I've been through several iterations on these, trying to make them more functional and cheaper every time. I think I've got them to be about as "high speed/low drag" as I can. They aren't as pretty as the other versions, but they're about half the price, so I'm gonna call it a win. The magnets are ~5/8" in diameter, and the stem handles are ~1" long. They don't come with the spacer pins as most folks seem not to want them, but the pin kits can be bought for $3.25 each if you want to add them on later. If I can come up with a cheaper way to make the spacer kits, that price will come down some, but right now it's kinda labor intensive, so that's what I've gotta have for them. Alliance Member Prices: $3.75 each $35 for ten (10) $85 for twenty five (25) Shipping for up to and including 25 clamps is a flat rate of $9. Over 25 clamps is a flat rate of $17. The margin on these parts is already razor thin, so these prices already include the Alliance Discount. Non-Alliance Members add 15%. I'm gonna have to be a bitch and exempt them from the big sale. I just can't afford to sell them at a discount, 'cause the margin is already so thin. I'd basically be paying you guys to buy them. I like you all, but maybe not that much. I will try to keep these in stock all the time from now on. That is all.
Thank you. It is kind of funny to look back at what these started as, something like fifteen parts, and a bunch of machine work. The more I looked at them, the fewer of those parts seemed necessary. Hopefully these will be cheap enough that folks can afford to buy and use them. Before, they were just too damned expensive to buy as many as are really required to be useful. Now you can buy 10 or 25 of them and actually hold a whole panel on without going bankrupt in the process.
I need some feedback here guys, good bad or ugly. No way to tell if I'm wasting a bunch of time here or what. Let me know what you think.
What kind of holding power does one of the magnets have? This is the first time I have seen these and they look great for the places where the pin on a regular clamp just falls into the car forever!
The pull-off force is ~9 LBS. They are stout little buggers. So tack and pull the magnets off before you do the welding. I have used big honkin' angle magnets to hold fabrications together while I weld them up literally for fifteen years. I am failing to see how magnets cause so much trouble, especially for MIG welds. They will cause arc wander with a TIG machine, but not until you get within about 1.5" of the little magnet thing. I use them with my TIG machine, I use even bigger magnets to lay up stuff I put together with my MIG machines, and I never have any trouble with weld quality or execution. Now, since I am not a welding savant (accomplished amateur at best), I can only conclude that the effect the magnets have on the welding job are very small and easily managed. If you weld right up next to one, it will get too hot and demagnetize anyway. You're supposed to be fitting your joints up to where you don't need any force to hold them in alignment anyway. The magnets are just there to hang the panel in place long enough to throw a few tacks on it. If you use the little clamps to force a wavy joint into line, you'll just be chasing stress, oil canning, and puckers after you're done welding. Spend the time up front on the fit-up of the joint, or spend it later trying to get the panel back into arrangement after you've forced it. Six of one, half dozen the other.
Guess this is one of those "Answers to a question nobody asked." May have to go commit Seppuku now . . . . .
Cool product idea. Some magnets are susceptible to demag at higher temperatures. Most people would pull them after tacking - but you never know. As much as I like magnets ( I work with a lot of high perf magnet products) I despise them around sheet metal work as they are full of chips/grinding dust etc in a metal working environment. Duct tape works best to pull shavings off magnets. I would think most people would like the pin. Would a thumb screw clamp that would hold different thicknesses of standard 1/2 wide shim stock be desirable?
Check the date on the first post, this thread is seven (7) years old. We launched the product and discontinued it after very poor sales. I could be talked into relaunching something similar, but I'd only make them in batches I think, since the first time around showed that demand just wasn't steady enough to stock them all the time.
The Jalopy Journal
