I recently bought a piece of magnesium rod 2" thick by 6" long.
I tried making very few magnesium strips using my lathe, using the slowest speed and manual feed. It worked, but I did not want to make any meaningful quantity of strips out of obvious concerns about fire hazard. I collected the strips into a steel vessel that I placed underneath the rotating piece.
My question is, is it dangerous to do what I tried to do...
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If you keep the chips/swarf picked up and away from the work, and are prepared for the current chip to ignite, then go ahead.
What you don't want is a pile of wooly swarf catching a spark. Wheeee!
My old boss used to keep a drip pan full of old cooking oil or motor oil under the lathe when doing this... the oil would exclude any air and prevent a flash...then if the main piece ignited he didnt have to worry about the shavings
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