Pulling Gold Pins from Computer Plugs for Gold Recovery 

I have recycled quite a bit of these connector pins and I must agree that it was tedious sometimes, but surprisingly enjoyable.

Just subbed - great info. For the cable ends which have the retention tabs I have a modified HD X-Acto blade I use to slip under and lift the tabs then all wires can be pulled at once and pins clipped off in one step. What makes recovery easier is modifying tools and making jigs for specific purposes all with the goal of reducing time, movement and making the process flow. I have modified different vise-grips for processing various cable ends. Where you are using nail clippers I use angled needle nose pliers and use the angled part of the pliers as a fulcrum to remove pins.

I learn something new, every time I watch you, been a fan for years,,thanks for being a true teacher of the trade!!!!

I strongly recommend a rotary tool to cut them off an to process your pins instead of acids use the eco goldex works a treat for me plus it’s better for the environment put only use gold plated stuff

i first use the Irwin (blue)adjustable wrench to squeeze the the plug, this is to loosen the pins within the shroud making it easier to pull the pins out..then i carefully cut off the tip of the plastic shroud exposing the pins with a larger wire cutter,.then use a small needle nose plyers to pull the pins out. with the larger video plugs, i have a small vise attached to my bench..after taking the metal shield off..i put the plug into the vise and again squeeze it as much as i can..this is to loosen the pins, i leave the plug into the vise and pull the pins out. I agree..it's very therapeutic..good vid Ben.

If you wanted to shred the pins with the plastic, you could easily separate the plastic out with water, because the plastic should float.

I’ve used a pair of old scissors instead of side cutters to cut the thin pins or flat ones where it’s only plated half way. Then it leaves the unwanted junk behind easier. Do this over a pan or bucket because they flip far sometimes. Thanks Ben! I need to microscrap more to add to my collection!

There is one little piece of gold in those jumpers you took off that motherboard. Great videos Ben!

About those plugs you started off with… in the rectangular openings on the sides of the plug you should be able to see the little legs sprung outward from the pins that catch in the slots and lock the pins inside. If you press in on that leg or bend it inward with a paper clip, the pin should slide out easily. You could even make a simple tool to press on all 5 at once by hot gluing 5 small brads or nails to a piece of wood or plastic with the correct spacing. It may be better to leave the wires attached until after the pens are removed, since you can just pull out on the wires while releasing the locks on the pins.

I thought I was having an acid flashback at 36:40

Actually a good video. Plain and simple. Thanks

Love your videos Ben. Very informative. You have definitely helped me to organize and efficiently running my recycle business. Thanks.

I just picked up a printer that has spring loaded pins in it. Unfortunately the end were gold plated, but the springs were not. Looks like tiny stainless steel spring to me. This is a great video, if you've worked on plugs and you do it differently, Ben's way might just be better & faster than my/your own!!! Thanks again BEN!!!

My wife really liked this video! real good info

Nice I never thought of nail clippers great thinking 🙏🌟🍀😇. From the UK

This is old, but here's the answer. Note the area on the side where you can see the gold pin. That's the pin release, lift the blue tab and the pin drops right out. Faster: Take 1 plug and insert pins into the plug. Now you have a plug that looks like a fork. Each tong (pin) sticking out of the plug will line up perfectly with the release tab. Now you have a tool that can be used to release all the pins at one time.

try using a pair of needle nose pliers to remove the pins from the slot. grab the end of the wire and pull. the pin might come out and then all you have to do is cut it at the ens.

I use to run crimp machinery that make connectors like Molex, JST, etc etc.. the easiest way to get those pins out is to take a corsage pin and push inside the little square openings you see right above the female connectors... those are the latching hooks that lock the pins in... when pushed back and down a little the pin will fall right out the back... even better leave like 2inches of wire on the ends and you can just pull on them as you unlatch each pin from it's seating.

Your blue plug @2:30 and a lot like it. crunch it gust behind the plastic tab were you see the pin. get a utility knife and slip it under the flap and it pull out. Mostly you can pull the pin out with your fingers. Hope that helps.

i like the nail cutter idea over needle nose pliers but we all have our own way of doing some ideas r good

Love the info. On the blue video connectors use a dremel you will be done in seconds.

run a steel bar into a steel pipe with a bottom. freeze smaller plugs for a day or two, put in pipe and ram with bar. sort and done. big printer plugs don't work well. I've also done smaller plugs in a heavy duty paper shredder. freezing first really makes plastic brittle.

And I always pull the pins from the back side that had the wire connected as they are designed so the don't slip out easily when unplugging them

i use a long nail sharpened to nice point and lift the plastic catches then pull straight out got to a T can do 5 a min

I use flush cutting toe nail snippers , kinda like a pair of small wire cutters but flush cutting.

good video I pull out the pins at night time looking at tv it don't take log to do alot of them

Hey sharky you put out another great video I very much enjoyed it just incase you didn't know the white board is usually extrusion I think I have only found one that was plastic five stars my friend thank you for sharing

Excellent ben thanks!

excellent video Ben!

You are truly amazing! Thanks :)

Hey man best way is to use a pick and poke the nub on the exposed part like on 1:11 push that in and use needle nose pliers they come right out. That is how I remove mine simple and easy.

get it Ben! what about trying a heavy duty paper shredder, in mass by hand is for the birds.

Hi Ben. like your video. I see you are still learning. Danny.

