Weld repair of Magnesium (Possible/Practical?)

Apr 19, 2004 3 Replies

Hi, all!



Apologies if this has been recently discussed; I'm just getting back online after being computer-less and hence away from this group for several months.



So, I happen to have about ten pounds of magnesium (at least that's what I'm told it is!) that's headed for the scrap yard unless I can find out that a weld repair is possible on it...which, to me at least, would be a darn shame because it's in the form of a supercharger for my prized sports car. There is one shop halfway across the country that has expertise in refurbishing these units, and the fellow there claims that the worn areas can be built up by welding to give the thing a bit more service life. Naturally, I'm hesitant to send a part of my baby away to where I can't look over his shoulder while said work is carried out.



My questions to the group:


- Is weld repair of magnesium a reasonably common process, and would I likely find a local shop that would (successfully) tackle the project? There are plenty of TIG welding specialists in the big city phone book, but I suspect that this work would be quite fine/delicate compared to what they do on a regular basis.


- Is it possible to get a good quality (sound and durable) weld with the right process, or is this so fraught with difficulty that I'll just be wasting money trying to get this repaired?



Thanks in advance for any advice from the experts!


Welding magnesium is igniting magnesium, a VERY bright fire will turn all your magnesium into magnesium oxide powder, you can sell it to mountain climbers and your local gym.

Uh, WRONG.

Magnesium is quite easy to TIG weld. The tricky bit is getting the right filler metal for your piece.

It's not pure magnesium it's a magnesium-alloy. You need to find a machine shop that works magnesium-alloys, they may have onsite welders or direct you the right way.

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