41 replies to this topic

[ultra920]

20 pound pull force? This could replace a holster. I would get a small skirmish together with friends to test durability, when your running, diving, how fast you can take it off(the gun), ect.

[umdlancer]

The pull-force is the force required to pull a magnet in direct contact with the surface in a direction perpendicular to the surface. There are two factors in play that will effectively reduce the force required to detatch your nerf gun from the magnetic holster.

First, introducing even a small separation distance reduces the strength of the magnetic attraction between the magnet and the surface. Even something as simple as a piece of craft foam over the magnet (to cushion it against impacts) will reduce it.

Second, it's much easier to separate magnets by moving them parallel to the surface rather than perpendicular to the surface. By using a strong magnet, you make it less likely that your blaster will get jostled off by running around or bumping into something, but it's by no means immovable.

[MithMorchaint]

I'd thought of trying something like this but never got around to it. You've inspired me to give it a shot this weekend (I work in IT, so I have access to a LOT of broken harddrives).

One thing that I came up with when I was conceptualizing this a while ago might help solve the problem of how to attach the magnet to the gun.

Instead of gluing/taping/whatevering the magnet to the outside of the gun, put the magnet inside the gun in the same spot. The internal structure of the shell should help hold it in place, but the major benefits here are that 1.) the magnet won't be ugly/get in the way on the outside of the gun and 2.) the magnet's force will be applied to the shell, so the glue behind it would only need to hold it in place. The glue/epoxy/whatever wouldn't have any stress placed on it. This wouldn't work very well on certain small guns, but for the vast majority it would be fine.

An improvement on the other end of this, what I would call the "mounting" (in this case it is the piece in your pocket), would be to get a belt of some kind and sew metal plates (or magnets) into the inside or backside of it. This way your pocket stays clear for darts or whatever else you need, and the belt wouldn't get in the way or bounce around when not in use.

Just some thoughts. I have a few old belts at home, so I'll try to get some old harddrives from work and give it a shot.


Edit: Another option would be to reverse it; put the magnets in the belt and the metal plate in the gun. It would make the belt bulkier though, so I think the other way is better.

Edited by MithMorchaint, 26 June 2008 - 10:20 AM.

[A side of nerf]

Another option would be to reverse it; put the magnets in the belt and the metal plate in the gun. It would make the belt bulkier though, so I think the other way is better.

When you mentioned that it made me think back to before I attached the magnet. I was fooling around with it and noticed that the magnet was barely being held to the gun by something metal in the gun, (spring, screws, etc...) I am starting to wonder if guns like the crossbow that have their plunger rods replaced with something metal would be able to attach to a super powerful magnet. It is somewhat of a stretch, but you never know.
-A side of nerf

[CrazyIvan VI]

While I was out I pretty much had the exact idea as MithMorchaint had, but he beat me to it.

[MithMorchaint]

I did some testing last night with some harddrive magnets and a piece of metal. What I found was this:

My magnets, pulled out of a harddrive, were not terribly practical for this. Let me qualify that by saying that they would be fine for walking, but running could represent a problem.


I pulled the two magnets out of an old hard drive I had laying around. For a piece of metal I used the PCI slot cover from a desktop computer (one of these: http://www.silverpcs...verplate_a.jpg). For my testing purposes, I treated an empty RFR clip as the gun (since it was open at one end and thus easy to work with, but also because it was the right kind of plastic and lighter than most guns). I figured, if this works with an RFR clip, there's a chance it'll work with a full-size gun. If it doesn't work with something as light as this, it's probably not going to work with a gun at all.

I tried the following configurations:

-One magnet inside the clip, metal strip in pocket (held, but came off when I jumped up and down)
-One magnet inside the clip, other magnet in pocket (same result, but a bit stronger)
-Two magnets inside the clip, metal strip in pocket (about the same as the previous one)
-One magnet inside the clip, metal strip directly on other side of plastic (shook it and it came off)
-One magnet inside the clip, other magnet directly on other side of plastic (stronger, but fell off)
-Two magnets inside the clip, metal strip directly on other side of plastic (same as previous one)


From these tests, it seems that my magnets, at least, are too weak for this. I'm going to try and get hold of some more so I can test some other configurations (two inside, two outside) but for the moment, this isn't working for me. Maybe the RFR clip's plastic is thicker than a normal Nerf gun's? I don't know, I'll try some more tonight and see how it goes.

Tonight I think I'll actually put a magnet inside a gun (Crossfire, maybe?) and see how it does. Has anybody else done any testing? Are my harddrive magnets just weaker than average?

