Welcome!

a little about 'pie' and FORCEFIELD

On this page you'll find information about me, our company, our eBay policies, and facts about our main product, NdFeB "super magnets".

I live with my wife Michelle, my 9 year old daughter Maya, a German shorthair pointer named Flash, and Morwen, our new Russian Wolf hound. We live about 70 miles NW of Denver CO in the mountains, 11 miles from the nearest phones or power lines. My interests include playing acoustic music, collecting old records and the machinery by which they are played...and, of course, my business - which includes MAGNETS, and MAGNETISM, and renewable energy. We have a fairly normal household, and all of our electricity is generated either by solar, or our large homebrew wind turbine. We recently built a new wood/machine/electrical shop where we spend a great deal of time developing new wind turbine designs and building machines for freinds and neighbors. We occasionally sell a machine. Lately it seems that home brew wind electric systems take up a great deal of my time and I find it very enjoyable. We sell plans, and parts on ebay and on our website for homebrew wind turbine enthusiasts. We've built many machines over the years and we are happy to offer support to folks who need it.

The Magnet business.

why buy from Forcefield...

Wind Power

Pictured above is the 20' diameter wind turbine that powers our home and shop. Windpower is becoming a more and more important part of our business. I believe it will continue to become more important, and more popular as energy prices rise. I've lived off the power grid most of my life and have been experimenting with windpower for about 20 years now. In the past few years I've attended two of Hugh Piggott's workshops and recently one by Mick Sagrillo, all put on by Solar Energy International. We've also put on a few of our own workshops at the Rocky Mountain Sustainable living fair, and one in spring 2006 for the MREA in Wisconsin. I feel that in the last 4 years we've really started building reasonably good machines. We currently sell magnets and magnet wire for those building their own wind turbines from scratch. We also publish and sell plans by Hugh Piggott. Soon we will offer more complete kits, wind turbine blades, and possibly completed machines. Why buy from us? We've built these machines before, we can answer your questions and offer support should you get into this very rewarding hobby. If wind power is something that's caught your interest, I suggest you do some research and read a bit before you spend money. Building a good machine is not difficult, but it does require some basic metal and woodworking skills. You need to understand what your getting into and have some idea what to expect before you start. There is a lot of bad information being offered by companies selling equipment and plans out there. The windpower world unfortunately has almost as many scams going as the perpetual motion world, so be careful - be informed! Here are some good places to start.

Otherpower.com is our website about homebrew renewable energy. Look at our 'links' page for lots more good information. Check or join our discussion board where we have over 5000 members and a very active ongoing discussion on renewable energy with the main focus being windpower.

Scoraigwind.com is Hugh Piggott's excellent website, also about homebrew windpower. Hugh Piggott is truly a master of this stuff, his website and his books are excellent reading. We sell his plans and books both here on ebay, and on our website. He has truly been an inspiration to me.

The Perfect Turbine is a page on Mike Klemens excellent website. This page gives a good idea of what you can expect. It also shows how lots of sellers are 'beating the laws of physics' often by a few hundred percent. If folks claim their wind turbines are producing more power or more energy than this page suggests is possible, beware.

Q: What do you charge for shipping if I order more than one item?

A: Each of our auctions has a flat shipping charge. Should you order one item, or multiple items, the same flat shipping charge will apply. If you order from multiple auctions, then we ask that you pay only the single highest shipping charge of any 1 auction. For example, if you order one or more items which has a shipping charge of $3.00, and one or more items that have a shipping charge of $5.00, then the total charge for shipping all the items would be $5.00. It is important that you notify us when you order from different auctions, we may not always notice! Be sure, if you order multiple items, from different auctions, to only pay the single highest shipping charge.

Q: How do I pay?

A: There are several options! Our preferred method of payment is via www.paypal.com. If you've never used this service before, we'd encourage you to sign up, it makes payment for most eBay auctions very simple and in our experience it is the most reliable, and easiest to use online credit card service available. All you need to know is the price, and our email address. For payments via paypal please use this email address: pie@wondermagnets.com Alternatively, you can call us on the phone to pay for auctions with Visa or Mastercard. The folks who answer the phone may not know exactly what you ordered, so please have ready the total price, and the eBay auction number(s) for your order. The phone number for our store is 1-970-484-7257. We're usually around during business hours (11-5 Monday through Friday), but if not - either keep trying, or leave a message with your number, and a good time to call you back and we will! Lastly, you can always pay the good old fashioned way, check or money order. We may hold personal checks to clear, before shipping, especially on larger orders! To pay by check or money order, just send the payment (make it payable to "Forcefield"), along with a note describing exactly what you ordered, where to send it, and your eBay user ID or email address to: Forcefield 2606 W Vine dr Ft Collins, CO 80521

Q: Should I use "eBay Checkout"?

A: No, please don't, it confuses us, especially if you order from multiple auctions! If you order from multiple auctions, eBay checkout will force you to pay shipping for each item you buy and you'll wind up paying too much! We much prefer you use www.paypal.com, send a check/money order, or simply give us a call (970) 484-7257.

Q: What are your policies on shipping and eBay feedback?

A: We ship either the same, or next business day after receiving payment. Most packages ship via UPS Ground, which is the safest and most reliable way to ship magnets. It usually takes 3-7 business days for delivery. We'll leave you positive feedback on eBay shortly after we ship your package, this way you'll know that it's on the way!

