Magnalium uses

[AdmiralDonSnider]

Has anyone ever tried fine MgAl added to rocket fuel, to make some sort of metal tail usually obtained from titanium?

[dagabu]

Yes, it is added to the fuel that is pressed above the spindle. I use up to 10% for a glittery tail but prefer Ti over Mg/Al. For an interestingly strobe like tail, make and rice a BP Mg/Al strobe comp and press that on top of the spindle.

 

(All metals are to be pressed, never pound metals)

[Fly]

How do you granulate your Magnalium?

Fly

[dagabu]

Use a hammer to break it into smaller chunks and then use a meat grinder to break the chunks down to usable sizes. Some even use their ball mills to create Mg/Al dust for prime and the like.

 

Use great caution if doing this as static can be made easily with this method and finely divided metals are known to ignite with no other ingredients involved.

[50AE]

I now ball mill my MgAl, but I'm disappointed, because the amount of coarse mesh (40-100) is very small. I get a very fine powder of which I won't have a very big use. Will a meat grinder give the coarse MgAl I want? Edited September 1, 2010 by 50AE

[dagabu]

Yes, it will give you lots of nice and large chunks. Mill the chunks that are really large for only 10 minutes or less.

[50AE]

Good thing then. I have to use separate ones though, because I want to grind charcoal as well.

[AdmiralDonSnider]

The meat grinder idea is nice.

 

I crush it between newspapers (to eliminate shrapnel) and then dump the resulting pieces into a blade mill (kitchen macerator), followed by screening to separate by size.

 

Use a blade mill which is well sealed where the axis goes towards the motor, otherwise you´ll sooner or later short-curcuit the thing. Also don´t try to mill harder alloys such as 30:70 in these.

 

Every type of blade mill will give a slightly different outcome depending on many factors, but here´s a rough particle size statistic of the screened result:

 

20-40 mesh 20,6%

40-80 mesh 40,0%

80-120 mesh 10,9%

120-200 mesh 12,5%

-200 mesh 16,1%

Edited September 1, 2010 by AdmiralDonSnider

[Bonny]

I now ball mill my MgAl, but I'm disappointed, because the amount of coarse mesh (40-100) is very small. I get a very fine powder of which I won't have a very big use. Will a meat grinder give the coarse MgAl I want?

 

There are a few things you can do to keep more of the coarser mesh material...

-Start by "rough crushing/grinding". I pound mine in a coffee can with a pc of steel shaft (and a bag over top).

-Before ball milling, screen out the size you want, put the rest into the mill

-Once you start milling, screen more often, before the material is reduced so much. I had this problem when trying to acquire a decent amount of -100mesh, so I started screening every hour or so as the mill ran.

[AdmiralDonSnider]

How does medium/coarse magnalium work in star pumps? Does it scratch them?

[dagabu]

ADS, I will try to find Ned Groski's tut on metal size with pumps.

 

Try this, put a pinch in your pump, move the ram up and down, does it catch and grind? If so, use smaller or bigger mesh. Yes, the right size Mg/Al will scratch the crap out of your pump.

[AdmiralDonSnider]

Thanks dag. It´s really nice...things making the nicest comets scratch them the most.

[TSO]

If the magnalium will damage your star pump, is it a safe assumption that it will also damage a star plate?

[Updup]

If the magnalium will damage your star pump, is it a safe assumption that it will also damage a star plate?

 

Yes, though the size of magal that will scratch your pump or starplate up depends on the fit between the plunger and the tube.

[dagabu]

I got a phone answer from another pyro on how to keep this from happening.

 

Take your star pump, star plate, or whatever and just load a 1/16" of scratch meal in first and pump LIGHTLY, push the little BP disk back down and fill the remainder of the cavity with your nasty Mg/Al comp.

 

I am told that the little disk of BP acts as a wiper and keeps the metals from getting into the space between the pump and the wall. I have not tried this so I cannot attest to its validity but it sure sounds plausible.

