# Salvaging hard drive magnets **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 7, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salvaging-hard-drive-magnets/559835 "2010-11-07T23:41:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FE3O4ENAIL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ba9def/32.png) [@FE3O4ENAIL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FE3O4ENAIL)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salvaging-hard-drive-magnets/559835/1 "2010-11-07T23:41:46Z")
IT had me drill holes in a dozen hard drives and then scrap them. I took them apart and want to separate the magnets from their retainer brackets. They are glued in and the one I put a propane torch on to break the glue bond was far weaker than the one I twisted apart. The one I twisted apart had the plating flake off. What is a good way to disassemble these? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salvaging-hard-drive-magnets/559835/2 "2010-11-07T23:57:34Z")
Bend the brackets - the magnets will break off quite cleanly. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salvaging-hard-drive-magnets/559835/3 "2010-11-08T00:00:36Z")
That is, bend them away from the magnet. This is quite easily achieved by inserting a strong, well-fitting screwdriver through each of the two main mounting holes, then pulling them towards/across each other. Be careful with those magnets - they will injure you if you get skin trapped between them when they snap together. ---
**Author:** ![FE3O4ENAIL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ba9def/32.png) [@FE3O4ENAIL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FE3O4ENAIL)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salvaging-hard-drive-magnets/559835/4 "2010-11-08T00:01:14Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Bend the brackets - the magnets will break off quite cleanly. The one I twisted apart had the plating flake off. Perhaps this magnet was not properly prepared for plating. What I did was clamp one end of the bracket in a vise and twist the other end with a adjustable wrench sized down to the brackets thickness. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salvaging-hard-drive-magnets/559835/5 "2010-11-08T00:15:13Z")
You can sometimes use a hammer and chisel to knock them out, but you have to be careful. Too light of a tap and the magnet won’t break free. Too hard and you can crack the magnet. Depending on how strong the glue is you might still have a problem with the plating coming off. Heat is about the best thing I know of to weaken the glue, but a propane torch is overkill. You don’t want to heat the magnets up too much or you’ll ruin them. Use something like a hair dryer or a paint stripper, and wedge the magnet off with a screwdriver or knife while you are heating it. There may be a better way than that, but I’m not aware of it. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salvaging-hard-drive-magnets/559835/6 "2010-11-08T00:15:31Z")
Depending on how they’re attached and what they’re plated with, some damage may be inevitable, unless you’re able to clamp the thing down and remove the bracket with a milling machine or some such. Personally, I prefer to keep them mounted on the brackets, as this makes them much easier to handle and mount (and separate if they should stick together). ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salvaging-hard-drive-magnets/559835/7 "2010-11-08T09:52:52Z")
[QUOTE=FE3O4ENAIL] The one I twisted apart had the plating flake off. [/QUOTE] Generally, the magnets are glued to the retainer plates and then the whole assembly is plated to seal them - you need to break the plating to get the magnets off. The rest of the plating **will** peel off the magnet - it is non-magnetic and the surface of the magnet does not bond strongly. Si ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salvaging-hard-drive-magnets/559835/8 "2010-11-08T10:01:38Z")
> [@si\_blakely](#): > > Generally, the magnets are glued to the retainer plates and then the whole assembly is plated to seal them - you need to break the plating to get the magnets off. The rest of the plating **will** peel off the magnet - it is non-magnetic and the surface of the magnet does not bond strongly. > > Si This. Be careful they will pinch the crap out of you if you get between them and something they are attracted to. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salvaging-hard-drive-magnets/559835/9 "2010-11-08T11:22:50Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Be careful they will pinch the crap out of you if you get between them and something they are attracted to. Also, handling the magnets with flaky chrome is really risky - you may not just trap some skin between the magnets, but you may end up sliced by a flake or splinter of the coating. Si ---
**Author:** ![FE3O4ENAIL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ba9def/32.png) [@FE3O4ENAIL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FE3O4ENAIL)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salvaging-hard-drive-magnets/559835/10 "2010-11-08T21:52:07Z")
> [@astro](#): > > This. > > Be careful they will pinch the crap out of you if you get between them and something they are attracted to. Yes, I have the “Blood Blister Of Experience”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salvaging-hard-drive-magnets/559835/11 "2010-11-09T01:39:56Z")
What do you do with a hard drive magnet? ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salvaging-hard-drive-magnets/559835/12 "2010-11-09T01:58:31Z")
They make great refrigerator magnets for thick stuff like calendars and memo pads. You can also test the black ink on U.S. currency with them. They’re great for quickly erasing/destroying old floppy discs and screwing up the colors on CRT televisions. ---
**Author:** ![FE3O4ENAIL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ba9def/32.png) [@FE3O4ENAIL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FE3O4ENAIL)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salvaging-hard-drive-magnets/559835/13 "2010-11-10T00:39:08Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > They make great refrigerator magnets for thick stuff like calendars and memo pads. You can also test the black ink on U.S. currency with them. They’re great for quickly erasing/destroying old floppy discs and screwing up the colors on CRT televisions. I put a magnet next to the CRT on our TV to show my wife the effect. I removed the magnet and the picture was still screwed up. “Please, please let this TV have a strong degaussing function on start up” I said as I shut it down. I’m still posting so the start up must have demagnatized the frame that I magnetized. I am working on a solar pendilum that gives the swinging weight a kick , powered by a solar cell, that works best with a strong magnet. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salvaging-hard-drive-magnets/559835/14 "2010-11-10T05:59:09Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > What do you do with a hard drive magnet? I took apart an [Ikea magnetic knife rack](http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00136621) and inside the two outer metal layers were broken hard drive magnets spaced across the length of it. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salvaging-hard-drive-magnets/559835/15 "2010-11-10T08:02:28Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > What do you do with a hard drive magnet? They’re good for science experiments - I made [this](http://www.atomicshrimp.com/st/content/electric_motor)electric motor with my son - it used to be the case that a crude motor like this one was tricky to get adjusted and working, but the really strong magnets make the whole system a lot more forgiving of other engineering shortcomings.