DIY ammo can magnets

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WRMorrison
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DIY ammo can magnets

#1

Post by WRMorrison »

I'm sure most of you have seen the ammo can magnets that are out there:

https://shop.ammocanmagnets.com/

I'm on an ammo organizational kick, and was going to place a fairly large order for magnets from the link above. But, I wanted a few custom magnets that he didn't already offer. After 4 emails and a phone message with no response, I didn't have a lot of faith in his customer service. So, I bought the stuff to make my own.

I bought a pack of (10) 8.5x11 sheets on Amazon for around $18 shipped (search for Marietta Magnetics - printable magnetic sheets; won't let me post a link for some reason). That comes out to roughly .15 per 50cal magnet or .09 each for the 30cal magnets (compared to his price of $1.50/1.00) plus the cost of ink.

I've created templates for both 30 and 50 cal cans; you can put 20 magnets on a 30cal sheet and 12 magnets on a 50cal sheet.

These will print on either a standard inkjet or laserjet printer, but here's the catch: it has to be a printer with a straight-through paper feed...like the older, desktop printers. If the paper is stored in a "magazine" (like a pull-out tray at the bottom of the printer), the magnetic paper is too thick and will get jammed in the rollers of the machine as it feeds. I learned this the hard way after WalMart, OfficeMax, Kinko's, etc. declined to print these for me. In the end, I bought a cheap (<$40) inkjet printer from WalMart and it works just fine. I needed a printer at home anyway, so it was an easy decision for me.

If this is something you'd like to try, PM me an email address and I'll send you the templates; they're in MS Publisher.

-WRM

Image

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AZF350PSD
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Re: DIY ammo can magnets

#2

Post by AZF350PSD »

Great tip, thanks.
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Re: DIY ammo can magnets

#3

Post by Harrier »

That is a real nice job you did...

Mine change every-so-often, so I just used a roll of masking tape and a sharpie...
and I can't afford to use a lot of ink at today's prices.
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Re: DIY ammo can magnets

#4

Post by WRMorrison »

Also, you could just print in black (sheets are white) to save on the ink.

-WRM
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Re: DIY ammo can magnets

#5

Post by gunpoorboy1 »

Very nice.
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Steve_In_29
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Re: DIY ammo can magnets

#6

Post by Steve_In_29 »

Nice

I just use a label maker or write on cans with a sharpie.
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Re: DIY ammo can magnets

#7

Post by XJThrottle »

I have a vinyl cutter.

I could make decals super cheap.
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Re: DIY ammo can magnets

#8

Post by WRMorrison »

XJThrottle wrote: January 6th, 2019, 8:19 pm I have a vinyl cutter.

I could make decals super cheap.
I thought about this as well, but then you'd lose the ability to move labels between cans. I'm not sure how often that situation would come up though.

-WRM
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Re: DIY ammo can magnets

#9

Post by lew »

Harrier wrote: January 6th, 2019, 4:48 pm That is a real nice job you did...

Mine change every-so-often, so I just used a roll of masking tape and a sharpie...
and I can't afford to use a lot of ink at today's prices.
That's what I've been doing for the last fifteen years or so. Cheap and easy to remove if necessary.
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Re: DIY ammo can magnets

#10

Post by Flash »

The professionals use blue painters tape and a sharpie. Nothing easier to remove after a few years.
Masking tape tends to become semi permanent after a few years. :D
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Re: DIY ammo can magnets

#11

Post by nvgdude »

These do look very cool.

Mine are blue tape and sharpie. As are most of the storage boxes in my garage.
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Re: DIY ammo can magnets

#12

Post by Harrier »

Flash wrote: January 7th, 2019, 1:44 pm The professionals use blue painters tape and a sharpie. Nothing easier to remove after a few years.
Masking tape tends to become semi permanent after a few years. :D
I guess i must be a pro then as I use the blue tape for that very reason :mrgreen:
(A little mineral spirits will take off the old regular tape gum...)
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Re: DIY ammo can magnets

#13

Post by Flash »

I tried keeping mineral spirits around, but use it so infrequently that it had evaporated before I used it more than a couple of times.
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Re: DIY ammo can magnets

#14

Post by Suck My Glock »

I use the blue painter's tape as well. Now if they'd just make that on O.D. Green,.....
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Re: DIY ammo can magnets

#15

Post by XNARC »

I’ve accumulated a few molle style utility bags, and throw my ammo in those...any suggestions for similar id tags?
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