Do you have keys laying all over the house? Yeah, it happens to the best of us. Make one of these ridiculously fun magnetic key holders and never lose your keys again.
Today is the day you'll remember for the rest of your life. It's the day that you *actually* do a DIY that you saw online instead of just *thinking* you'd do a DIY that you saw online.
In once scenario you get a feeling of accomplishment, superiority, a rush of adrenaline and pride. In the other scenario you get a really full Pinterest board.
This key hanger looks just like a wood cube but there's a rare earth magnet hidden inside that your keyring sticks to. Like magic.
There's a plethora of photos and instructions to follow, but before you start to hyperventilate here's the less scary point form.
DROPSHOT
You won't get pretty flowers with it, but the ferny greenery of Dropshot (an herb in the Marigold family), tastes exactly like, IDENTICAL TO, black jellybeans.the ferny greenery of Dropshot (an herb in the Marigold family), tastes exactly like, IDENTICAL TO, black jellybeans.
Magnetic Cube Key Hanger
MATERIALS
length of wood with sharp, square edges (2"x2")
½" drill bit
½" rare earth magnet
3/16 x 2" Dowel Screw
Veneer (2" iron on edge banding if you can find it, otherwise use a sheet of veneer)
Wood glue (if you don't use iron on edge banding)
INSTRUCTIONS
First cut your length of 2x2 into squares.
1. Drill a hole in one side of the cube with a ½ drill bit to the depth of your magnet.
I used a drill press because it's fun but you can just use a regular drill. A spade bit works well because it gives you a flat bottom to rest the magnet on.
2. Blow out any sawdust in the hole.
3. Press your magnet into the hole. If you drilled straight down without wiggling your drill bit, the magnet will fit snugly.
4. Drill a hole for the dowel screw on any side of the cube. Screw the dowel screw into the cube until half of it is in the cube.
If it's too hard to hand tighten use a pair of pliers to grab the screw being careful not to squish the threads. You can also put the screw into a vice (again being careful not to squish the threads) and screw the cube in further by hand.
If you're lucky you'll find dowel screws like these that have a smooth centre, letting you grab it with a pair of vice grips without worrying about squishing threads.
Would you like to save this stuff?
We'll email you this post, so you can refer to it later.
5. Cut veneer squares for 5 sides of the wood. You won't veneer the back where the dowel screw is.
You can cut the veneer slightly larger than you need and then just cut the excess off after you glue each piece in place.
6. If you're using regular veneer apply a thin layer of wood glue to the wood cube and stick the veneer on top. Clamp it. My clamps are ancient but useful because they come as a big whack of multiple sizes.
When clamping, cover the veneer with another piece of wood. Doing this will stop the clamps from denting the veneer and it'll distribute the force of the clamps evenly over the veneer.
8. Once all your veneer is glued on (or ironed on if you're using iron on edge banding) and trimmed you can stain, paint or just leave your cube natural.
I've stained my birch veneer with Early American Minwax stain.
9. To hang the cube, drill a hole into your wall and add an anchor if needed (for hollow walls, sheetrock/drywall).
Screw the cube into the wall.
It's important that you pre-drill the hole otherwise you could end up pushing the dowel screw through the front of the cube.
Wanna see it in action?
And yes. You have to add the veneer. Otherwise there's nothing to hide the magnet. You can also try using wallpaper.
You're probably thinking, well yeah, but I have WAY more than 1 key that hangs off of my keyring. This would NEVER hold up all of my keys.
Not true. Rare earth magnets are incredibly strong. They hold my big honking keychain with a fob, various keys and a tape measure hanging off of it.
I just have one but you could have one for each person in the family all lined up on the wall of the door you come in.
Or do a long rectangle instead of a cube and add a magnet every 3" so that everyone has their own key spot on it.
These painted different colours would be really fantastic. Glossy hot pink, or if you have several you could go from dark to light (ombre) of the same colour.
Really the possibilities are endless for how you could configure these or make them look. There's only ONE thing that you absolutely HAVE to do, to make these work properly.
You can't just Pin it to your Pinterest board. You have to actually make one. ;)
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Addie
That is a lot of work. You can greatly simplify the whole process by just hammering a nail in the spot you want. Plus it will never slip off.
Thank you.
Vicky
Well, I'm thrilled to know I'm not the only one who has a tape measure on their key ring (my dad, and therefore all his construction-minded daughters, call it a Yoyo--think about it). I'm definitely doing this.
Karen
A yoyo, lol. That's a perfect name for a few reasons. I still get a tiny thrill every time I put my keys on it. ~ karen!
🌵Pamela of The Desert🌵
Hi Karen, I saw this post a few years ago & thought about making an entire wall of magnetic cubes but when I followed the link to Amazon for rare earth magnets I was sidelined by the magical super strong magnets. But honestly, I knew about rare earth magnets prior to this and have some in a drawer (so many nails and screws attached I can’t stand the thought of me causing a break up of their marriage) 🧲
This time your link is a dead zone. But I went to Amazon and started reading reviews (again) by a considerable number of people - The reviews on a lot of “things” on the internet is where science goes to die.
