mag welding question

[rocketnorton]

ive only welded mag once, by mistake, using alum rod, cracked when cooling... found out it was mag later. millers site says its basically the same as alum to work with. my ? is are heat settings [for mag] close to what you'd use for alum? don't wanna f this part up... TIA for any advise/thoughts.

 

[IEL]

Mag is a huge pain to weld. If you get me thickness and such, I can get you some settings. Needs to be AC tig with pure argon. Clean really well with acetone ONLY nothing else. If its an inverter crank the ac balence way up to get a lot of cleaning action, cast mag is dirty ****. Move the tig torch over it first, not quie puddleing, to do a final clean. Good luck.

 

[rocketnorton]

Mag is a huge pain to weld. If you get me thickness and such, I can get you some settings. Needs to be AC tig with pure argon. Clean really well with acetone ONLY nothing else. If its an inverter crank the ac balence way up to get a lot of cleaning action, cast mag is dirty ****. Move the tig torch over it first, not quie puddleing, to do a final clean. Good luck.

its about 1/4 thick, length of joint abt 3/4''. can get both sides. if it was alum, id be thinkin 120a, +60 balance... have machine/gas, need mag rod. the piece I did by mistake was husky clutch cover, puddled nicely, took alum rod, looked good til it cooled...

 

[olyman]

mag anywhere,,except where oil is,,aint to bad..but just try..to weld the side of the oil tank, or gas tank..wayyyyy to much fun!!!!!! makes patience get real thin....

 

[rocketnorton]

mag anywhere,,except where oil is,,aint to bad..but just try..to weld the side of the oil tank, or gas tank..wayyyyy to much fun!!!!!! makes patience get real thin....

sounds like old Harley tranny/engine cases, pretty porous til late 60's/early 70's

 

[3000 FPS]

I have done some mag welding on some saws and picked up a few good deals because they needed that repair.
Just set your Tig welder just like your welding aluminium and make sure you clean the surface that you are welding as good as you can like would for aluminium. I usually sand blast the pieces I am going to do. I do not believe it takes quite as much heat as aluminium. The rod I use is AZ92A, and the tungsten I am using is the ceriated. If you have a junk piece practice on it first and then go for the real deal. Also the gas is 100% argon. One of the biggest problems I have run into of course on chainsaws is oil contamination. It just seems to get in the pores of the metal. If you hit a spot like this it will cause a pit in the metal. So sometimes I may weld the same spot two to three time just to get rid of it.

There are some other guys on here that I know of that weld magnesium and are very good at it and have even posted some videos of them doing the work. Hopefully they can add some good advice.

 

[3000 FPS]

I will share one example of what can be done with some practice and patience.

View attachment 307272View attachment 307273

 

[3000 FPS]

This is how I was able to bridge the weld. Mag will not stick to steel.

View attachment 307274

 

[rocketnorton]

This is how I was able to bridge the weld. Mag will not stick to steel.

View attachment 307274

looks good. ya i'll do tests on junk first. copper does same w/alum, also heat sinks on thin stuff. thanks.