Five Minutes Magnetic Hanger for Your Trench Coat

Trench coats are cool! When you have been watching "Doctor Who" for six and a half seasons, you realize you can't go into adventures without a trench coat (and a bowtie. Bowties are cool, too!).

But my trench coat has a problem: where do you hang it when you arrive to office and you take it out? Trench coats are so big and so long. And it gets worse in a rainy weather. Your trench coat gets wet and you can't put it in a chair, without wetting the chair or dragging your coat on the floor.

So, there I was, arriving at the office in a rainy morning, with my wet trench coat, thinking about the beautiful and cheap umbrellas I saw in Chinatown (but NAAAH! My miserliness didn't let me to buy one!), when I realize that there is no place on Instructables lab where you can hang your trench coat. Or your rain coat. And I can't open a hole on the wall just for putting a nail for my coat. So, what would MacGyver do?

Then I remembered something: magnets. Computer hard drives have powerful magnets. Very powerful. I could make a magnetic coat hanger and placed it in the metallic cabinet near the restrooms.

It took me only 3 minutes to dismantle one of my dead hard drives and 2 minutes to build the coat hanger. And it works very well.

Step 1: Warning, Materials and Tools

WARNING: You will work with a very powerful magnet. Be careful when you remove it from the hard drive, because you can bruise your fingers. And don't put the magnet near electronic devices, your wristwatch or your wallet, because you can damage your gadget or your credit cards. Don't tell I didn't tell you.

Materials:

• 1 Dead Hard Drive (you will need only the magnet)
• 1 bolt
• 2 nuts
• Isulating tape

Tools:

• Screwdriver

And you will need:

• A metallic cabinet (or another big metallic surface where you can put your trench coat)

Step 2: Dismantle the Hard Drive

Use a screwdriver to open the dead hard drive. Remove the plate and search for the magnets. Keep the other pieces for another project.

Step 3: Make the Hanger

Fix the bolt to the magnet in one of its holes. Fasten it using the nuts.

Step 4: Protect!

You don't want your coat hanger rusts or the bolt damage your trench coat neck. So cover the bolt with insulating tape.

Step 5: Place It!

Find a good clear spot for put your magnetic coat hanger. Place it and hang your trench coat!

Comments

[jesstssoldier]

not only is that an awesome idea but I find the Dr Who addition to be quite commendable. I have not yet made it to 6 and a half seasons as I just recently found out about the show. but I'm catching up thanks to Netflix! awesome ideas brother!

[M.C. Langer]

Thanks Jesstssoldier! and yes, Doctor Who is FANTASTIC! :-)

[Jessie Marie]

Great idea!!

[M.C. Langer]

Thanks Jessie Marie!

[vincent7520]

A trench coat is cool !… So are suspenders !!!…
You have class : smartly dressed and posting great instructables !…
Keep up the good work !

[andrea biffi]

Mario, I was thinking... if your coat has a metal button you don't need the hook neither, or maybe you can sew a metal washer inside the neck of the coat (maybe on the label), that should be even more cool! :-)

[vincent7520]

NOT a great idea : if the magnet is too strong you may attract all metallic objects on your path … or worse, being driven by the button towards a fixed metallic objet onto which you will crash !… What a day this would be !!!… LOL

(of course the idea is great !…)

[M.C. Langer]

You are absolutely right! But, my favorite trench coat is one of those things I don't want to hack. Maybe later, when it gets old. :-)

[sunshiine]

That coat is beautiful! What a great idea to have a place to hang a nice long coat. As always you are a genius! Hope your weekend is awesome!
sunshiine

[M.C. Langer]

Thanks a lot Sunshiine!!! The same for you!! :-)

[sunshiine]

Thanks! I am so tired! Been digging in the yard to plant grass. Hard work!

[M.C. Langer]

I imagine that!! Great work!!! :-)

[startree]

Great idea fellow dr who fan! now if only someone were to invent a thing to hang the coat on, perhaps made of wood or wire, with a hook at the top, to hang off your hook, perhaps your coat might keep its shape :)

[M.C. Langer]

A sonic coat hanger? :-)

Thanks!

[andrea biffi]

Yes these magnets are very powerful!
This is a great way to use them! And in addition this will remove them from my desk where there is always the danger to demagnetize my ATM card ;-)

[M.C. Langer]

Thanks Andrea! :-)

[mtbdan]

Brilliant! I have been trying to find a way to hang jackets at work for years, so simple, as it often is.

[M.C. Langer]

Thanks mtbdan!! I'm glad you like it!

[iOskr]

Simple and useful

[M.C. Langer]

Thanks iOskr!! :-)