This is really just a combination of two good ideas from other people: Using scrabble tiles as refrigerator magnets and l33t scrabble tiles. That said, I get lots of positive comments on these magnets, so I'm rather proud of them.
Your Bedroom
It is the middle of the night and you have awakened hungry. The sound of your stomach growling echoes in your humid room. As tired as you are, you know the munchy demons will not let you sleep until you sate your desire so you throw off your blanket and get out of bed.
> exit door
You exit your bedroom through the door.
The Kitchen
It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
> clap
The sound of clapping activates a relay and turns on the light.
The Kitchen
You stand in your kitchen in front of the refrigerator. Attached to the door is a cryptic message written in strange, green runes etched on black tiles. It reads:
J00 R N00B PH34R MY L33T SK1LZ
Your Bedroom
It is the middle of the night and you have awakened hungry. The sound of your stomach growling echoes in your humid room. As tired as you are, you know the munchy demons will not let you sleep until you sate your desire so you throw off your blanket and get out of bed.
> exit door
You exit your bedroom through the door.
The Kitchen
It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
> clap
The sound of clapping activates a relay and turns on the light.
The Kitchen
You stand in your kitchen in front of the refrigerator. Attached to the door is a cryptic message written in strange, green runes etched on black tiles. It reads:
J00 R N00B PH34R MY L33T SK1LZ
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1: Materials and Tools
This is a list of the materials and tools I used to complete make my magnets. This isn't the cheapest way to go, but it worked out pretty well for me. Prices are listed without shipping costs factored in.
L33T Tiles - $3 - Of course, you can use Scrabble tiles instead, but then what is leet about that? These tiles come as a set of 103, and are a great deal. These are on closeout right now, so buy them while they last!
ZD2 Disk Neodymium Magnets - $22 - The most expensive part of this project. These magnets are plenty strong to use in this project, and you can probably get away with using cheaper, weaker magnets if you want. You want to get about 20 more than the number of tiles you want to convert to magnets - I broke a few playing with them, and the spare magnets come in handy later in the project.
Adhesive - $6 - I used these little adhesive dots and they worked great. They were a little tedious to use, but I think the results were cleaner than if I had used epoxy. Really though, any glue capable of adhering to metal and plastic would work alright here.
Plasti Dip - ~$6 - You can get this from Home Depot, Lowe's, or any home and garden store. Get black if you can, it blends in with the black tiles and looks great.
A handful of bolts - ~$2 - These are going to be used to create a handle when dipping your tiles in the plasti dip. I got 20 and did 5 batches. You probably have something around the house to use.
A cookie pan or similar sheet of metal - This is for sticking magnets to while things dry.
A small shallow resealable container - This will pretty much end up destroyed. A disposable sandwich container is perfect for this.
A black refrigerator - $400+ - These look great on a black fridge, but I wouldn't go out and buy one just for this project. I needed a new fridge anyway, so I bought one that matched my magnets...
Total cost for me (minus the fridge) was $36 + shipping. In the end I got a very professional looking product, so I don't mind that they cost a bit. There's a lot of ways to cut down on the cost. Using non-rare earth magnets would save a bundle, and you could probably skip the plasti dip if you did that.
L33T Tiles - $3 - Of course, you can use Scrabble tiles instead, but then what is leet about that? These tiles come as a set of 103, and are a great deal. These are on closeout right now, so buy them while they last!
ZD2 Disk Neodymium Magnets - $22 - The most expensive part of this project. These magnets are plenty strong to use in this project, and you can probably get away with using cheaper, weaker magnets if you want. You want to get about 20 more than the number of tiles you want to convert to magnets - I broke a few playing with them, and the spare magnets come in handy later in the project.
Adhesive - $6 - I used these little adhesive dots and they worked great. They were a little tedious to use, but I think the results were cleaner than if I had used epoxy. Really though, any glue capable of adhering to metal and plastic would work alright here.
Plasti Dip - ~$6 - You can get this from Home Depot, Lowe's, or any home and garden store. Get black if you can, it blends in with the black tiles and looks great.
A handful of bolts - ~$2 - These are going to be used to create a handle when dipping your tiles in the plasti dip. I got 20 and did 5 batches. You probably have something around the house to use.
A cookie pan or similar sheet of metal - This is for sticking magnets to while things dry.
A small shallow resealable container - This will pretty much end up destroyed. A disposable sandwich container is perfect for this.
A black refrigerator - $400+ - These look great on a black fridge, but I wouldn't go out and buy one just for this project. I needed a new fridge anyway, so I bought one that matched my magnets...
Total cost for me (minus the fridge) was $36 + shipping. In the end I got a very professional looking product, so I don't mind that they cost a bit. There's a lot of ways to cut down on the cost. Using non-rare earth magnets would save a bundle, and you could probably skip the plasti dip if you did that.
Visit Our Store »
Go Pro Today »
Weekend project, here I come.