Help! Magnetic Crane Loads

I would do scrap metal 

Dad always used paper clips.

I have a 464 Lumber Mill near my crane what I do is cut a small grove into the round wood that is put in first . In the grove I have cut is a small band of steel ,so I can pick the logs off the flat car and dump them into the lumber feed out the other end comes the flat boards . Try to cut the grove in the center for better balance you can use any soft steel wire.

Glue a small washer on the top of those plastic cannisters that are often found in gondolas.  They are then fun to load and unload by crane.   

You can also push a thumb tack into any wooden barrel and pick them up or if you have a culvert loader set  place the crane where you can move the pipes

The ____Depot carries Rustoleum Magnetic primer kit. You can prime the surface of anything, then finish paint it, to attract a magnet.

magnet cranes are mostly used in scrap handling and steel plants. But it would be fun for it grab whatever you like. I painted some blocks as Christmas gifts for my fixed magnet remote Cranky the Crane this year. Little Man had fun helping Cranky and Thomas deliver gifts.

All great ideas!  Thank You!

I have molded aluminum foil around o-gauge cars or plasticville cars and then peeled it off. I shot cheap paint on them and taped a paper clip in the roof. That magnetic paint would do the trick too. With use they get smashed up until they are scrap. Make new ones whenever you need them. When you drop them on the pile, they even make a metallic crunching sound! The kids love 'em. Have fun!

I've done what Bill (B and O) suggested. I have plastic gondola canisters with metal washers at the top. I use the crane to remove them from a gondola and swing around and load them into a stake truck. A good test of eye, hand coordination. 

Roger

I've also mashed alum foil into 1 inch squares with a paper clip forced into them and trimmed off.  Looks like scrap metal.  Russ

I also have used old o-27 rail cut into short pieces, rust and all. The crane picks it up well.

Hey, I thought that I was the only one who did that.  It does work great.

I also use mine to pick up short rails and canisters with washer attached. In addition to those, I use it to pick up coupler parts, wheel trucks, and spare motors.