old CF metal casings ...

hey all ,

i don't know/can't recall if this subject has been brought up ...
i have suspected for quite some time that the aforementioned casings are magnesium or an aluminum-magnesium alloy (with Mg being about 90%) .
i have an old display top off of a machine that has a hole punched in it ...
i ripped out a chunk about 2" square and heated it with a propane torch (mapp would work better) .
yessir , i can tell you beyond the shadow of any doubt that it is Mg based !
a certain other individual was not amused nor impressed ...
i used the kitchen stove because it has an exhaust hood and it was raining .
some people have no appreciation for *scientific discovery/inquiry* .

this does have relevance ...
storing those old hulks near high heat sources or if the place catches on fire .
i'd sure want someone to tell me that something like this is involved before i attempted to work a fire .

 

Blue flame?

When I burned my chainsaw up that time it was blue. Also the several garage fires I attacked generally had a spot or two of blue in them. Copious amounts of water are required to avoid splash back. Dry chemical agents are preferred. (If the object itself in the only thing on fire) Clapping a metal garbage can down over it is cheaper....

Some people are never impressed by SCIENCE. Go figure.

 

Ha Ha Ha...

Grind em up and use them for firestarter.

I like the greenish flame of copper

 

hmmm ...

according to what i know about metallurgy ...
a small amount of copper is sometimes added to the mix to improve machining and casting capabilities .

a magnesium flame does have a slight blue cast to it ...
i observed this for the first time back in high school chemistry class .
we had some neutral smoke filters (shades of true gray) ... this knocked the intensity down enough to actually see what was there .
a more intense blue would be caused by another element .

 

Put a piece of 12ga copper wire over the in testing flame..

 

Any flame color other than orange is suspicious ....there is some nasty stuff out there.

Give me good ol' wood smoke any day.

 

yeah ... some nasty stuff ...

i have been to some yard sales around here .
estate and old peoples sales are great for finding old radios ... and ... some dangerous stuff .
i have found old cans/boxes of DDT and other pesticides for free or for cheap !
it is amazing how many different manufacturers marketed DDT and how it was used :
https://encrypted.google.com/search...UICigB&biw=1920&bih=1022#imgrc=yXVJMuCinrT_UM:

however , there are other products of a similar nature that are very poisonous .
one that relates to the drift of this thread is *copper arsenate* .
it was used as a wood preservative , fungicide and insecticide .
it was applied directly , as a water based solution or mixed with paint/oil .
yep ... you see greenbluish flames in an old garage fire ... stay away .
i believe that ddt and freon in a fire (especially if there is copper involved) will break down into phosgene and another compound .

hey , keep a chemical hazard list/database in a '31 !

ps ... when i find these types of substances , i tell the people it is banned/illegal and a fineable offense and then cart the stuff off for proper disposal .

 

Rule of thumb:
Hold thumb up in line of sight. If your view of the incident is not blocked by your thumb you are too close.

 

weeelll ...
so much for the two *roasts* i seen in the aftermath of a boxcar fire when i was 7 .
(my dad took me on the call . he had me come and look after the fire was out)
two hoboes , liquored up ... cooking in a boxcar out of the rain .
left a lasting impression .

 

A more accurate method is to always keep one powdered doughnut from the morning. Make sure you can see the whole scene through the hole in the middle, and if the wind blows the powder in your face...you're on the wrong side of the incident.

That's what we tell the cops anyway hahahahahahaha

 

WOW... Another pyro in the mix! Nice!

I can tell you how well the magnesium from Toughbooks burn. I used to save my grindings from CF-28 mods. I would store it in a large tube as I acquired it. I would grind directly over a small plastic cup to hold the fine grindings until I had enough to put into the stoppered test tubes. I figured, you never know when you might need some thermite! The magnesium along with aluminum powder and iron oxide makes a wonderful welding agent in the field! Yes, it has other uses too. Every growing boy needs Thermite!

Anyway... My workbench used to tend to get a little full of all my projects going on. Somehow, and without thinking, I put the plastic cup full of magnesium in front of my grinder. When I went to sharpen my lawn mower blades I wasn't paying attention... Well you know what happened! The whole cup burst into VERY hot, intensely burning flames. I took the blade and knocked the cup onto the cement floor and then started counting my lucky stars!

Magnesium as a chunk requires very high heat to get started... As fine grindings, a mere spark can get it going... So yes, great fire starter!

On a side note... It oxidizes VERY quickly! I remember stripping the anodizing off a CF-28 years ago. I then buffed and polished it to a mirror finish! It was WAY cool looking! I put it aside to work on another project and came back a few days later. There was a white haze over my mirror finish. It oxidizes in air very quickly.

One note! If you do have magnesium that catches fire... DO NOT use a CO2 extinguisher to try to put it out! It will burn hotter with CO2! Use an ABC chemical extinguisher or sand to put it out!

Ok... Carry on! (I know there are at least 5 of you now headed into your shops to make Thermite!)

 

i have thermite ready to go ...
we used it and those "cadweld" kits for bonding grounding straps , rods , wires and cables at transmitter sites .

last weekend myself and a friend used *a little* tannerite to remove a couple of stumps .
he shot a "trashcan panda" (aka : raccoon) the night before .
do you know what happens when you sit one of those on top of 1 pound of tannerite ?

 

You sat your friend on top of the Tannerite?
Was Rocky Racoon your friend also?

Humming the Beatles.....

 

"rocky racoon burst"
no rooms or gideon's bible involved .