<VV> Mags

[Rick Norris]

Real magnesium wheels are very light but brittle and porous. They need 
either tubes or a sealant applied to the inside to hold air. And yes, they 
make a nice fire. I've seen it when one of our aircraft in Vietnam was hit 
with a mortar round while on the ground and burned to the ground.
Most all wheels today that are called "Mags" are made from aluminum alloy, 
not magnesium.

>From personal experience I know the magnesium fan from a Corvair will burn.
I wanted to cut down the OD of the fan on my race car. I rigged a fixture to 
hold the fan against my belt sander and did a fine job of reducing the fans 
diameter.
In doing so I created a nice pile of magnesium shavings on my work bench. It 
just so happened my abrasive wheel cut off saw was next to all the shavings 
which, in my haste I had forgotten to clean up. As I was doing something 
else I suddenly needed to cut a piece of steel rod so, I whipped it right on 
the saw, pulled the trigger and the sparks lit the shavings! YOWZA! Big 
flash and instant flames!
I managed to get it under control before any real damage was done.
I had just had a Bohunk Moment!

Rick Norris
#36 Sunoco Corvair
www.corvairalley.com



> It's not really that easy to light magnesium on fire, but yes, they burn, 
> and as far as I've ever heard they are all made of the same material - 
> there might have been some alloying, but I've always heard it as a 
> straight magnesium.  So are VW beetle transmission cases, they burn really 
> well.  And yes, that's the origin of the term 'mag' wheel, the really 
> light racing wheels were magnesium.
>
> BTW, a tank of gasoline also burns pretty good.  Lots of really dangerous 
> stuff about cars.  I wish more people understood that fact.
>
> --Bryan
>
> On Sep 1, 2010, at 6:31 PM, Charles Fregeau wrote:
>
>> All magnesium?  Isn't that a bit dangerous?  I remember in high school 
>> our
>> physics teacher got a ribbon of magnesium and made us wear goggles while 
>> he
>> lit it and boy did it ever burn.