Ian Stirling wrote:

tony wrote:
alot of the newer welding books have steps/tips on welding
magnesium.. i'm not so much particularly interested in learning
to weld magnesium as much as wondering what kind of parts
are typically made of magnesium. steel i can recognize.. but
snip
and how do i identify it?

Cleaning a bare spot, then dripping vinegar on it will cause most
magnesium alloys to generate some bubbles.

One real good telltale that you may be deling with Magnesium is when
the part seems to be too light weight for it's size.

Vinegar on a fresh scraped spot of bare metal will react with bubbles
and a purpleish darkening.

Scrapings or filings will light on fire if they are fairly fine. This
is the principle behind some emergency firestarters.

You will get your excersise trying to break a magnesium casting like a
trasmission case or oil pan. The one Mag. oil pan I did break up nearly
got me. With it on a concrete floor, a 12 LB hammer rebounded almost all
the way back when I struck it. I nearly took the hammer on the forehead.
Wicked rebound. I should have clued in then, but I got it broken up.
Once I tested it, I junked most of it, as it was of no use for my
casting use.

Cheers
Trevor Jones