Listen to Anverd... Glue doesn't like to stick to that smooth chrome on those neo magnets.

Also, don't use CA glue.


Randi

I recently glued a small neo magnet to bottom of a plastic glass, then another to my suitcase table. Idea was to produce the glass, set it on the suitcase. Then open the suitcase lid to get something, and the glass would stay on lid and not fall off.

Using a dot of E6000 glue, everything was fine..until I went to try setting glass down. Realized I didn't check polarity of magnets. Instead of attracting...they repulsed...

As mentioned before, good surface preparation can be quite helpful. The suggestion to sand the parts was excellent, but it might be possible to do a bit more. If you have access to a drill press you might be able to create a shallow circular cavity in the steel, and that will significantly enhance the bond. I have inlaid quite a few magnets this way with good results.

I'm a model builder, familar with CA and Epoxy glues. Here are a few tips:

1. CA ("superglue") comes in a variety of thicknesses, from water like to a gel, from instant curing to multiple minutes curing. It can be dissolved with acetone, or fingernail remover. CA is strong if you're pulling 90 degrees on a glued surface, but weaker in torsion, or lateral (sliding) pressures. It also has a shelf life once opened. You can also buy 'kicker' at hobby shops which will instantly harden/set CA, but it leaves an oily surface which must then be cleaned. CA is not my favorite glue.

2. Epoxy comes in a variety of forms. There are two part epoxy putties (and non-epoxy analogues), and some of these are used by artists to sculpt small scale gaming minis which have extreme detail. JB Weld is epoxy with powdered metal added Expoxy can also be dissolved with acetone but it takes a lot longer. Epoxy is slightly more annoying to work with (you have to mix two parts then wait for it to start to harden) but properly done it's an extremely solid adhesive. Epoxy comes in various forms, some hardening in 5 minutes, some taking much longer. Easiest way to mix the two parts is on a piece of wax paper, using a popsicle stick or toothpick to mix it. Downside to epoxy is that when it's curing, it smells bad. Stinks even. Because epoxy is hard/annoying to machine after it's set, be sure to clear excess off the parts when it's still soft, before it's started to cure.

Despite the above annoyances, epoxy is my preferred adhesive when dealing with wood, metal, or resins (which are used by many manufacturers to make things like PK scarabs, etc.)

3. Dan David above touches on an excellent point: regardless of which adhesive you are using, prep and possible reinforcement of the materials to be bonded helps immensely. For example when I'm assembling two heavy parts of a model using 5 minute epoxy, I may still 'pin' the parts using a piece of cutoff wire (wire coat hangers are a good source) either after the initial gluing, or before it. If you're doing something like gluing a magnet to a surface, if you can sink the magnet into the surface of the material even by 1mm, you'll have a tremendous strength advantage. If you can't countersink it, using a dremel to engrave both surfaces will give a place for glues to fill, which will increase sliding resistance. Downside is that after engraving you may need to knock down any burrs on both surfaces to get a smooth fit, and I'm not entirely sure what engraving would do to some magnets. It could shatter cheap ones for example. Best to countersink magnets when possible.

I just put a drop of gel type superglue on a magnet and stuck it to the side of my drill
press. Total time, a couple of seconds. It's already holding a chuck key.