Just a heads up - Arnold

[WolfeMacleod]

Just spoke with Arnold magnetics about magnet and such. Spoke withthe Ogalalla division that handles all the magnets for pickups.
They've informed me that Alnico 2 - ALL of thier Alnico 2 - comes from China. They haven't made Alnico 2 here in the US for years.

Someone there also suggested the other day that some of thier other Alnico is recycled material. Who knows where it comes from?

[FunkyKikuchiyo]

Well, there goes a whole bunch of what I thought I knew about alnico...

Thanks for the info.

[JGundry]

Ogalalla handles Alnico rod magnets. For Alnico 5 rod magnets Ogalalla did have two prices for USA made and Chinese made last time I ordered more than a year ago. I also ordered Alnico bar magnets with custom specs. a couple of years ago and those were made at the Arnold Marengo facility. I know that facility had been hard hit by the economy. They shut it down for a good portion of the summer a couple of years ago. If the Marengo facility is still running I bet you can still get any Alnico bar magnet you want but you will have to pay for a full heat which is usually a deal breaker for smaller makers.

Other than Arnold there are still two other US Alnico makers. But again you will have to pay for a full heat.

[kevinT]

wow. at least you got in touch with them. I tried a couple times and they never returned my calls after I spoke to the receptionist. I guess they're not into making money.

I will never deal with them again. I find better product and service elsewhere.

Just spoke with Arnold magnetics about magnet and such. Spoke withthe Ogalalla division that handles all the magnets for pickups.
They've informed me that Alnico 2 - ALL of thier Alnico 2 - comes from China. They haven't made Alnico 2 here in the US for years.

Someone there also suggested the other day that some of thier other Alnico is recycled material. Who knows where it comes from?

[NightWinder]

Just spoke with Arnold magnetics about magnet and such. Spoke withthe Ogalalla division that handles all the magnets for pickups.
They've informed me that Alnico 2 - ALL of thier Alnico 2 - comes from China. They haven't made Alnico 2 here in the US for years.

Someone there also suggested the other day that some of thier other Alnico is recycled material. Who knows where it comes from?

Notice he said someone, so its not absolute : )

[WolfeMacleod]

Notice he said someone, so its not absolute : )

"Someone" was one of thier engineers.

[belwar]

Someone there also suggested the other day that some of thier other Alnico is recycled material. Who knows where it comes from?

Steel is made with Recycled material, but Alnico is made in "heats" adding each element seperately to obtain the specific AlNiCo recipe. It's probably more expensive to get recycled components, so I would imagine it would be un-true.. However if it were, it wouldnt make a lick of difference because the materials would have to be purified (cant remember the metalugical term for that). Aluminum is recycled like crazy, not sure about cobalt and nickel though

[WolfeMacleod]

Yes, but if they're taking Alnico 5 parts, melting and recasting, or Alnico 2 parts, and melting and recasting, sure... it would still be that grade of Alnico.

Consider this: In WWII, the government of Japan confisacted Saumurai swords by the hundreds, melted them down, and made railroad tracks of of them for their steel.
They had EXCELLENT railroad tracks.

After the war, raidroad tracks were torn up, and peopel re-made swords out of them.

The term you are lookign for would be "refining"

They ended up with some shitty swords.

If they are recasting Chinese made Alnico, it's still Chinese made Alnico...

The term you are lookign for is "refining"

[JGundry]

Yes, but if they're taking Alnico 5 parts, melting and recasting, or Alnico 2 parts, and melting and recasting, sure... it would still be that grade of Alnico.

Did Arnold tell you they were recasting Chinese Alnico and selling recast magnets as USA made? This seems highly unlikely. The market for raw materials is a global market and it is a global price. The incentive for getting magnets made overseas is cheap labor and no regulation on safety and emmisions. Basically it would be cheaper to use USA supplied raw materials to cast fresh magnets in the USA than recast Chinese magnets.

[WolfeMacleod]

Basically, the answer was "we don't know or care where it originates"

However, recycling older, existing Alnico material, would probably be cheaper than buying..say...Cobalt...Aluminium, and eveything else...and properly smelting etc...
Just melt it down, and recast...

there's a reason they recycle aluminium....

[JGundry]

Basically, the answer was "we don't know or care where it originates"

However, recycling older, existing Alnico material, would probably be cheaper than buying..say...Cobalt...Aluminium, and eveything else...and properly smelting etc...
Just melt it down, and recast...


there's a reason they recycle aluminium....

Arnold or any other magnet maker has to know the percentages of each component of the Alnico in order to make sub mixes of any given Alnico grade, say Alnico 5 sub mix B... Consequently they need to have a calibrated base to work with. I don't see how they could realistically get that from recycling Alnico. Magnet makers routinely tweak Alnico mixes for a specific customers need and they do this by changing the metal ratios so they must have an accurate starting point. I have seen the mix formula for these base Alnico mixes and they are so concerned about what goes into them that they even include the metal stir stick as part of the mix formulation.

As far as recycling aluminum, nickel... I agree they could care less where the metal comes from and probably never have. Metal has always been recycled. But the fact is China imports scrap from around the world including from the USA. China is the biggest consumer of scrap. I just don't see USA companies paying for processed Alnico or even processed scrap from China if the intention is to reprocess it in the USA. China is consuming for manufacturing. They are not exporting scrap.

[voodoochild]

I seriously doubt the US has made alnico available for the small pickup community for quite some time. It wouldn't make sense. Realistically they are importing it from China and grinding it to size here in the states and have been for many years. Anyhow I don't care where it comes from if the quality, price, and availability is good.

[JGundry]

I seriously doubt the US has made alnico available for the small pickup community for quite some time. It wouldn't make sense. Realistically they are importing it from China and grinding it to size here in the states and have been for many years. Anyhow I don't care where it comes from if the quality, price, and availability is good.

To get the USA made stuff you have to buy 1500-2000 magnets at a shot if we are talking bar magnets. And it is still expensive, but good for sure. At least that has been my experience