Most times it’s fun at the end of the day hanging out dismantling different things to separate the metals in my shop. I grab myself a couple of beers and hang out. For me I don’t consider that wasted time because I have a good time doing it and a lot of times I learn a lot of new things when I’m taking things apart.
A good pair of tree loppers (small branch cutters) work great to cut copper tubing or their is a pair of cable cutters on Harbour Freight for around $30. I trim my tubing to the brass but do cut again to make #1 & #2.
I have been using the cable cutters from harbor freight and they work great. They blast through copper and brass. I trim everything to straight lengths so it packs denser. As I live a ways from the scrapyards, the more weight I can pack in my truck the better.
It's a good rule of thumb, well, ok, rule of fingers, to use 🤣🤣 but I suspect you'll get some push back from the hobbyist scrappers. Hobbyists tend to be more concerned with $ return and don't worry much about their time. Enjoying the tips.
I disagree with you. What I do is use an old axe that dull and place the cutting edge near the soldering and smack it with a hammer and it cuts it very well only takes seconds to do
The beauty of scrapping is there is no "right way" of doing it, because everyone values time and effort differently. Glad to hear you found a convenient solution!
I got the grinder out to cut stuff I'm cutting till I wear through the one disc all the big stuff I need to cut that day and then I dont care if it is a 2 inch piece its getting cut. Lest we forget scrap rule #1 It all adds up.
great tips in your videos thanks. question on soldered copper ends..what do scrap yards sell the "dirty ends" as and or how then is that material used or further sorted?
@@iScrapApp I love finding the answers to those questions, but processors rarely share their secrets. I'm gonna guess chemical leaching, separation of dissolved metals and precipitates, separate electrowinning processes for copper, tin, and silver. The variation in silver content is due to the wide variation in refrigerants used. Some refrigerant chemistries required high silver solders. Lead would be a problem in scrap streams, I'd try to use some method to sort out anything containing lead, and process that separately. It's not something I currently try, but I do have many pounds of soldered copper joint scrap I'm hoarding. There can be many other metals in solders - antimony, nickel, iridium, zinc, etc.
Thanks for the logic for some reasoning I'd preciously wasted more than my fair share of time and therefore money on. I'll no longer be cutting everything and earning better money for time and energy invested.
You talk as though your way of scrapping copper is everybody's method. A large scrap buyer in London Ontario buys all used copper as #2 so I cut the brass off but never do what you just showed everyone they are to do. I did it once and carefully cut off anything with solder or paint and I watched them throw my clean copper in with #2. Of course I asked about it because I spent so much time cleaning it. Not all scrap yards do everything the same.
We try to go over things in a way that makes sense industry wide- but scrap yards are allowed to buy whatever way they want- if you do not like it, maybe you can use the iScrap App to find a new one closer.
Most times it’s fun at the end of the day hanging out dismantling different things to separate the metals in my shop. I grab myself a couple of beers and hang out. For me I don’t consider that wasted time because I have a good time doing it and a lot of times I learn a lot of new things when I’m taking things apart.
Really interesting!
A good pair of tree loppers (small branch cutters) work great to cut copper tubing or their is a pair of cable cutters on Harbour Freight for around $30. I trim my tubing to the brass but do cut again to make #1 & #2.
Great tip!
I have been using the cable cutters from harbor freight and they work great. They blast through copper and brass. I trim everything to straight lengths so it packs denser. As I live a ways from the scrapyards, the more weight I can pack in my truck the better.
It's a good rule of thumb, well, ok, rule of fingers, to use 🤣🤣 but I suspect you'll get some push back from the hobbyist scrappers. Hobbyists tend to be more concerned with $ return and don't worry much about their time. Enjoying the tips.
True
😂 thank you! Yes you're right, but we are here to help people make money AND save time doing it. It's a win-win.
I disagree with you. What I do is use an old axe that dull and place the cutting edge near the soldering and smack it with a hammer and it cuts it very well only takes seconds to do
Real scrapper tool kit
A hammer 🔨 & ax
The beauty of scrapping is there is no "right way" of doing it, because everyone values time and effort differently. Glad to hear you found a convenient solution!
I tend to use an old hatchet too to pinch the tube and with a few bends it breaks, no shavings and mess for most cases.👍
Good tip. Especially when it’s only 20¢ per pound difference, but on a piece that small it’s probably pennies difference.
Time is money.
I used coals from the bonfire to clean up some tubing n fixtures was nifty after quenching
Can you explain that process?
Thanks
You are welcome!
Great video Tom!
Thanks for watching!
That’s what Ive been wondering
Glad to help!
Thank for next great video friend
Thanks for watching!
That is really good to know and I didn’t know
Thank you for watching! Happy to help!
I got the grinder out to cut stuff I'm cutting till I wear through the one disc all the big stuff I need to cut that day and then I dont care if it is a 2 inch piece its getting cut. Lest we forget scrap rule #1 It all adds up.
It DOES all add up.
great tips in your videos thanks.
question on soldered copper ends..what do scrap yards sell the "dirty ends" as and or how then is that material used or further sorted?
They sell as #2 copper.
Some solders in refrigeration have high silver content.
Do you have a recommendation of getting that off the copper?
@@iScrapApp I love finding the answers to those questions, but processors rarely share their secrets.
I'm gonna guess chemical leaching, separation of dissolved metals and precipitates, separate electrowinning processes for copper, tin, and silver.
The variation in silver content is due to the wide variation in refrigerants used. Some refrigerant chemistries required high silver solders.
Lead would be a problem in scrap streams, I'd try to use some method to sort out anything containing lead, and process that separately. It's not something I currently try, but I do have many pounds of soldered copper joint scrap I'm hoarding.
There can be many other metals in solders - antimony, nickel, iridium, zinc, etc.
@@aredditor4272 go ahead, take a bow if all that came from you and not some website or app *recently.
@@wolfmanjackal1427 It's actually way more complicated than type of refrigerant used. Copper to brass or steel is almost always high silver solder.
@@aredditor4272 yes, thanks for your knowledge. I've been learning today with others I'm sure.
True
Thanks!
Don't tell me it's not worth my time. I'm retired & time is all I have. I'm after every cent I can get whether it's two cents or $2. It all adds up.
👍
Thanks!
Wire wheel take care of that
Smart, make sure you send pictures for us to see!
Thanks for the logic for some reasoning I'd preciously wasted more than my fair share of time and therefore money on. I'll no longer be cutting everything and earning better money for time and energy invested.
Work smarter, not harder. Great feedback and thanks for watching!
But what does leaving that copper on the brass do to the brass price since it's not clean?
It will offset any small steel, rubber, or contaminants.
Copper contaminated by brass or the other way am around would be known as red brass it’s pretty close to the price of copper number two
But what if you clean the solder off?
#1 Tubing.
👍🏻
Thanks for watching!
Nope. My scrap yard only pays #2 copper unless the copper looks shiny and new.
You may want to use the search feature on your iScrap App on your phone to find someone closer that will.
You talk as though your way of scrapping copper is everybody's method. A large scrap buyer in London Ontario buys all used copper as #2 so I cut the brass off but never do what you just showed everyone they are to do. I did it once and carefully cut off anything with solder or paint and I watched them throw my clean copper in with #2. Of course I asked about it because I spent so much time cleaning it. Not all scrap yards do everything the same.
We try to go over things in a way that makes sense industry wide- but scrap yards are allowed to buy whatever way they want- if you do not like it, maybe you can use the iScrap App to find a new one closer.