Rare earth magnets

Looking for a neat way to keep box lids closed, I started using tiny rare earth magnets.  In small sizes, 1/8" to 1/4", they are strong enough to secure the lid, but not so strong that the lid is difficult to open.

Although I recess them so they're flush, and secure them with epoxy, it's still important to keep projects that use them away from children. There have been recent concerns about toys designed for adult use that contain multiple loose magnets.  These have serious consequences for children who swallow them, especially if they swallow more than one.

To be on the safe side, it would be prudent to keep any project using these magnets away from children, and to advise anyone to whom you give or sell these projects to do the same.  Since delicate or fragile items are typically kept away from children as a matter of course, it should not be a problem to add these to the list.

New project

I was looking for an interesting design for a pivot-lid box, and adapted the pattern from a Vietnamese temple window. The box also gave me an excuse to use my new assortment of rare earth magnets, which are amazingly powerful. To avoid cutting the tiny decorative circles, I used slices of 1/4" walnut dowel.

The new box book has a chapter on making boxes with pivot lids. The ones in the book use a slightly different construction that does not involve magnets, but the basic principles are the same. I would avoid magnets on boxes for children, because of the potential swallowing hazard if one ever came loose (unlikely, but possible).

These boxes are easy to make, and easy to customize or vary, and I think should be good crafts fair sellers.

Powerful little magnets

Some time ago, I picked up a few 1/4" diameter magnets at Michael's to use as closures for boxes. I finally got around to trying them out on a box with a pivoting lid, and they work really well. I just drilled a hole 1/8" deep for each magnet and glued them into place using a new (to me) glue, Liquid Fusion. It's a clear, non-foaming urethane glue that's supposed to work with metal, and I wanted an easier alternative to epoxy.

So far, so good--the glue was easy to apply and seems to hold well. The magnets are so powerful they hold even without actually touching each other, although I would not use them with objects meant for small children, in the event they come loose. The only thing to be careful about is to put the magnets in correctly, or they will repel instead of attract!