[TSO]

Sounds like a good possibility this could work if the damage is only caused by the metal getting up behind the plunger and the sleeve. But could'nt scratches also occur if the metal is in the outside wall of the star/comet and rubs against the inside of the sleeve as the star/comet is pushed out by the plunger? I'm thinking that maybe the only truely foolproof way to save your tools against this if your concerned about damage(took me 6 months to get some of my tools after all) would be to use an alternative pump for those special comps. I work in a healthcare setting and the plastic disposable syringes work pretty well as a pump. The stars are not as nicely uniform as you get with a true pump or plate, but you also can just throw them away if they get damaged. Edited September 27, 2010 by TSO

[dagabu]

Sure! syringes work fine for most stars and some comets but other mixes need some real hard pressing to consolidate the chems.

 

As far as the Mg/Al scratching the walls goes, I am not concerned about the walls if it isn't pinched.

[Algenco]

Sure! syringes work fine for most stars and some comets but other mixes need some real hard pressing to consolidate the chems.

 

As far as the Mg/Al scratching the walls goes, I am not concerned about the walls if it isn't pinched.

 

 

pvc works well for pressing comps that contain metals that may scratch/damage a pump

same principals as used for pressing bp pucks.

once they get scratched up badly they are cheap to replace

[AdmiralDonSnider]

Some observations from the recent use of differently sized MgAl:

 

- using different fractions can quite remarkably alter the burn speed of stars, as some have already noted. I found that in comps specifying e.g. 100 mesh MgAl the finer -200 mesh grade drastically speeds up the burn and also changes the appearance, sometimes detrimentally. Grades such as 100-200 mesh are promising choices for chrysanthemum effects.

 

- a 80-120 grade performed very well in strobe stars. It seemed to give a slower frequency as well as better-defined and more powerful flashes. It doesn´t show the tendency of fine grades to make the star burn continuously. These observations are based on both ground and shell tests.

[pyrojig]

@ Admiral ....

 

 

I am sourcing materials for a smaller forge to make magn for my self. I was wondering what ratios your Magn alloy is made with . Is it the 50/50 or do you offset the ratios for a added benefit in performance? I am interested in how you go about making your Magn. , and where you sourced Mag from. I believe a quick trip to a junk yard should give me all the mag I need for a few years. Just thought I'd ask where you source yours.

[AdmiralDonSnider]

Hi mate...

 

As I said earlier in this thread uncommon alloys like 30:70 (for eggs) or 70:30 (best for some star formulas) are very hard to pulverize, being not anywhere near as brittle as 50:50. So you can make and even grind them, but it´s not the fun part of pyro.

 

I´m using a charcoal starter with BBQ briquettes, along with a stainless steel cocktail shaker (with lid) as the pot. I always make two batches á 600 grams because otherwise a lot of charcoal will be wasted. My Mg is recycled (press shavings) and impure with 9% aluminum. With a small adjustment of the ratios it work just fine. I contacted a big recycling company and they sold me about 60 pounds for €100. That´s a lifetime supply making 120 pounds of MgAl.

[pyrojig]

Hi mate...

 

As I said earlier in this thread uncommon alloys like 30:70 (for eggs) or 70:30 (best for some star formulas) are very hard to pulverize, being not anywhere near as brittle as 50:50. So you can make and even grind them, but it´s not the fun part of pyro.

 

I´m using a charcoal starter with BBQ briquettes, along with a stainless steel cocktail shaker (with lid) as the pot. I always make two batches á 600 grams because otherwise a lot of charcoal will be wasted. My Mg is recycled (press shavings) and impure with 9% aluminum. With a small adjustment of the ratios it work just fine. I contacted a big recycling company and they sold me about 60 pounds for €100. That´s a lifetime supply making 120 pounds of MgAl.

 

Crazy.. that sounds like a lot of material for that price... I hope to find a source of it in a junk yard or elsewhere so the cost is low. Not sure of impurities though, probably mostly Si.

[dagabu]

My buddy works on motorcycles and snowmobiles, he wont sell me his magnesium, he likes to throw in into the bonfire and watch it burn.... what a bum.

[pyrojig]

My buddy works on motorcycles and snowmobiles, he wont sell me his magnesium, he likes to throw in into the bonfire and watch it burn.... what a bum.

 

Huh...., That is a source that I would have never thought of.... I have a family member that works as a mechanic for that stuff...... I should see what he can get....

 

Any other ideas? I tried to acid test a few trannys bell housings and only found cast Aluminium.....No Mag...

[dagabu]

Brackets, housings, anything that is silver looking on a bike is usually Al or Mg, you need to scratch the oxidization off the metal to get a reaction, Mg will just stare at you if there isn't very clean metal to test.