This amused me so I wanted to thank you for the reminder of why I stay away from crowds where free ranging people also believe the Earth is flat and electricity is generated directly by the sun shining on the wires out on the street.
🌞
Shar
Can you explain the veneer part? It was not clear in the photos either. What is veneer? What does it look like and do?
🌵Pamela of The Desert🌵
Hi Shar. A veneer is anything used to cover a surface of something else. Like teeth can be coated with an acrylic veneer or porcelain- or if you are fancy, gold. In this instance, I’m leaning towards a wood veneer. You buy this where carpenters and DIYers go to while away the hours by methodically staring at all things wood or wood related. Glue is used to apply a piece of veneer to a cheaper piece of wood - like a walnut veneer can be applied to (ewwww) particle board and used to make furniture. It comes in different thicknesses and in a magical assortment of wood grain.
You can argue that applying Formica to a piece of plywood is a veneered piece of plywood and you’d be correct. I won’t go as far to suggest that wallpaper is what most people think of when looking for a veneer but it’s used in pretty much the same way, to make something look fancier.
billy sharpstick
I was at an arts and crafts show once and saw a sign at one of the booths: "Sure, you could go home and make one yourself, but you won't" I forget what they were selling now, but I immediately bought one.
Karen
That's great! ~ karen
Karen
I think you should put a magnet inside the deer's mouth.......
Karen
Hahahah! ~ karen
Lez
That's a brilliant & simple idea! Deer head just hanging out with a mouthful of keys! :)
Mary W
I immediately thought of knife holders. Also, I thought you were going to remove the tape measure so you don't mess up your ignition. LOVE the clean wood block look! What is a rare-earth magnet - from a rare planet called earth - aren't they all from earth? Or is there a natural magnetic rock (how is this possible?) verses a man made magnetic rock (how is this possible?) I obviously know nothing about magnets except I shouldn't use one near my computer or it will erase the hard drive - I'm sure this a an "old wives tale" which again is a mystery - are they old women or is the tale old? I should have paid attention in science but ----- my teacher was incredibly boring and monotone and I always chose B on my quizzes and made an A without trying. How did so many questions come up from such an incredibly easy DIY?
Karen
Um ... I'll address the one question, lol. Rare Earth Magnets are very, VERY strong man made magnets. Not like regular magnets. Crazy strong! ~ karen!
TucsonPatty
I wouldn't know this from experience, ut they can give you a blood blister if you aren't careful. Telling you from a friend. 😀
Doug
Rare earth magnets might be better named, rare element magnets. Yes, they contain iron, but other things are in there also, like strontium. The recipe is made into a slurry, poured into a mold(s) and baked. They are then sliced up using diamond tooling. After that they go into a magnetizing 'machine' where a high current aligns the iron particles to make the super strong magnet.
Mary W
THANK YOU so much! Appreciate you saying better named rare element magnet - definitely will help me remember. Where do they get the strontium? You must have been involved at some point in making some to know about the process. Thanks again.
Sarah McDonnell
One of A Kind Show? OMG! How did I miss this wonderful thing?( 1300 miles distance, maybe).
Had to Google, now totally addicted to the shopping site. Stinson Maple, those scarf thingys! Ooo la la!
Carrie
Ok......I NEED this!!
Love the different shades of color idea😄
Also, is your rolling pin hanging on your wall??......
Karen
Hi Carrie. Yep. I have an entire wall hanging with rolling pins. :) https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/my-kitchen-the-reveal/ ~ karen!
maggieb
You can buy iron on veneer, seriously?
Okay back to reading post...
Lynn
So cool I seen one years ago , I just never considered how to make one. Now I know thank you Karen now I just need to find those magnets I bought so many years ago...
Treasure hunt time hahaha
TucsonPatty
That is certainly how I look at it - like pinning the recipe counts for making it, at least the one time! See also: buying an excercise video you never actually even watch, let alone actually use, or buying hair products that sit in your cupboard.
Karen, can you put a magnet on three sides so the keys can be placed on two sides and the bottom, or is that a stupid magnet north and south pole question/problem? This is pretty darn cool!
Karen
Absolutely you can put the magnets on all sides! In fact that's exactly what the one I bought is like. ~ karen!
Ina
I thought I was the only one with a cupboard full of unused hair products!
TucsonPatty
Nope. I'm a hairstylist, and I cannot count the clients who tell me they already have "that product" but they forgot about it in the cupboard. I'll add you to the list. I always laugh and tell them it doesn't work as well on their hair when it is still on the shelf.
Kat - the other 1
I was thinking that about adding more than one magnet to it too. Makes sense to me! :) When we were all kiddles and mom would get a new exercise video we'd fill up big bowls with cereal or popcorn and watch it the first time like a movie. Lol! Well, a movie where we ask lots of questions. Why are his shorts so short?? People really bend like that? Need more cereal... Lol.
Mark
That does look sharp, and very nice instructions too. :) Doesn't pinterest count like 95% of making it???