(https://www.thevespiary.org/rhodium/Rhodium/hive/hiveboard/picproxie_docs/000449495-file_uguq.jpg)
This has been mentioned before by Post 91756 (missing)
(Dr. Joy: "Plentiful OTC source of Magnesium.", Chemicals & Equipment) back in '99.
Check this url: http://www.experimentalchemie.de/versuch-045.htm (http://www.experimentalchemie.de/versuch-045.htm)
translation:
If one carefully looks around in his environment , then one will be astonished of how often pure chemical compounds can be found. An example is the pencil sharpener, that apart from the variants from plastics, usually exists completely from magnesium. Magnesium belonged to the lightest metals (after beryllium) and exhibits some remarkable characteristics.
In this attempt the special characteristic is to be examined as strong reducing agent. Thus magnesium burns not only in air, but e.g. also in a CO2, SO2, NO2 or water vapour atmosphere.
Devices:
Tigelzange (?), Bunsen burner or lighter, fibre glass, test tube (unfusable), glass tube with point, perforated plug, fibre glass, steel wool, burner, 2 candles, stand material
Chemicals:
Magnesium (either as a whole or in the form of splinters, e.g. of a pencil sharpener), damp sand
Mg salts cannot be reduced to the element by Al or Zn!
F Lauterborn claimed in
Patent DE39915 (http://l2.espacenet.com/dips/viewer?PN=DE39915&CY=gb&LG=en&DB=EPD)
to have heated magnesium ferrocyanide mixed with sodium carbonate to produce a double cyanide, which was then reduced by heating with zinc to magnesium metal :)
As you may or may not know, the humble metal pencil sharpener (circled below) is made of Magnesium. In case you're wondering, the thing it is sat apon is a spray-painted, sledgehammered old computer case...
Magnesium Pencil Sharpeners (http://homepage.dtn.ntl.com/tony.jackson/DEL/sharpener.html)
(http://homepage.dtn.ntl.com/tony.jackson/DEL/sharpener.html)
I weighted a pencil sharpener, without the blades (made of steel), it is near 7g, or a little more than 250 mmol :) .
Another source for US bee could bee the Flameless Ration Heater used by army.
(https://www.thevespiary.org/rhodium/Rhodium/hive/hiveboard/picproxie_docs/000449495-file_r7j6.jpg)
http://www3.district125.k12.il.us/chemmatt/92/92_02_t/920212t.pdf (http://www3.district125.k12.il.us/chemmatt/92/92_02_t/920212t.pdf)
sadly it is mixed with iron :( ...
Edit:
Flame test is positive, i heated it with a burner, then it melted and white sparks came, finally the whole mass became shining white, beautiful. It burned alone for a few minutes, and now it is white MgO powder...
How about those fire starting devices they sell in the camping supply departments of department stores.
These fire starters are made from ordinary magnesium metal, and thus aren't pure enough for the Grignard reaction ;) Only magnesium metal of the highest grade can be used, such as sublimed metal, or that purified by electro refining :) It's very doubtful if those pencil sharpeners or that heating unit are made from such high purity magnesium, it's usually quite expensive compared to ordinary magnesium ::)