DIY Magnets | A Simple Father’s Day Gift

Father’s Day is Sunday June 16, 2013 which means you have a couple weeks to plan a gift for the dads and granddads in your life.  This week’s blog features DIY magnets that fit well into the decor of the infamous “man cave”, garage, tool shed, bachelor’s den, and other spaces guys might retreat to.

The first step of the project is to find a magnetic surface that already exists in Dad’s space- you want to make sure he actually has a spot to use these fun magnets.  File cabinets, metal shelves, tool cabinets, and metal basement poles all provide easy locations for magnets.  In a pinch you can repurpose a metal item to become an impromptu “magnet board” that might already be in the space.  For example, here is a chainsaw blade that works well for a mini magnet board.  It has a hole in the blade which makes it easy to screw into the wall (Make sure it is screwed into the wall-a chainsaw blade is not something you want falling off a wall).  These small chainsaw blades are less than 10$ at a hardware store if you buy them new.

Materials to Make DIY Magnets

• Strong industrial glue such as E600 or super glue
• Small round magnets (magnetic strips will not work for this project)
• One of the following:

1. Laser cut wood images.  I buy mine from https://www.etsy.com/shop/porkchopshow because he has a great selection of images including fuses, spark plugs, vintage cameras, steampunk gears, aircraft instruments, robots, UFO’s, and more!  If you are going to order laser cut wood images then you will need to order them soon.
2. Bottle caps and hardware (i.e. small fuses, nuts and bolts, wing nuts)
3. Vintage metal storage containers– i.e. Split Shot sinker boxes (used in fishing)  or fuse containers

Directions to Make DIY Magnets

For laser cut wood images and vintage metal containers:

• Apply a dab of industrial strength glue to the back of the item and then place the magnet on the glue.
• Allow the glue to dry.

For bottle cap magnets:

• Place the  bottle caps flat against a surface.
• Make sure you have hardware pieces small enough to fit inside the cap.
• Place a small amount of glue in the well of the cap and then place the hardware piece on top of the glue.
• Repeat as needed– you may want to add more than one hardware piece to each bottle cap.
• Allow to dry.
• Flip the bottle cap over and place a small amount of glue to the center of the cap.
• Place the magnet on top of the glue.
• Allow the glue to dry.

I hope you enjoy making these fun magnets!