How To Make Money Scrapping Metal For Beginners - Scrap Metal Tips, What To Look For 

i get my first car in a few months (nissan 240sx hatch) although it’s a small car i wanna start doing this, all over detroit i see tires, washing machines, bumpers, junk everywhere, i wanna start cleaning up my city and make a profit out of it as well to invest back into my car

I had plans to write a glowing review, based on my over 50 years as professional mechanic and machinist. But your legions of fans beat me to it, and more articulate than . So I'll just say, fantastic job! I would watch your videos always!

Don’t usually comment on videos but this dude is amazing, very charismatic and fun to watch

You impressed me, I used to be a plumber and I scrapped lots of copper tubing & hot water coils back when number copper was about a dollar a pound but even at that I made about 400 a month. I learned a lot from your video I do have 1 tip though to help strip wire lay it in the sun to warm up a bit it becomes easier. Be well and keep scrapping.

Your audience is very lucky on your educating them about this! It took me 30 years to learn what you're teaching of me going back and forth to the scrap yard!

I live in Ontario and I’m a scrap collector myself I am only 10 years old and I want to buy a Jetske when I’m older so I need to start saving up that’s why I collect scrap metal as is brass copper and aluminum.

If you're selling copper and aluminum to a scrap yard you're shooting yourself in the foot. You get a LOT more ( like three to five times more depending on your area) if you strip all that copper (with a $150.00 power wire stripper ) and melt all that copper and aluminum down into ingots and sell those to a foundry or refinery. Yes you have several in your area ( within a half hour of wherever you live ) even though you've never noticed them. Just google for them in your area. I actually go to two separate ones because one gives me a higher value for aluminum ingots than the other will and vice versa for the copper ingots. You also need to look into all those beautiful circuit boards. The silicon chips, the copper and aluminum heat sinks, all of those lovely connection points and almost half of the capacitors you'll see. The tantalum capacitors. Whether it's SMD components or throughhole the tantalum capacitors are money. First the tantalum inside of them sells for good change on it's own and some of the tantalum capacitors have silver in them as well. Recovering the gold, silver and platinum from silicon chips, capacitor housings and board connectors requires very simple and cheaply available chemistry components and is very easy to do. Especially if you're already picking up a given thing anyway you might as well get all you can out of it instead of throwing money in the trash. The tiny nuggets to bars 1" x 3" you can get of gold, silver and platinum will sell for a LOT of money compared to their size to almost any jeweler. I have become a junk yard for every friend and relative and coworker for all their tech junk and old appliances. I barely even bother to go dumpster diving anymore although I do still keep an eye out for the curb when driving around and stop in to tag sales. I spent ten bucks on two large crates of what the seller called "junk". It was old mainframe computer components from a very large collection of DIGITAL components as well as a shit load of random boards. I made $635.00 off of the gold, silver and platinum I got out of those. So $635.00 - $10.00 - another $10.00 in chemistry supplies = $605.00 profit. It took about two hours worth of work spread over several days ( it takes time for the chemicals to do their thing ) means I made about $300.00 an hour off of that load.

I *NEVER* Comment on vids. However, this one NEEDS a comment... So, Found this vid by accident. Was trying to fabricate a custom tip for my soldering iron, to be used for wood burning. Needed a special pattern for a project. Was watching another vid on how to visually tell the difference between Stainless and Zinc-Coated, so I could figure out which of my "Mystery Hex Bolts" to use to create the custom tip. Hands were busy winding a spring, and I couldn't stop the "Up Next" video from playing. Not into scrapping, so I wasn't interested. However, a few mins into your video when my hands were free again, I found I couldn't turn it off. You were so absolutely straightforward and laid back, cool and collected, casual and extremely articulated and well-spoken, informative and entertaining, all at the same time. Like, the worlds coolest and most chill Documentary Host. If you hosted a documentary series or marathon on anything at all, I'd watch it. Just because you have that on-screen super-cool demeanor and personality. OUTSTANDING Job, good sir. Coming from someone with literally *ZERO* interest in scrapping, but now fostering a slow-brewing thought on that proverbial "back burner" in my mind, simply because of your presentation. Stay true, and keep it going. >"Episode One of our 263-Part DocuDrama Series, 'MUD: Because, Why Not?', with your Host, Thubprint, Starts Now." >"Oh, crap. I'm gunna need more popcorn."