Q: Is it possible to combine in the same shipment, items from your websites and items from eBay?

A: Certainly, although it can get confusing for us unless you communicate via email or phone exactly what you need. Browse our magnet website at www.wondermagnet.com, and our alternative energy website at www.otherpower.com.

Thank you for your interest in our products. Please CLICK HERE to view all our auctions on eBay. For further information about magnets and magnetism, please visit our website at wondermagnet.com. If renewable energy is of interest to you, please visit our latest project at otherpower.com, where the focus is making electricity from scratch! Both of our sites have loads of free information and active discussion boards. Again, should you have any questions, or comments, please send email to pie@wondermagnets.com. Neodymium-Iron-Boron (NdFeB) Magnet Facts Power--NdFeB Magnets are the most powerful permanent magnet formulation now known to mankind. They are generally at least 7 times more powerful than standard AlNiCo and Ferrite (ceramic) magnets. Quality--The quality of magnetic materials is best stated by the Maximum Energy Product, in MegaGauss Oersted (MGOe). This is because the size and shape of a magnet and the material behind it (such as iron) have a large effect on the measured field strength at the surface, as does the location at which it is measured. Our NdFeB magnets range from 35 to 45 MGOe. Our surplus NdFeB magnets are also in this range, though we are unable to provide exact figures, since the materials are surplus. Another measure of the quality of a magnetic material is Br Max, which is defined to be the maximum field density a material can have. When folks talk of gauss rating, this is what they mean. Most of our NdFeB magnets have Br rating of 12,800 Gauss. Field Strength--The unit for measuring the field strength of a magnet is the Gauss. The Earth's magnetic field is on the order of 1 Gauss, and NdFeB magnets are thousands of times more powerful than the Earth's field! We use a gauss meter to check the readings at the surface of our magnets, and we have this information available for most of our products. The size, shape and material behind a magnet all affect the field strength, as does the location at which it is measured. Maximum Energy Product is a better comparison of magnet quality. Coercivity--Coercivity is the strength of magnetic field required to magnetize, de-magnetize, or re-magnetize the NdFeB material, and it is also measured in Gauss. NdFeB magnets have a coersive gauss rating of around 12,000-14000. It has nothing to do with the actual field strength of the magnet, though highly coercive magnets are usually quite strong. This high Coercivity in NdFeB magnets also means that do not need any sort of 'keeper' during storage to retain their strength--they will last forever unless you heat them over their Curie Temperature (see below)! Actual field density (strength) of any magnet depends upon the grade and type of material, and the shape and size of the magnet. Temperature--The Curie Temperature of a magnet is the temperature at which it loses it's magnetism, permanently. Above 266 degrees F (130 C) these NdFeB magnets start to loose their power rapidly. They are NOT recommended for high heat applications. If temperature is an issue and you still need very strong magnets, you might try Samarium Cobalt magnets. They are extremely expensive, but very heat and corrosion resistant. Corrosion--NdFeB magnets are susceptible to corrosion. That "Fe" in the chemical name stands for iron, and it rusts! Most of our magnets come with nickel, zinc or gold plating to protect them from moisture. If the coating is damaged (from rough handling, or as on many surplus magnets that have been removed from equipment) the magnet could rust if exposed to water. If this is a concern, you can easily add another layer of protection to the magnets yourself using Plasti-Dip tool handle covering, epoxy or similar materials. Machinability--Sintered NdFeB magnets are brittle--very much like a ceramic. How brittle they are really depends on their shape and size. Folks often ask us if they can be machined. Although it is possible to cut, grind, and drill these magnets, it's difficult. They can not be heated over their Curie temperature, and again, they are quite brittle. The material is also flammable. In the process of grinding or machining, it is possible for sparks to ignite either the chips or the magnets. Once they ignite, they burn hot and the fumes are toxic. They are best machined with diamond tools under lots of coolant. We do not advise folks to try, it usually results in broken tools and/or magnets! NdFeB Magnets are a relatively new invention--they first became commercially available in 1984. NdFeB magnets are currently protected under patent. All of our magnets are either surplus from various industries, or new, licensed material. NdFeB Magnets are complicated to manufacture. The powdered materials are packed in molds, then sintered. The non-magnetized 'magnets' are then shaped to the correct sized and plated with nickel, zinc or gold. To magnetize them, they are placed in a machine that generates an extremely high-powered magnetic field for an instant, using a high voltage capacitor discharge and coil. The polarity of the finished magnet depends on how it was oriented in the machine, and how the particles in the sintered mixture are oriented. For even more magnet information and magnet science FAQs, check out our Magnet Science Pages! Check out some amazing magnet science experiments, with cool photos, HERE! Levitating Magnets! Check out our diamagnetic levitation pages, with instructions and photos! Make Your Electricity from Scratch! Check out our home-built alternators using our NdFeB magnets! Homemade wind generators and hydro plants too! Hundreds of Ways to Use a Magnet From the ingenious to the downright silly.

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Thats me, "tasting" the voltage on a homebrew low RPM alternator I built 4 years back.

Favorite Links

Our magnet website!

Our alternative energy website! Check out the experiments page!

A fun page about my '30 tudor!

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