i have a bunch of super magnets that came from water meter readers that were scrapped at work many, many, years ago.
they are approximately 1/2x1/2x1/4" or so, and those things are so strong that you better not have your fingers in the vicinity of two of them when they decide to "meet" each other !
you will get a pinch blister like you wouldn't believe !
i sent several members a few of these, and like everyone at work, i wished i had obtained a bunch more !
there were over 800 [yes, 800 !
] 4ft. square x 3ft. deep bins heaped at least a foot, foot and a half, of these tiny items that contained two coils and two magnets, separated by two 1/8x1/8x1/2" pins, contained in a plastic cage affair.
after one took a few apart, it became apparent how to do this quickly, just to obtain the magnets.
anyway, i have a couple of these things "stuck" [
] around i occasionally put my driver bits on, and it doesn't take long to get the bits magnetized. they las quite a long time that way as well, before a fresh "charge" is needed.
i use them for so many other tasks it's unbelievable.