I just happened to stumble upon this and i'm not usually one to comment but I loved the vid,man. So much great info and presented by a guy with such a laid back disposition. It was like hanging with a buddy . Thanks,man. Great job.

I've owned my own business for awhile.....I came to know all of this years ago. I STILL watched the whole video. You did such a fantastic job on this. Best start up scrap video I have seen to date. Well done :)

Most of those “copper bearing motors” you had in that pile against the wall are actually control transformers and depending on the size have a Shit ton of clean copper in them. They work because of the copper windings in them. If you just crack them open you can cut the windings off easily because they are just pure copper. Same thing can be done with automotive starters, alternators, and regular electric motors. Open them up and cut off the copper windings and separate the steel cases and the hardened chrome steel shafts and you will get the most money out of them.

I was thinking about doing some scraping myself and this video was great for me.... Now I’m a subscriber and binge watching all your videos, trying to absorb as much info as I can.... Thanks for the video ❤️

Actually the easiest way to identify metals are magnets or buy a lower end PMI gun. The reason you want to do this is because if you accidentally run across Hastelloy for example and misjudge it for Stainless Steel you would be losing a TON OF MONEY. Some metals are EXTREMELY rare and expensive. Hastelloy is worth a ton. If you want to gauge stainless steel GRADES lets say 1-5 with 5 being the most high quality stainless steel. Buy a HIGH QUALITY magnet and apply it to the surface 1- Sticks maybe even hard to remove = has a high amount of carbon steel in it 2- Sticks but comes off slightly easier and slide = less CS 3&4- Basically same as the other two, but barely sticks you will see yourself testing it over and over to see if it is really sticking or its your mind 5- If you run across high quality stainless steel a magnet should never work. Most people find this confusing because we typically interact with lower grade stainless or even borderline illegally called "stainless" and where API and other companies come in higher industries and you run tests to make sure the chemical properties are in alignment with standards. (PMI gun typically). Anyways if you are salvaging stainless it may or may not tell you what grade stainless it is. My suggestion as a non salvager is NEVER just throw all stainless into a pile without knowing what it is first. There is a decent pay difference in the industry for what you might see like 316SS vs 304SS. Also if you can find chunks lets say a block of stainless steel 2x2 or bigger if you can verify cheaply it is indeed stainless you should sell if to a manufacturing company locally for more money. They will most definitely buy if they use it in their inventory and will just check it with a PMI test or other tests to confirm its properties, tag it and shelf it. My point is that you should not always use "weight" as a reference. Also another tip if you run across stainless where it has the tiny text telling you what it is and you see "316L SS" or any Stainless material with an "L" after it immediately take care of that and put it separate these are higher specialized metals and more pure. I can tell you if you can manage to find Hastelloy you better grab it and run. P.S. 6 years in Quality Control/Inventory Control and ERP/SAP systems in manufacturing high end metal parts for chemical plants and aerospace parts.

one of the better intro to scrapping videos i've seen. thanks for talking fast and showing examples :)

You are very detailed thorough and have a great sense of humor. I enjoyed watching and learned a lot. Thamks

GOOD VIDEO IVE BEEN SCRAPPING FOR YEARS AND I LEARNED A FEW NEW THINGS.

I have been scrapping since I was a kid in the 60's! Great for the environment and economy. The $ helps too!!

I'm taking all this in bro. Thanks so much for all this great first timers advice. Boy oh boy did I need this.

Thanks for "recycling " your knowledge. Haven't scrapped in years, but getting back into it to supplement my investing in gold and silver. Thanks for sharing my man. You win the awesome human award!!!

Got into scrapping yesterday. Driving back from the grocery store, I saw a stainless steel dishwasher on the side of the road. I just happen to drive a truck, so I pulled over and easily loaded it in the back of my truck. There is also room at my house to store and break down scrap. That being said, I will start doing this on my spare time. Thank you for your beginners lesson on how to get started! I look forward to watch the rest of your videos. New sub here. Take care✌️

Best thubprint scrap video so far! Been watching you since your start and I got to say this is my favourite of yours!

Thank you. You and your knowledge has helped alot. Saved me so much tear down time.

Informative, entertaining, and delivered with a unique style that holds one's attention. I hope he continues to make more videos.

Explained very well and the video was never awkward or corny...good job man

I found this to be an extremely helpful and well done video - kudos!

