Attaching pistol to thigh - magnets - how strong?

[Reclaimara]

I have a question, especially to those experienced with magnets.

I want to use magnets in my Magnum pistols to attach them to my thigh.

How strong should I buy the magnets?

It could be 3-5mm distance between the magnets since they will be inside the pistols and the thigh armor. And I thought about using 2 magnets inside each pistol.

A pistol weights about 235g.

I want them to be strong and secure. Not to fall of while walking. I could take the pistol off by leaning the pistols to the side to break the force easier.

I was thinking about 15kg strong neodymium magnets? Too strong or too weak? 25kg?

 

[peterthethinker]

Gap= VERY BAD...


here is the sad math .
http://www.instructables.com/id/How...trial-Measure-magnetic-attraction-using-prec/


So you need to at any cost , find a way to not have any gap.

Countersink them in to the prop and the armor . but they need to touch.

 

[Reclaimara]

Gap= VERY BAD...


here is the sad math .
http://www.instructables.com/id/How...trial-Measure-magnetic-attraction-using-prec/


So you need to at any cost , find a way to not have any gap.

Countersink them in to the prop and the armor . but they need to touch.

I'm very sorry, but it doesn't tell me anything... :/

Also, I'm using weak 2kg magnets for my chest piece to attach small covers, and even at 3-5mm distance they work perfectly.

 

[CPO mendez]

I got a pretty good amount of experience with neodynium magnets in regards to costuming. they're certainly annoying lil buggers... i did a whole rundown on my experimentation with magnets on foam armor over here, if any of it is useful to you: http://www.405th.com/showthread.php?t=47654

As for weapon mounts, neodynium magnets should work. i bought 1" X 1/8" disk magnets off amazon and they work pretty well for what i'm using them for. Peterthethinker is right though. the strength of the magnets dips exponentially the farther away they get. god help you if you get two stuck together without a separator (RIP my fingernails..), but then they barely hold the chest piece of my iron man build together with only a half inch of foam between them. Just based on my experience with them, i think two of the disc magnets i linked, or one 2" bar magnet, should be enough to keep your pictol securely on your thigh. However I'd suggest making a well in the armor piece that the magnets on the prop fit into snugly. this will stop the magnet from sliding around and basically allow it to deal with just one force vector (magnet doesn't have to deal with forces X or Y direction, just Z) the other thing you need to do is MAKE SURE THE MAGNETS ARE FIRMLY SECURED TO YOUR PIECES! otherwise you'll get back to your hotel room from a nice walk around the convention floor with ~2000 other people, reach for your magnum, and find the magnets that USED to be attached to the pistol stuck firmly to the magnets in your armor. no bueno.

Hope this helps!

 

[kaween]

Both Peter and Chief Mendez bring up valid points. I've a mount space for a mag-connected prop (Boomco M6) so I have a bit of experience with the matter.

It's not just the gap to consider, Magnets are very strong "in plane", so direct surface connection/sepperation is very hard.
I used 2x15kg for the Boomco (in the Boomco itself) and another 2x15 in the armor that corresponds with the prop position. Distance between the magnets inside the armor and the Boomco gun was roughly 1 cm when mounted

The main problem however is the sliding of the piece.
These magnets are strong enough to create Boomco indents in the foam surface, however, the prop can still very easy _slide_ off and fall to the ground -which what happened to me on more than one occasion-.

This is exactly what Mendez is taling about when he makes that valid "one force vector". The prop/surface connection should somehow prevent or at least minimze any free movement that would quality as "sliding".

But even then, the mag mount for is me is just pictures. When walking around on a con, I found myself with "one hand on my gun" the whole time.

The best way would indeed be a direct contact between magnets as Peter suggests (so the magnets should ideally be on the surface of both armor and prop), and the surface friction of the parts should be high enough to avoid sliding.

Those conditions aren't always easy to create, especially not if your build requires screen accuracy.

 

[FlyinPhil]

My thigh armor has neodymium magnets to mount my craft foam m6g. There is an approximate gap of 4.5 mm (2 layers of 2mm craft foam and some hot glue). There are two magnets on my thigh and two magnets on my magnum (one in the grip, one in the little module under the barrel)

It does hold the magnum to my thigh well enough, but even the slightest bump that exerts a shear force on the magnets will knock it free. If I were to do it again, I would epoxy (or some other strong adhesive) each magnet to a backing plate of thin steel. The metal would not have to be large, but just enough to slide under some craft foam to hold it in place, while leaving the magnet exposed.

 

[Spartan55]

I'm going to use some electro magnets and im going to be putting a steel sheet on the top of my thigh pice then sand and paint over that
and the the same for the back of my chest piece ( the eletro magnets will go in my two m6s and my scattershot if any one was wondering)

 

[Reclaimara]

Hope this helps!

Those conditions aren't always easy to create, especially not if your build requires screen accuracy.

My thigh armor has neodymium magnets to mount my craft foam m6g. There is an approximate gap of 4.5 mm (2 layers of 2mm craft foam and some hot glue). There are two magnets on my thigh and two magnets on my magnum (one in the grip, one in the little module under the barrel)

It does hold the magnum to my thigh well enough, but even the slightest bump that exerts a shear force on the magnets will knock it free. If I were to do it again, I would epoxy (or some other strong adhesive) each magnet to a backing plate of thin steel. The metal would not have to be large, but just enough to slide under some craft foam to hold it in place, while leaving the magnet exposed.

Yeah, I'm very much aware about the the magnets and the farther away they are, the weaker they become.

First, I experimented with the combat knife, where I put magnets inside the blade. It held pretty OK, but the blade turned out heavier than expected, so after really strong shakes, it gave up.