[foo fighter]

To MithMorchaint: maby try gluing the magnet on the outside of the gun? I thought it was some-what obvious..

If your magnet is actually inside the clip/gun, the force would have to go through the plastic also.

It's like if you put a paper clip on a piece of paper and a magnet under it; you could move the paper clip with the magnet. If you used a piece of wood instead, chances are it wouldn't be as strong.


So try them on the outside .

Edited by foo fighter, 27 June 2008 - 04:39 PM.

[MithMorchaint]

Did you even read the posts before my last one? My guess is no.

For your benefit, let me quote it here:

One thing that I came up with when I was conceptualizing this a while ago might help solve the problem of how to attach the magnet to the gun.

Instead of gluing/taping/whatevering the magnet to the outside of the gun, put the magnet inside the gun in the same spot. The internal structure of the shell should help hold it in place, but the major benefits here are that 1.) the magnet won't be ugly/get in the way on the outside of the gun and 2.) the magnet's force will be applied to the shell, so the glue behind it would only need to hold it in place. The glue/epoxy/whatever wouldn't have any stress placed on it. This wouldn't work very well on certain small guns, but for the vast majority it would be fine.

An improvement on the other end of this, what I would call the "mounting" (in this case it is the piece in your pocket), would be to get a belt of some kind and sew metal plates (or magnets) into the inside or backside of it. This way your pocket stays clear for darts or whatever else you need, and the belt wouldn't get in the way or bounce around when not in use.

Yes, I know that putting it inside the gun makes the magnetic link weaker. I have a fair amount of experience with magnets, though it's generally more with electromagnets. Please do not talk down to me.

I'm sorry if this post is harsh, but if you had bothered to read the other posts you would have understood what was going on.



In other news, I spent a little while tonight playing with this a little more. Placing a magnet inside the handle of a crossfire and then a magnet in my pocket was not strong enough to hold it, so it looks like you either have to use the original magnet-on-the-outside-of-the-gun idea or get stronger magnets.

Edited by MithMorchaint, 27 June 2008 - 09:41 PM.

[Kid Flash]

Do you happen to know the pull force of your magnets?

[foo fighter]

Whoa, sorry if I in any way sounded snippy. I was only tring to help.

Yes I did read before this page, and yes i saw that post. I ment that I thought placing the magnet on the outside was the better choice.



Again, sorry.


If you really wanted it on the inside, you could possibly shave/dremel some of the plastic down on the inside of the gun? Just a quick thought.


Find a way to make it work .

[MithMorchaint]

Kid Flash - I don't know specifically, but I looked around online and something said that hard drive magnets typically have 8-10 lbs of pull force. That sounds reasonable to me, having played with these a bit. Hope that helps.

Edited by MithMorchaint, 28 June 2008 - 04:18 PM.

[A side of nerf]

If you really wanted it on the inside, you could possibly shave/dremel some of the plastic down on the inside of the gun?

I'm starting to wonder if a magnet (if cut properly) would fit into the area with the circular nerf logo on the nitefinder.
This part,

-A side of nerf

[nerfnut23]

I found a great primary magnet that can hold a Titan on the fridgee. A tad pricey. put it on the bottom of a DTG vest on your back, slide gun on/off as needed. DON'T PULL! Trust me, these can dangle my cousin on the ceiling. Also great for 2ndary weapons. For the magnets, click the link below:
http://www.kjmagneti...asp?prod=BX0X01.

Edited by nerfnut23, 23 October 2008 - 12:01 AM.

[BendyStraw]

I'll just say that if I had a pacemaker or something, I'd stay the heck away from these. Also, after running around with huge magnets stuck to you, make sure to take them off before sitting in front of the computer.

[Wes7143]

check the dates guys, this is old. You can get banned for this.

[BendyStraw]

check the dates guys, this is old. You can get banned for this.

Man, someone always says this.

Don't post in months-old topics unless you have something significant to add.

His post was significant because it had a URL to a good cheap sheet magnet. That's handy for anyone wanting to make something like this.

If the mods disagree, I'm sure they will do whatever they need to.

The necroposting rule is mostly is to keep people who have been here for less than a week from posting "good mod lol" in three year old topics.

Edited by BendyStraw, 24 October 2008 - 12:59 AM.

[nerfnut23]

Yeah, I wouldn't even take these near any electronics. I even leave my electronics in the car because

a) it'll f*** up any electronics it get close to, and

my GF can't bug me in the middle of a Nerf war.

Wes: Piss off, the rule states that you can't post in months-old topics unless you have something significant to add. and a URL to a cheap magnet that can hold the microwave to the fridge (long story.) is significant.