Are there any Magnesium casting shops that will do small batches ?

[californiamilleghia]

I guess the first question is , are there any smaller scale magnesium casting shops left ?

The shop in Los Angeles was nice enough but they said they were so far behind on customers parts that they did not want to take on new projects  that might not get looked at for a year plus!

 

Anyway these molds  are for valve covers , sumps , small intake manifolds etc , 

 

We just need them cast , the shop has mills , lathes etc to finish them.

 

Thanks for your help ,

 

PS.......yes I know magnesium burns hot and you need the proper fire extinguisher , 

And we already make them in aluminum , this is just for the "Cool Factor"

 

 

Edited October 26, 2023 by californiamilleghia (see edit history)

[nat]

9 hours ago, californiamilleghia said:

 the shop has mills , lathes etc to finish them.

     What does the shop have for insurance?

     Fine dry shavings and/or water based coolant is a disaster waiting to happen.

    Once upon a time, I laid some magnesium filings out in a line and lit one side with a propane torch.  That burned quite vigorously.  I then poured water on the other side and it took off like a rocket.  After that I poured motor oil on it which extinguished the fire.

     The danger of fire is minimal if kerosene is used as a coolant but I'll leave machining magnesium to those who specialize in it.

[jerry k]

Nat, wondering what you were smoking when you decided to torch the magnesium ?? lol

[californiamilleghia]

Hi , thanks for reminding us about the problems machining magnesium , we can never be too safe , 

 

But we also do not need to be scared to use it  , we have machined it before , 

 

Its just trying to find a foundry that will cast it for us !