However, I used on my chest, on the covers in the rib area tiny magnets that are up to 2kg strong and they are about 3-5mm away from each other... These covers are quite light, about 100g and the magnets work quite nicely. They stay in place and I can strongly shake the chest piece and still, they don't fall off. I used the magnets only to secure it to stay in one place and not slide around, they are secured by elastic straps.

I know that if you put magnets inside the pistols, even if they are quite strong, you can grab the pistol easier by bending it to the side, kinda sliding away.

And yeah, I don't expect them to stick to the thigh like magic. Of course if someone would bump into you with force, they will fall off. Knowing myself, I'll most likely walk around with hands protectively covering the Magnums, especially in crowds, but I don't think it should be a huge issue since I have big shoulder armor pieces and they go to the outside quite lot, giving me more 'personal space' thing.


And I know it would be very best for the magnets to touch each other, but as Kaween said - accuracy. I don't want the magnets to be visible as I rather want to go for game accuracy.


Because of the distance between magnets I rather go with stronger ones. 5mm won't be as hug, but 15-25kg should compensate for it.

 

[TheBlueDragon25]

I know from experience that magnets salvaged from old hard drives (which u may be able to get from ur nearest computer repair company) are extremely strong. strong enough to crush fingers the only ussue is their size and a need to cut them to size could be a problem

 

[Reclaimara]

I know from experience that magnets salvaged from old hard drives (which u may be able to get from ur nearest computer repair company) are extremely strong. strong enough to crush fingers the only ussue is their size and a need to cut them to size could be a problem

The HDD rare earth magnets aren't that strong. ^^"
Their strength is about 5kg... ^^' Nice for small things, but well...

 

[PerniciousDuke]

I'm just going to put this up here in case it helps anyone.

https://www.kjmagnetics.com/calculator.asp

 

[Reclaimara]

Thank you everyone. I guess the project is on hold since gamescom banned all weapon-like props. :/

So I'll be just doing a costume, and I'll get back to weapons later on. V_V

 

[Dirtdives2424]

Thank you everyone. I guess the project is on hold since gamescom banned all weapon-like props. :/

And for good reason unfortunately. W/ all the terrorist activity going on........I guess the authorities are taking no chances. Just another way of loosing a bit of our freedom.

 

[CPO mendez]

Most conventions have Prop Checkers either at the door, or somewhere nearby. it's usually just a table of three or four people that inspect your prop weapon, and then tag it for approval with a little brightly colored tag. once you have the approval tag, you're free to walk around with it as much as you want. i believe that most convention websites have a posting saying the weapon inspectors will be present, and if they're not i'm fairly sure its easy to contact the Con and ask them to include them. my memory is a bit fuzzy on the technical details, but it's easy to find out whether or not they'll be there.

 

[PerniciousDuke]

If anything you should be able to bring them and if you can't take them inside the convention then the convention should store them for you, like a coat check. It's not like a drink that you can chug before going in... "Alright missy, get all of the play out of your weapons before we throw them away."

 

[Reclaimara]

And for good reason unfortunately. W/ all the terrorist activity going on........I guess the authorities are taking no chances. Just another way of loosing a bit of our freedom.

Most conventions have Prop Checkers either at the door, or somewhere nearby. it's usually just a table of three or four people that inspect your prop weapon, and then tag it for approval with a little brightly colored tag. once you have the approval tag, you're free to walk around with it as much as you want. i believe that most convention websites have a posting saying the weapon inspectors will be present, and if they're not i'm fairly sure its easy to contact the Con and ask them to include them. my memory is a bit fuzzy on the technical details, but it's easy to find out whether or not they'll be there.

If anything you should be able to bring them and if you can't take them inside the convention then the convention should store them for you, like a coat check. It's not like a drink that you can chug before going in... "Alright missy, get all of the play out of your weapons before we throw them away."

It isn't really thread about it... But there has been a lot worst going on in France and yet, there were no problems with props on Paris Expo, people brought them, had no problems.


Well, the security has been very tight in Gamescom in earlier years. This is what they have been doing, checking every prop - even multiple times because you just went through and another guy wanted to see it.

This year? Everything is banned. EVERY damn prop. No toys, no blasters, no nerfs. Nothing. No magic wands, literally nothing. Just the costume.

Only the official cosplayers by the exhibitors, like Microsoft, etc. are allowed, but their props will be checked and marked and they will not leave Gamescom til it ends.

 

[CNCLaserCutter]

you should look up "rare earth magnets" on Amazon. They are small and powerful magnets with a degree of strength. some can break your hand if you put two on both sides ( i dont think you want them that strong :] ) and some are just powerful enough to fold a gun prop to your thigh without it easily being taken off. They are pretty cheap, worth checking out

 

[FlyinPhil]

you should look up "rare earth magnets" on Amazon. They are small and powerful magnets with a degree of strength. some can break your hand if you put two on both sides ( i dont think you want them that strong :] ) and some are just powerful enough to fold a gun prop to your thigh without it easily being taken off. They are pretty cheap, worth checking out

Be sure to read through threads dude! Almost every post in this thread (including the original post) has mentioned using neodymium rare earth magnets.

 

[Reclaimara]

Be sure to read through threads dude! Almost every post in this thread (including the original post) has mentioned using neodymium rare earth magnets.

Thank you, Phil.

 

[Sierra 165]

you should look up "rare earth magnets" on Amazon. They are small and powerful magnets with a degree of strength. some can break your hand if you put two on both sides ( i dont think you want them that strong :] ) and some are just powerful enough to fold a gun prop to your thigh without it easily being taken off. They are pretty cheap, worth checking out

Hey I was just reading the post to see everyone's ideas and I came across this one and I hadn't herd of rare earth magnets but I will be sure to check it out thanks