Making Magnalium

[atomicnerd7334]

how long did it take?

[ber0006]

@atomicnerd7334

Can’t really remember considering it was almost 3yrs ago, though at a guess 1 1/2hrs.

[nJkiLlz101]

is it 50.50 by weight or by size

[MrAde9999]

how long did it take to melt them?

[ThePyromaniac500]

@MrAde9999 It will take 1 hour-30min depending on batch size



[molywhopx4]

how can i grind it?

[Nanovirus5995]

Excellent.. Quick question... Where did you get your magnesium from?

[diahermes]

nice vid 5*. How did you powder it? Ive got some 30-40 mesh grains, but I don't know how to turn it into fine powder?

[Rockflier]

@diahermes Try milling it.

[pyrocrazyUSA]

if the magnesium starts burning by any chance throw some sulfur powder on top

[ber0006]

@pyrocrazyUSA

I don't know why people keep suggesting this but its not a good idea it just make its worse. It causes a violent reaction that consumes a fair bit of magnesium and doesn't hinder a fire it just adds fuel.

[mariannette81379]

what aluminum do i use?

[ber0006]

@mariannette81379

Any you can find.

[TheBombBros]

i made a batch for my first time about a month ago and i used a torch instead of a charcoal chimney. it all ignited and i wasted a perfecly good 20 grams Mg. i know its not alot but its so expensive.

[Vr6godlike]

can i use sharpener?(Mg)

[ber0006]

@Vr6godlike

If you wish you can but its not the cheapest way to go about it.

[Vr6godlike]

can i use tinfoil (aluminium) ? or spoon?

[ber0006]

@Vr6godlike

Tin foil will oxidize quiet a bit when heated, any soil Al will do be it a spoon or a HDD housing it will do.

[TheKENNYBOY404]

Is it dangerous to mill mgal in a cofee grinder?

[ber0006]

@TheKENNYBOY404

Read the comments by NightHawkInLight.

[3981784]

this time i didn't knock it over =)

[3981784]

grrrrr i made some magnalium and was just about to stir it one last time and i accidentally knocked over the can >: (

[pyrocrazyUSA]

@3981784 thats waht happened when i had about 50g of lead melting and it spilled all over the fire, think about all those carcinogenic fumes

[so16rio]

can u use magnesium ribbon

[ber0006]

Yeah you should be able to just add a quickly and try not to expose it to alot of air.

[utimportdude]

thanks man.i made my first batch and i found out its really not as hard/dangerous as it seems. lol ur right about the tin can, as my MGAl was cooling the can cracked and some leaked out but i threw some charcol on it and prob solved :) ur vid helped tons thanks!!

[utimportdude]

have you ever had a molten batch of MG/Al ignite on you? Im goin to make my first batch this weekend but i really dont want it to ignite and waste my Al and Mg so if u keep it covered except when u add the Mg to the Al then cover it in Charcoal when u take it off the heat it wont ignite?

[ber0006]

Look the chances of it igniting are pretty high being your first time so I wouldnt make a large batch fist, bout 200-300g would be a good start. Yeah when adding the Mg to the melt try and keep fresh air out and yeah the charcoal will help keep after mixing. Also try to get/buy something thicker than a tin can because the chances of melting through it are petty high as well.

[ENGterrorman]

what was your can made of ? the thing you melt the mg/al in?

[dave6393]

were did you get your magnesium from, I cant find anything except for magnesium ribbon, and that only weighs like 25 grams so its useless, on the internet, it's so expensive

[3981784]

i bought a 1lbs. bar for about 15$ on ebay

[xxxbecksmenxxx]

when i have my ready piece of mgal, how can i get it in powdered form?

[megafeltch]

wicked. would a gas camping stove be hot enough to melt aluminium. 5 *

[ber0006]

@megafeltch

Simple answer no.

[vdl1996]

why cant u just mix aluminum powder and magnesium powder? and also whats the ratio? lastly can u use magnesium chunks with alumiunum powder? thnx

[ber0006]

You don't end up with the properties of Magalium it you just mix Al with Mg powder, its a bit like mixing Zn with Cu with out melting it together you just have Zn and Cu not brass. The ratio is 50/50.

[ber0006]

It was just a steel can, though something thinker would be better.

[legogunguy001]

ok thanks

[legogunguy001]

did you only use charcoal to melt everything or what

[ber0006]

Yep only charcoal.

[legogunguy001]

i didnt know it could get that hot

[ber0006]

Really it doesn't need to get that hot, its only got to be a bit over 650c to melt the Al and Mg.

[facelessevil125]

wat do you do with it i have never heward of that type of metal.???

[ber0006]

Basically its used in fireworks as ether a producer of white cracking sparks or a metallic fuel in pyrotechnic compositions. Because of its brittle nature its more easily powder than Al or Mg but still has their properties.

[3981784]

you didn't put anything like argon in the can right

[neddy17]

i thought those cans were aluminum? why didnt it melt?

[ber0006]

Because there made of steel.

[jeffb8074]

what wieght ratios did u use and can u mix al powder wit mg powder to get magnalium as well ???

[ber0006]

You wont get the same effect with Mg powder and Al powder. The ratio is 50/50.

[iknowad]

where can you get magnesium?

