In this study, the structural state and microstructural scale of Pr/sub 2/Co/sub 17/ and Sm/sub 2/Fe/sub 17/ were modified by rapid solidification and alloying. Partial suppression of the dumbbell ordering was accomplished by melt spinning, and more effective suppression, leading to the formation of the TbCu/sub 7/-type structure, was accomplished by the addition of Ti or Ti and C. Annealing recovered the order, although Ti and TiC significantly affected the kinetics in the Sm-Fe system. The addition of Ti and C refines the grain size in both Pr-Co and Sm-Fe. The degree of order was found to influence the coercivity in the nitrided Sm-Fe alloys. The Pr-Co alloys were found to have a planar easy magnetization direction at all levels of ordering.