitted sheet hung over a piece of steel cable with a string to hold the front of it pulled forward might solve the whole problem of balls-in-the-grass. I only get bounce-outs if I'm shooting something too heavy, like a steel can or whatever.


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## Greavous

my first ball catch was a version of that design and it did work well. The problem of bounce outs that I have is due to the type of target I shoot at. My target is leather with a couple areas which capture the ammo when you hit a bull or adjacent. This way you can play scoring games. The problem is should you hit the target where the ball wont be captured, Newton's Law steps in and you get a bounce out. The only solution I can come up with is to make an extra deep catch box so the balls have to bounce real far forward to get away.


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## The Pocket Shot

Beanflip said:


> I've been thinking of starting a topic on this. I've had a lot of bounce outs practicing for the MWST. So, a good sweeper/ pickup tool for grass is what I need. I have one of these. It works ok. I took the wheels off and wrapped some lead around the base to reduce the bounce when I drag it over the ground. The magnets are not always powerful enough to pull up the balls if there's too much grass.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> image.jpg


Good post, We've been thinking about something like this. Im not sure what the cost/reward ratio is but if I don't have to pick them up it's worth it.


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## Teach

Everyone will find these handy;

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=44495&cat=1,42363,42356

Or these for picking up steel balls;

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=32072&cat=1,42363,42356

Or these on say a lanyard (pricey)

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=10133&cat=1,42363,42356


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## Beanflip

Teach said:


> Everyone will find these handy;
> 
> http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=44495&cat=1,42363,42356
> 
> Or these for picking up steel balls;
> 
> http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=32072&cat=1,42363,42356
> 
> Or these on say a lanyard (pricey)
> 
> http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=10133&cat=1,42363,42356


I've been looking for a source of the "magnetic cord holders"! I use them as magnetic rings to hold ammo in my hand. I used to get them very reasonably at Harbor Freight. These are a lot more expensive but it's nice to know they're available here. Thanks Teach


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## Teach

Beanflip said:


> Teach said:
> 
> 
> 
> Everyone will find these handy;
> 
> http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=44495&cat=1,42363,42356
> 
> Or these for picking up steel balls;
> 
> http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=32072&cat=1,42363,42356
> 
> Or these on say a lanyard (pricey)
> 
> http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=10133&cat=1,42363,42356
> 
> 
> 
> I've been looking for a source of the "magnetic cord holders"! I use them as magnetic rings to hold ammo in my hand. I used to get them very reasonably at Harbor Freight. These are a lot more expensive but it's nice to know they're available here. Thanks Teach
Click to expand...

After having been in this store I can attest that Lee Valley sells no junk, just high quality merchandise unlike another mentioned proprietor. Perhaps these will be of a quality that will justify the additional cost. They also stand behind their products and warrant them even if the manufacturer won't. That gets my business unless of course I can make due with something of lesser quality for the job at hand. Anyhoo, glad the info was of use.


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## nike

Very Good


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## Beanflip

I am currently using four microwave magnets on the end of a broom handle. It works great for retrieval from my plastic drum catch boxes and I got them for free from dead microwaves.


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## Beanflip




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## Nobodo

I have purchased from K&J Magnetics before with very good results.

They have tiny neodymiums all the way up to the world's most powerful ones.

Looking for magnets to hold cords?

http://www.kjmagnetics.com/categories.asp?cat=86

They also have instructions for doing a number of things.

For example, since neodymium magnets are quite brittle, you probably should coat them before use in a lot of applications.

Here are instructions on how to do that with plasti-dip:

https://www.kjmagnetics.com/rubbercoat.asp


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## Beanflip

Beanflip said:


> image.jpg


High capacity.


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