Great video. Little trick to check for non magnetic stainless. Get a neodymium magnet. If it sticks hard- steel, barley stick- valuable stainless, does not stick - aluminum. Best place to find neodymium magnets for free are inside hard drives. Also 1 thing most scrappers miss is simply selling found items. Some people throw out good stuff, if you can resell it as is you will make more then you ever will scrapping.

Just started hounding, scrapping, and wailing for the years to come. This is vid is exactly what I need! Like

Similar to the spark test, a torch test can be used for stainless. You can use a piece you already have confirmed as stainless. Heat a small corner with one of those portable camp propane torches or something similar. The “heat signature” along with the weak magnetic attraction gives it away.

Wow, so much knowledge gained from this video! My fiancee and I are new to this game and we were not exactly sure if we were starting in the right place...turns out, we could definitely be spending our time in wiser ways than we are. Your video has definitely helped us figure out what we should be looking for. It's also more encouraging than you might ever know to see that you, a fellow scraper, has the same vehicle (or at least the same exact vehicle space) that we do...if you can manage decent loads with the space you've got, then I know we can too! Thanks for sharing your knowledge; let's say its worth it's weight in ferrous metal, lol. Happy scrappin!

This video shows why you deserve subs. Subscribed.

great tips I learnt so much even though its not my 1st time scrapping, some scrapyards wont tell you these things

Scrapping got me through some rough times. People may look down on you but you're making free money. I've made thousands from scrapping.

Terrific video Brother I enjoyed learning a lot!

some of what people scrap as aluminium is actually zinc, if left to the elements, it will look fairly corroded on the surface , and it can be cast into more precise shapes than aluminium such as machine parts with the nut screw threads as part of the casting , the test for zinc, and magnesium is to pour vinegar on to scratch exposed metal, zinc reacts to produce a few bubbles, magnesium reacts to produce a lot of bubbles - it fizzes

Great video for beginners. I come across alot of this stuff in storage units. Thanks fot sharing

I'm a greenhorn at scrapping...this was the most beneficial video I have seen.. much appreciation for your knowledge and time.

Great advice for a newbie. Thank you!

Thank you for all this information; now I don’t have to watch tons of videos to learn the same stuff you have taught me here.

Thank you for this video! Very well spoken and easy to comprehend. I look forward to seeing the rest of the videos you have!

I too stumbled on this video and wow. Thank you for the info. I will certainly treat my junk differently.

I love your content and even more your humour thanks so very much looking forward to more

If you are interested in stock piling gold. Keep an eye on the ends of your electronic cords and cables and the ports the plug into, ie: chargers, usb cables, etc.... Ends- gold bearing bucket / wire insulated #2 Cu pile. Also printer ink cartridges, sometimes have a small amount of gold fingers, just like computer memory does. Another tip: inside a lot of computer keyboards is a thin film of plastic with thin silver circuit board printed on it. Not going to get rich quick, but it's another way to make money and keep more items out of the landfill.

You have the best scrapping channel on this entire site, hands down. I'm just getting going and you have so much wisdom in these videos.

Just Awesome! I typed in Recycling and I am so glad I came across your video. Our HOA doesn't have it's community residents on any type of recycling pickup at the curb. It bothers me that people think EARTH is a TRASH 😡 CAN. I am so glad I came across your video. But, this here is gold. It serves as a motivation to make $$$. We definitely need more people to recycle and nearby recycle centers. I am going to share your video. Thank you for making this video.

You are a good teacher^^thanks thub-have a nice weekend!Greetings from Germany

Great information and tips! Thank you for this.

By far, the best “scrapping breakdown” video I’ve found and at time of writing this the video is 5 years old! Thanks for the info!

Thanks man just starting out very good info answered alot

Great content! Even though I’m not a scraper, you put a lot of great information for everyone! If we don’t start taking better care of the environment it’s going to disappear and we really won’t have to worry about it!!! Plus now if I see a scraper, I’ll know what to give them to help them out.

I'll likely never even do this, but you're very easy to watch & listen to! Lol

Really informative, in my opinion, the best beginner-scrapper video I've seen. The limitations of my job have me looking for alt income sources like this.

Thanks for the video, I work at a recycling centre in the UK, I’m trying to understand how to pick the best electrical items off the belt. Fascinating. I might not get to do any at home, but might increase my hours/pay. Have a great week!