Also black fibre pins will not fall of and there processed whole as has gold bond wires inside

that blue one ur doing with the plate in the middle ur right but i crack one side open rip out the middle then the pins are easy to come out

Yes! Shred the plug eith good dnips and process all yogethet in niytic acid. Copper or brass will be removed

With the the blue ones.Take 2 pliers and bend at the pin window area. They will fall out quite easily. Your welcome !

Hey Ben, around 35:00 you are talking about motherboards and how colored mother boards are not as valuable as the green ones, and I would have to argue that a little. Some companies use the color to distinguish them from other companies such as many of AMD boards will be red. Many people buy after market boards since companies like dell will not have boards that are as good, so this is were companies like ASUS, and GIGABYTE (just 2 for an example) flourish, and they tend to color their boards. Also, when you get into the very high end mother boards, they will most definitely be a different color simply because people who are spending that kind of money on those boards want the color difference and these companies have recognized this. So I would really keep my eye out on those boards since some motherboards are hundreds of dollars, and some even thousands.

I have to use my jewellers glasses,to see them.very small.but great to extract. Easier.

Dear Ben, I did not try with plugs, but usually when i need to feet of separate something to or from plastic I keep plastic item in boiling or just boiled water and than it goes easily. Try to put plugs into boiling water and then to pull pins out. If it works, let me know please. Just of a curiosity!

Try heat gun. Softens the plastic. Or,boil them in water,if u have a lot of them.

leave the copper tail theres a small piece of plastic holding the pin in the socket flip the plastic and pull the wire then trim accordingly

Ben! Please tell me what you think. If we take sustainability (maximum recirculation of materials, recycling effectiveness) as a more important factor than profit, would you say it's better to bring the connectors straight to a specialised e-waste yard OR rather handpick the pins out yourself? I.e.: Can machine do this tedious process with high rate of yield, minimum wastage?

Another informative video. Thanks again.

A small set of electronics side cutters will make short work of those VGA pins !

32:04 "Not these" I pulled some really nice pins out of one of those the other day...I don't remember what it came out of. I think I had heard that there was nothing in them and one just happened to end up in my collection of pins to process. So just of shits, I decided to open it up and sure enough some of the best plated pins I've seen so far.

blue ones : 1.cut the side screw years .2force the front metal jacket .3 pull out the midle blue plastic whit pins / 3.1 if the case is entire under the blue external jacket.. youl need to forcecut after extraction.there becomes funny , interesting and a joy for who doesent have pacience

Great info

very helpful thanks for the info . keep up these great videos .

As far as connectors go we can just melt them in solution and they'll burn off any remnants of plastic when you'd melt it down eh?

There is different keys you can get to get the pins out with

Why can't you just set the connectors pin-downward into a solution to dissolve the gold on the exposed pins and bypass the labor other than facing/alignment?

Thanks to match .. very nice.

If you bends the side out the pins fall out

try using forceps like they use in the medical industry. you can buy them online at www.sciplus.com among other places.

good job mate

🤦‍♂️ 7 years too late, but here’s the info. Where you can see the pin on the side, below the pin but above the wire inlet is a tab lock. Use a knife blade tip or tiny flat screw driver to pull the tab up and then push the pin out. I do these frequently. It’s best to keep the wire on them for the first part so you have something to yank on to pull it out, then get your side cutters to nip them off.

Are these Gold or Gold plated, do you just use for scrap value?

chop them up then put into water let the plastic float to the top. Then just skim off the rubbish.

good video, again. any value in the silver part's? are they real silver?

Would a "pencil "soldering iron work well?

to fiddley mate, i'd go mad doing that.lols

Brass pins sometimes Ben?

Quicker was is hammer then use magnet to pick up all pins

Blue video plugs = VGA plugs, white ones = DVI

from 1kg gold pin can get 1-2 g gold?

Burn to seperate?

Would a Drimel work to take pins in blue plugs

The cases on USB plugs etc arnt steel most the time. There often nickel plated copped or brass

Hard way of removing the pins Ben

The molex plugs no gold Other end clip in center and process. No need to remove them. Nitric will find all other metalp

and you sell the pins straight to a refiner ?

hi all fred from the US on the serives boards there are plugs whan you pull them apart they are like slout cards gold pins put the rest is locket in plastic cover whats the best way to get the gold out ? Ap OR AR OR what would you do ? i have over to pounds very nice gold too so i need your help !

what do you do with them?

Where did u get ALL those old computer parts?

Great videos watched a few now, ur keeping me up late haha. Just to give me an idea of how much gold there is on those pins, are u talking, 1 kg of pulled out pins has 1gram of gold plating. Would it b more or less than that. Cheers

is there a way to see if it's gold or not?

How about the gold in the blue jumpers? 32:40

15:30 thise oxide titanium,not gold

but what is int he the middle is it tin aluminium

needle nose plyers

is it pure gold pin

so i have an old t.v that i am scapping and the pins are not gold, could they possibly be silver?

People please don't torture yourselves like this.

hi sir whats is price of per gram gold pin.? is it pure gold?

ever found anything from microwaves? found 5 for free but dunno if its got gold i actually need gold for chemistry experiments

you can sell these used old pc parts on water too much more money because they buy them today for a lot of money, I do not understand why so much unnecessary work time and energy can get into this much time when you could quickly make money

soing needle

you are crazy hhhh fun you are verry god man i like waht you doing.

dudeeee u shaking camera much, it's look like u driving bus