On Oct 10, 12:18 pm, Richard J Kinch wrote:
Joe AutoDrill writes:
If I buy magnesium from somewhere (McMaster doesn't seem to carry it
or I'm semi-blind), can I do the same thing?

Sure. I've done it scraping the tubular handle of a lightweight magnesium
landscaping rake. Odd chunks are on eBay all the time. I have 1/8"
magnesium welding rods from aerospace surplus.

I'm skeptical of the engine block tales. Large pieces don't ignite since
they have little surface area. The 1/8" welding rods self-extinguish if
you light them. They'll only maintain burning if you hammer them into a
flatter ribbon shape. And weren't the engine blocks an Mg-Al alloy?

I've had friends V.W.s go up from not having enough oil in the engine.
It wasn't common, but also not unusual, in L.A./Orange County (So.
Cal.), to drive by burning V.W. on the freeway, with the fire
department just standing around watching it go. I'd see them, I don't
know, maybe once a year or two when I was younger. It's rare to see it
now, though.