I gotta say, this video is EXACTLY what I've been looking for. You explained everything perfectly. You did so well that I feel like I've watched "Scrapping For Dummies" lol. I've scrapped quite a few items over the years, but realized I could have actually maximized my profit with some simple techniques b you've provided. Your video was so informative, that after I watched it, I grabbed my notebook and a pen, watched it a second time, and proceeded to write down the info you provided. If people haven't scrapped before, this video will teach them how to do so rather easily. I do have a suggestion tho. You could go on RU-vid, find and make a wire stripper that is either electric (if you want to go through all that headache) or make an adjustable manual one (adjustable for various sizes of wiring) where you merely have to put the wire in one side and pull it out of the other side. You can strip a ten foot length in about 5 seconds. Then add it to this video, somewhere, and repost it. That's honestly the only thing I thought would make your AAA rated video become a AAA+++ video. Thanx again for the awesome tutorial! This video alone has me now subscribing to you to see what other genius videos you have out there! Great job bro, great job!!

This was a really well done video and a great explanation! Thanks!

Man, I'm impressed with the information this videos contains. I appreciate the knowledge you shared on your video. This is going to help me out a ton.

Nice!!! More and more i watch!! Im learning and learning more,, im just starting picking scrap metal to make extra,

Awesome video man, I've been stacking stuff like this for a long time thinking I'd like to sell it all someday but having trouble finding a local buyer that won't rip us off. So If I get a big enough load I'll take it to Vancouver.

Thanks for this, every one should recycle

I’m a plumber in the states, youve made it a lot more easy to id copper and generally metals thank you for helping the environment!

I just started messing around with scrapping & this really helped me out.

Been a scrapper for years , its nice for extra gas money or you can do it as a full time job . Ive always recycled in upstate ny , I always go for the good metals like copper , brass and aluminum and insulated wire . Nowadays metal prices are really low. Great video Thub , very informative and helpful for people who are just starting out.

Nice and informative, Thub! Scrapping as a hobby, but me and the boys still make extra money from it. The Netherlands is different as well, at least in my area. All insulated wire is just insulated wire, at a good price. All aluminium except for rims are the same. I just keep the extruded heatsinks for making molds.

Hey, been watching so many of your videos. Great job. I especially appreciate the ones determining what's worth cleaning or breaking down. Working the numbers fantastic. Do the thing!

Awesome video..great advice. I work in an auto repair shop. Pleanty of shops on my block. Many shops just leave all metal outside, I didn't realize it was worth this much ..

I know some one stated this already but what you call#1 insulated I strip with carpenters knife while watching TV most of it being worth 3 bucks a pound and you get fast at striping it with practice. The same goes for the solid aluminum conduit filled with wire, pull out the wire strip it and the you have #1 copper aka bright and shiny and clean aluminum both paying more.

just WOW awesome complete video for beginners youre awesome remind me the first video i saw of you the video you started saying you had empty pocket and was hungry youre awesome buddy very very good job as always but specially on that one AWESOMENESS p.s that booster cable i would check that up again im 99.9%sure its not alu

Fun watching your video! Enjoyed learning a bit about scrapping :)

I already knew most of this stuff, but I still enjoyed watching this video quite a bit, and I think that it will be very informative for new scrappers to watch.

Great information! Thank you for sharing. 🙂

Great video, I learned quite a bit, thanks!! I have a big hoard of copper of all kinds I'm trying to figure out how to properly sort.

A beginners video?!! Hell yeah!! Back to the basics.

Thank you very much. I’ve been a ‘dumpster diver’ for more than half of my life but never really for the money, just the neat stuff I could reuse. Now I’m getting into the money that can be made from it also. I knew about copper and aluminum but didn’t realize that the other metals were so common and profitable. I appreciate that you went ‘back to the basics’ so that I may better my knowledge about the metals and where to look. I’ve often wondered about things like brass primarily because I frequently walk back roads for cans and bottles and I see bullet casings all the time. Mostly old 22 casings or shotgun shells. I figured it had to b worth something because we will run out eventually. Lol anyway I just wanted you to know that I appreciate you. Ttfn

Very very good! And very informative! Thank you very much! Just FYI, I'm in the states, Michigan. My yard pays $10 a pound for computer RAM sticks.

great video, well spoken and to the point,

Your videos are packed with useful info. You explain VERY WELL and are quite easy to listen to. Thanks.

Really great video, good explainations, examples, I had a scrapping friend at one point but he didnt know nearly half as much as pointed out here in the video! Hey if I lose my job I might just scrap metal!

great information. good luck to you!

