Once upon a time, a copywriter put this little magnet next to his computer monitor and got really pretty, wavy, aurora-like effects. And then got a new monitor! Don't try this at home. Our shiny, silver-colored 1" x 1" x 1/2" neodymium magnet looks innocent, but is industrial strength, pulling something like 25 lbs with enough strength left over to erase all your credit cards. And wreak havoc with your monitor.

Can't beat a classic. These uncoated ceramic donut magnets have a 1-lb pull, which makes them dandy for classroom or refrigerator use. They measure 1-1/4" dia x 3/8" ID x 3/16" thick and are polarized on the faces. You get a wrapped roll of 29 donuts.

Pick up this 1-3/4" x 7/8" x 3/8" ceramic pick-up magnet while we still have it. It's in a heavy metal housing and has a stationary metal hoop, about 1/2" i.d., on top. The manufacturer tells us the magnet will grab up to 5 lbs of metal, however Pat and Magnet Testing Team #3 have repeatedly lifted 10+ lbs, so it's very strong. Especially if you're going to dangle it on the end of a cord to gather spilled nails or to fish your keys out of the lake/pond/sewer/drain!

Donut magnet you can take to town!! 74mm dia x 14mm thick with a 30mm hole. Very strong and well pedigreed - in fact, its kin are activating pacemakers. They are of a high permeability ferrite material with a lovely light blue or white epoxy coating. Okay, we have them because there is the odd bubble, slight scratches or the word MAGNET painted in the coating which ruled them out of the medical ball, but they're fine company nonetheless. Good display bases, paper clip traps, the ultimate fridge magnet and super for classroom demos.

See psychedelic patterns the safe way! Press your hand on this 6" x 6" sheet of liquid crystal and leave a print of swirling colors that, like the mood ring of yore, you can use as a sign of your mood. The pattern will blend and fade in seconds as the crystals react to temperature. Tiny liquid crystals inside the film-like material react to heat, 25-30°C (77-86°F) by changing colors. As science, it demonstrates the way liquid crystal displays work. And you can cut it into pieces to incorporate into a science project. Or just leave it out for guests to play with when the party turns boring.

We think of these as industrial worry beads, but they're really 5/16" dia (8mm) steel ball bearings, ready to be put to whatever ball-bearing uses you might have. Our each is a pack of (50), which should cover a lot of worries, and whatever else you can come up with.

What’s left of a Kansas City cow after all the steaks are gone? Lots of leather! (Think buckskin, not biker jacket.) You choose from: 1) The one-piece Lace Leather Belly in traditional brown, black, gray and similar shades. Really more of a long half-belly, this solid piece of leather is between 2-1/2 and 3-1/2 sq feet. Ours was approx 10-1/2” wide x 45” long x 1/8” thick. 2) A pack of Leather Strips. Ours was a very assorted 2 lbs of strips and larger pieces of leather, 1/16” to 1/8” thick, in rust and brown. 3) The Farmer Bundle Repair Bag, 2 lbs of scraps in various colors. Ours contained a solid 12” x 8” piece and a very large bundle of brown leather thongs 47” long x approx 1/8” square. 4) The colorful Craft Leather Belly. Sized like the traditional ones, but in reds, blues, greens, yellows and other rainbowesque colors. Available only in limited quantities and we'll pick the color that best suits you. Lots of variety, and lots of heavy leather for the price.

Our each is 100 feet of of paracord (tactical cord) from Atwood Rope Mfg. Measures 3/32" dia (think round shoelace) with (4) internal strands and a 275-lb test strength. UV inhibited; rot and mildew resistant. In assorted solid and blended colors, from which we'll pick because we have impeccable taste in cordage.

Or just stop worrying about the line breaking. Battlecord is skinny but megatough stuff. And this one is a 50-foot length of black cord rated for 2,650 lb test. Measures 1/4” dia with a 7-strand core and is rot, mildew and UV resistant. Made in the USA for Atwood Rope.

This 3/8" dia braided orange nylon tow rope is a tad over 13 feet, includes diecast 3/4” ID x 2-7/8” snap hooks at each end, with rubber non-slip grips and is rated for a max load of 1,760 lbs. Which while good for hauling many things, definitely won't budge the weight-class-leading 6,052-lb Rolls Royce Phantom EWB (Extended Wheel Base). Please note: The manufacturer has changed the max-pull weight of this item to 1,760 lbs.

This small stainless steel fine-mesh filter is 2" dia x 1-1/2" tall. It has fine mesh sides, a solid plastic bottom and slight lip around the top. Nice for small filtering jobs, but would also make a passable basket for a gerbil hoops game.

Leather scraps, very assorted. Each 2-lb sack will have mostly small and a few larger pieces, from 4" x 16" down to 6" x 1-1/2", more or less and give or take, in odd shapes. Think coin purses and bracelets, not belts. Maybe a jacket for a hipster gerbil. Colors are cow-like in light and dark browns (and maybe even white if you're lucky). You get (2) pounds total.

Rare earth magnets are usually killers for their size, and these thick nickel neodymium discs are no exception. The price, on the other hand, for (3) 7/16" dia x 1/4" 5-lb lift or (2) 15/32” dia x 3/16” 8-lb lift magnets each stored on a 2" dia steel disc, is a rare exception.

It's easier to see. Our each is (100) feet of 3/32" dia high visibility neon-green type-III paracord. Made of 7-strand, 550-lb test nylon, it's color-fast and resistant to rot, UV light and mildew. A camper's dream! Also makes really snazzy bootlaces.

Okay, it isn't the cheapest magnet in the warehouse - but we pulled about 35-40 pounds with this 4-7/8" x 1" x 3/4" ceramic magnet,  and we think it's a bargain. It has a 6" bracket with mounting holes on 5-1/2" centers, plus a 1/2" ID eyehook bolted into the center of it. It's all set to troll the bottom of the lake next time your filing cabinet falls overboard.

A good dowel is always a good buy, and we’ve got some good dowels at great prices! These wood dowels come a variety of Asian hardwoods including Sesendok, Geronggang and Yellow Merantis. They are a very nice blonde color and moderately heavy. The dowels are strong, stainable, and warp–resistant. All are 12” long; a package is (10) 1/4” dia or (5) 1/2” dia dowels.

Put 'em on a sheet of paper (or glass, or plastic, or any number of things), put a magnet underneath, and watch them do what iron filings do when they meet a magnet. Weird fun coupled with basic physics. Our each is 3/8 oz, which is approx 146 gazillion iron filings, and pure hell to clean up unless you have one of our handy-dandy aforementioned magnets!

Thin-sheet-metal workers, that is. As in crafter/jeweler/model-maker types. You get a 3-pack of very nice, bendable, metal foil sheets, 5" x 7" x .005" thick, (1) each in copper, brass and aluminum.