man cave decoration- how to cut a magnesium wheel ?

[rfuerst911sc]

So I'm coming down the home stretch of completing my man cave which is a 3 car detached garage in the back yard. As a decoration I am going to mount a race wheel on the ceiling and have the down rod of the ceiling fan go through the center of the wheel. The wheel is a one piece BBS that came off of a Panoz LMP1 race car. I really don't know what the wheel is made of but it's either aluminum or magnesium I assume. So if I have to cut the wheel and lets assume magnesium how do you cut it without it catching fire ? I don't want to burn down the man cave .
The ceiling is a 4/12 or 5/12 pitch and because I'm mounting it at the peak to get it to sit flush I will have to cut the sides near the ceiling. So how do I cut this thing ?

[Flieger]

very carefully.

I would say flood the area with machine tool coolant/lubricant (like a cold saw) and make sure to catch all the chips. Magnesium isn't a huge fire hazard when it's in a big chunk. As a powder it is very dangerous however. Same as aluminum or steel or most metals. (Aluminum powder is a major component of solid rocket fuel).

[Tobra]

They put aluminum and magnesium shavings in bombs, just sayin'

[GH85Carrera]

Scrape a few little shavings off of the wheel and see if you can ignite them easily. If they light, let em burn up don't try to put them out. If the burn like crazy you know you have magnesium.

[Tobra]

Don't look at it without welding goggles if it burns really well. Don't do it in the garage either, or it might burn a hole in the cement.

[rfuerst911sc]

I may rethink cutting the wheel and may just make a small wooden base to match the ceiling pitch and mount the wheel to the base. Saves me from cutting the wheel which may look better overall.

[UconnTim97]

Cold steel katana

[porsche4life]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

I may rethink cutting the wheel and may just make a small wooden base to match the ceiling pitch and mount the wheel to the base. Saves me from cutting the wheel which may look better overall.

I think this is a better, safer option!

[vash]

Originally Posted by UconnTim97

Cold steel katana

i'm confident this ^this^ will never get old

[masraum]

Originally Posted by vash

i'm confident this ^this^ will never get old

Absolutely. I find myself thinking it when no one that would understand is around.

[red-beard]

IF you say his name three times, he will appear....

[GH85Carrera]

Please no.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

I may rethink cutting the wheel and may just make a small wooden base to match the ceiling pitch and mount the wheel to the base. Saves me from cutting the wheel which may look better overall.

My guess (coming from no education at all, other than knowing that Mg is light and has been historically favored by race teams) is that it's Mg.

I like the suggestion of filing a little off of an edge and trying to light the filings.

[BE911SC]

Sell the magnesium wheel on eBay and buy a vintage aluminum mag wheel to cut up.

[gtc]

band saw on slow speed.

this has me curious... i have an old magnesium bicycle stem i might try cutting just for fun.

[floridabmx]

Pics of wheel?

[Heel n Toe]

If you do end up cutting it or drilling it, do so with great care and some kind of liquid to cool it while doing so... it in case it is Mg.

Perhaps someone can help fill in details on this, but I remember hearing about an old school sports car with a Mg tub or rocker panels back in the day blowing a tire while in a long sweeper... when the Mg contacted the track, it made sparks for a second, then the car caught fire and went up pretty quickly in a super bright white hot ball of light.

Urban racing legend, perhaps, but that's the story I remember hearing.

[Heel n Toe]

From the wiki entry on the 1955 LeMans tragedy:

When the rear section of the car landed on the embankment, the fuel tank exploded. The ensuing fuel fire raised the temperature of the remaining Elektron bodywork past its ignition temperature, which was lower than other metal alloys due to its high magnesium content. The alloy burst into white-hot flames, sending searing embers onto the track and into the crowd. Rescue workers, totally unfamiliar with magnesium fires, poured water on the inferno, greatly intensifying the fire. As a result, the car burned for several hours. Official accounts put the death total at 84 (83 spectators plus Levegh), either by flying debris or from the fire, with a further 120 injured. Other observers estimated the toll to be much higher.[2] Whatever the total, it was the most catastrophic accident in motorsport history.

[s_morrison57]

Originally Posted by red-beard

IF you say his name three times, he will appear....

and what??? Monkey roll back onto the forum? I personally miss him and his off beat posts, I believe he is still lurking on this site, trolling around as the unknown Ninja that he secretly desires to be.

Finn