ALSO So another thing to turn you onto. Light Switches, Circuit Breakers, Relays, there pieces of Silver in there, if you do take the time to get it out of the Plastic, My silver pile has been growing ! and as well as Gold plated stuff, I get a ton of that stuff, separate the plastic, and keep the boards, and gold plated, sell the steel and Aluminum from the Electric components i get . .

Much appreciated. I did trip when you said that your dream-tool would be a band-saw, since I had just had a conversation with my brother about cleaning a bunch of transformers that ended with "but who's got a bandsaw? And then RU-vid did some kind of "enhancement upgrade" thing and I had to reload the page.. Good stuff. Not scrapping, "they" won't let me drive (even though I haven't had a wreck that was my fault since '79 or '80) Making art. Wire, and the transformer's from the microwaves off the street are going into a Lichtenberg burner. Like you attitude, bro. Namaste

This was informative. Scrapping is a little trial and error. I started scrapping as a side gig from my full time job. 👍

I used to scrap up until 2009; until the bottom fell out of prices. I still hoard scrap in hopes of a better market. Anyway, there is a beautiful art to scraping. It looks as though you have discovered this art!

Great INFO!! now i know this isn’t for me, and i thank you for that! Goodluck!

Thanks for a lot of good ino in your video. I currently salvage steel, alu, cpr and brass. Thanks again great stuff.😎👌👌👍👍⛏⛏

Well done video, I use to scrap and that's how I use to take my vacation to Vegas, but dont have time to do it now

I got the same pair dude. they really are great Pliers.

Thank you for the vid, lots of good valuable info. I appreciate ur time I'm a newbie and in this field info is equivalent to $$$ and scrap yards are not going to educate or advise you of the best ways to clean scrap because then they have to pay you more for it. Who wants to pay more for anything? Or to anyone? The more you learn about scraping the more you can make! IMO thats my 2 cents...lol

Great job on covering all the different materials I'm a crane operator at a scrap yard . You know your shit awesome video! Great information for the public lots of people don't realize they literally have money laying around in the backyard scrap pays when it's up thanks for the cool video

Comprehensive guide mate. Appreciate it!

Yyyeeeeessssss more content from thub keep it coming pal

Brass is copper and zinc Those little "motors" that are round are called capacitors and they are aluminum (ala aluminum electrolytic capacitor) Look at laptop cases for magnesium - old apple, dell, HP and others. Newer ones are Al or plastic - it will be stamped on the underside of the top or bottom of the case (you will have to remove it to see it unfortunately - magnesium will bubble with vinegar if you scratch it, so you can test it by scratching with a knife and dropping a little vinegar) you can make decent money removing the copper from the transformers - the larger the better. Get a wood chisel and hammer (or a parts press works well) and cut the copper. You can then use a punch to knock it out from between the plates. Resharpen the chisel as needed - grinder, file or sand paper.

Brilliant concept! I am drawn to this DIY Craftmade project. Your insights and shared knowledge are much appreciated.

Thanks bud, great information to help me get organized.

Nice vid, I need to make a video about scrap metal. I’ll be loading up a 30 Yd load of scrap tomorrow

“Go ask AvE” 👏👏👏👏👏 That guy is the best.

Well, aren't you are a wealth of interesting and helpful information!! I actually feel smarter than I was b4 I watched this vid. Way to educate. ✌️🙂

Thanks for the advice. Saved to watch later to go over again when I get some stuff together.

17:40 Nickel - Cupronickel or copper-nickel (CuNi) is an alloy of copper that contains nickel and strengthening elements, such as iron and manganese. The copper content typically varies from 60 to 90 percent. (Monel metal is a nickel-copper alloy that contains a minimum of 52 percent nickel.) Zinc - Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions that can be varied to achieve varying mechanical and electrical properties.[1] It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other within the same crystal structure. (Remember this by comparing ass to a sink, which rhymes with zinc.) Tin - Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12-12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (such as aluminum, manganese, nickel or zinc) and sometimes non-metals or metalloids such as arsenic, phosphorus or silicon. (Remember this by the fact that tin was one of the first elements to be "discovered", begetting the Bronze age, and tin is also the simplest to spell

great video good info and entertaining you have a gift my friend keep up the good work and I did like subbed and shared thank you again.

We've met before I used to work at Bighouse converters here in Calgary a few years back before I went back to roofing. Some of you scrap guys can make a serious killing if you know what your doing. Keep up the good work.

Thank you so much. I'm just getting started and this helped so much..