[Bnewman8629]

go to walmart, or some other store witha camping section. the ones around me have magnesium block based firestarters.

[obria1]

Hmm is that rocks around the can?

[BPinthemorning]

charcoal moron

[TheUnforgivn17]

How much time lapsed on this video?

[ber0006]

Umm about 30mins.

[TheUnforgivn17]

Is there any chance something could go wrong when the mg/al is mixed together. The stick you had was molting and you struck it across the ground is there any way of that happening or ignition from the mg/al melted together for a long period of time? Because you heated the mg up before you put it in with the al. Is there a reason for that?

[ber0006]

Theres always a chance of the MgAl in the can igniting but if oxygen is kept out the likely hood of the happening it pretty low. The only reason it sparked as I hit the stirrer on the ground was because it had molten MgAl just burning on the end and it was exposed to oxygen as it was knock from the stirrer.

The reason for heating up the Mg before hand is to try not to cool the melt down with cold metal.

[TheUnforgivn17]

Thanks for the info =D

[rocket278]

is that a milo tin :D 5* turned out great and good tutorial.

[PyRoKiD1234567891011]

where i get some aluminium which is easy to melt?, like yours.

[ber0006]

All aluminium melt at around the same point(660c). Its easy to melt if you get it hot enough. Also 600c isn't that hot you can get a charcoal fire hot enough to melt steel if you wanted to.

[PyRoKiD1234567891011]

ok thanks

[megafeltch]

yeah. but to melt steel you will need to pass wind through your charcoal to make it hotter

[mcwario13]

@PyRoKiD1234567891011 pop cans

[roguespear91]

Doesn't throwing sulfur on top of burning magnesium/magnalium also stop it? Something to do with forming a layer of slag on top to suffocate it.

[ber0006]

Nope it just makes it worse, its like throwing a oxidizer on it and hopping the oxide smothers it. If you mix sulphur and Mg powder together you'll have a fast burning comp.

[Taydrum]

thanks

[Taydrum]

what inert gas did u use? And did u blow or add air to the charcoal to get it red hot?

[ber0006]

I didn't use a inert gas as it isn't really need though i would be a bonus. I used a gas stove to get the charcoal going and once it was going it draws it own air in.

[guitar23man23]

it looks like robo dog ate too many pop cans and shit on the floor, haha.

that stuff was aluminum, right?

[PyroFlyinHawaiian]

great vid 5/5

do u know wat would burn faster dark german aluminum powder 6 micron or 600 mesh magnalium when using potassium perchlorate kclo4

[ber0006]

Thanks

I can only take a guess and say that they would be very similar.I have no experience with KClO4

[AMblowshitup]

nice video. were did you get the large chunks of mg? all i cant get is fire started bars

[ber0006]

A hammer will do the job, only problem is it throws it everywhere so do it in a container like a large pot or something like that, then throw it in the ball mill with steel media.

[Parker221]

Well. I do have a coffee grinder.. And A Ballmill. Although no meat grinder... What do you suggest doing to powder this stuff?

[yankiescholz]

Can you just crush it with a hammer, seiving it regularly?

Great tutorial by the way 5/5

I wonder if you can buy those chimeny things in Aus.

[ber0006]

Thanks Mate

That's another way to do it, you'll have to do it in a strong container of some kind to stop pieces of MgAl from fling everywhere.

You can grab a charcoal chimney form barbeques galore for about $30. Bunnings don't have em just so you know.

[killernils]

niice, but how do u make it to a fine powder?

[ber0006]

Its pretty easy to powder compared to other metals. Ill be powdering it in a ball mill with steel media. It will go through a meat grinder first to break up the larger chunks.

[Nighthawkinlight]

Be extremely careful how you grind this stuff. I have a friend that spent an entire week in a burn unit after a grinder full of MgAl went up in front of him. Not two months ago. He'll have burns for a full year.

[ber0006]

Was that a meat grinder or a coffee grinder?

Ive used a coffee grinder on it in the past but ended up snapping the blade with a largish chunk of MgAl. Now I just put it through the meat grinder and screen it through a kitchen sieve and what passes through it gos into the ball mill.

Sorry to hear about your mate too, its amazing how much energy these metals can release.

[Nighthawkinlight]

It was in fact a coffee grinder, so slightly more dangerous than a meat grinder. Regardless however, still be careful. It's not the kind of stuff that when it catches fire slowly burns bigger till it's all gone, giving you time to get away. It'll mess you up. I suspect a meat grinder should be a relatively safe way to grind it, but still I'd wear long cotton sleeves if it were me.

[ber0006]

Yeah the meat grinder is safer for sure. Thanks for the advice anyways.

[pyrofun3]

i already have a chimy thing like yours and a heat source but will i be able to use al powder or i got plenty of al bars heaps so what should i use and i only have one magnesium bar weighs 50g so were do i buy these mg bars? and how long does the mg bar take to melt

[ber0006]

Use the Al bar for sure, why wast AL powder when you dont need to. Dunno where to buy Mg from I got mine from anodes and a source which is no longer operating. The mg doesnt take too long to melt couple of mins depending on he size, btw I found larger batches easier than small ones.

[BackjardPyrotechnics]

A very nice tutorial!!!

5 stars

[ber0006]

Thanks Mate.