electric/power tools and PU magnets

[Marco Pancaldi]

Hi,

what are your experiences about using drills and routers, or simply a battery powered screwdriver near PU?
I always tried to avoid them (I use an old hand-drill for some work on PU rings and pickguards), but I'd like to know your ideas about.

thanks
Marco

[SK66]

Never had a problem with it. I have them near my winder during assembly and I use a battery driver during assembly, but that's about it for being around motorized equipment...

[Joe Gwinn]

what are your experiences about using drills and routers, or simply a battery powered screwdriver near PU?
I always tried to avoid them (I use an old hand-drill for some work on PU rings and pickguards), but I'd like to know your ideas about.

Electric motors keep their magnetic fields inside, for efficiency. There is some leakage flux outside, but it's far too weak to change the magnetization state of any permanent magnet material.

Another way to know is to note that fields sufficient to matter exert mechanical forces sufficient to be noticed, and no such forces are present.

[David Schwab]

I've heard it's not good to use a soldering gun around pickups due to the magnetic field around the tip, but I've never tried to see if it would weaken a magnet.

Then of course it all depends on what kind of magnets you are using.

[SkinnyWire]

I've heard it's not good to use a soldering gun around pickups due to the magnetic field around the tip, but I've never tried to see if it would weaken a magnet.

Then of course it all depends on what kind of magnets you are using.

I used to use a soldering gun to de-magnetize screwdrivers. Run the screwdriver through the loop, pull the trigger, and pull the screwdriver out. Works like a champ for that. Since it's a loop of wire, there's a field about it so I think some screwy things could happen.

What I was wondering about another thread regarding the battery powered screwdrivers is the magnetic tip holder. A log of them have rare earths or NdFeB mags I think that hold the tips in place. Driving screws in a bucker with the magnet in place using one of those? I dunno. I guess I figure the guys talking about it drive the screws before installing the magnet. For me, the pole screws are the last thing I do.

[David Schwab]

I used to use a soldering gun to de-magnetize screwdrivers. Run the screwdriver through the loop, pull the trigger, and pull the screwdriver out. Works like a champ for that. Since it's a loop of wire, there's a field about it so I think some screwy things could happen.

It was actually the instructions that came with a Hi-A pickups I bought back in 1977 that said not to use a soldering gun, and not to get the contacts too hot.

What I was wondering about another thread regarding the battery powered screwdrivers is the magnetic tip holder. A log of them have rare earths or NdFeB mags I think that hold the tips in place. Driving screws in a bucker with the magnet in place using one of those? I dunno. I guess I figure the guys talking about it drive the screws before installing the magnet. For me, the pole screws are the last thing I do.

It's not a very strong magnet in those things. I have the bits fall out most of the time. Most of my manual screw drivers have become magnetized working around pickups and stuff. Hasn't seemed to hurt anything yet.

[SkinnyWire]

It's not a very strong magnet in those things. I have the bits fall out most of the time. Most of my manual screw drivers have become magnetized working around pickups and stuff. Hasn't seemed to hurt anything yet.

Good to know. I still use a ratcheting manual driver with the ball plunger type bits. Never wanted to be bringing other magnets around the bars.

[Zhangliqun]

I've heard it's not good to use a soldering gun around pickups due to the magnetic field around the tip, but I've never tried to see if it would weaken a magnet.

Then of course it all depends on what kind of magnets you are using.

I don't think it's a problem, at least not with Alnico. One of the desirable features of Alnico that makes it popular in a lot of industrial applications is its ability to consistently hold its charge at pretty high temperatures (400-500F or more) for extended periods of time. A few seconds exposure to a solder iron tip isn't going to raise the temp anywhere near that threshold.

[Possum]

...

Put it this way.....if you use something like a Weller soldering gun with those big ass coils in it and you're soldering your guitar or pickup and the magnets start to vibrate, you are degaussing them. The magnets vibrating means they are in an AC field where they shouldn't be. Its likely if they were close enough to vibrate that they lost some power in the process. Soldering guns are kind of old school anyway, I don't think I've even seen one for sale in years....

[SkinnyWire]

I don't think it's a problem, at least not with Alnico. One of the desirable features of Alnico that makes it popular in a lot of industrial applications is its ability to consistently hold its charge at pretty high temperatures (400-500F or more) for extended periods of time. A few seconds exposure to a solder iron tip isn't going to raise the temp anywhere near that threshold.

It's not the heat that's the issue. See above, IFI.