Scrap copper
Oakie
Member Posts: 40,510 ✭✭✭✭
Since I'm in the heating and air conditioning trade, I save all the little pieces of scrap copper and old refrigerant lines that I pull out of houses. I went and scraped my copper from this summer. 5 grand . Time to hit up Gunbroker and buy that Marlin 1894cb in 45 long colt I have been wanting. The rest I am saving until I find a good deal on a Marlin model 62 in 256 win mag. I have only seen one up for sale on gunbroker and he wants way to much for it. I will be patient and wait for the right one. I didn't even scrap my brass and other metals I have yet. I will go next weekend and scrap that stuff, and buy some cases of ammo. I don't ever take money out of our bank account or businesses, to buy any guns, hunting license and stuff related to that. If I don't have it in scrap, I don't buy it. Scrap copper is up to 3.35 for number 2 and 3.65 for number one. Last year it was up over 4.00 a pound.
Do any of you guys scrap metal??? I know it sounds frivolous, But I will stop and pick up scrap, just to buy my guns and ammo. I figure five minutes of my time picking up someone's trash, get me a free gun or two every year, and it doesn't cost me anything.
Comments
There's a few places where people shoot and just leave their brass on the ground. I've spent some time picking it up and putting it in buckets. If there's quite a bit of it, it doesn't take to long to get 100 bucks worth of it. I also save all of my 22lr brass and put it into my brass scrap bucket. Oh, FWIW John, it's 45 Colt, not Long Colt......😉
I have 5 lbs of Ti scrap. They will not pay me diddly for it (same as scrap steel).
It will not rust or corrode so it sits on the ground until they are willing to pay.
Margaret Thatcher
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."
Mark Twain
You did good on that and have the right job to it
When I worked construction about 30 yrs ago scrapping was a huge deal
If a piece of copper hit the ground it was grabbed by every one close by
Even the job supers would get in on scrapping
My old boss had the labor Forman on the road many a day hauling off the scrap steel
we did a lot of renovations on huge industrial buildings
Every contractor on a big job was always making runs to the scrap yard it got bad some times
The boss would buy us the common help a cup of coffee and doughnut and say that was our share
Then I got on a job where I was the scrap hauler 1st trip I came back and split the money equal with our entire group
My boss said what are you doing never do that again we give them a few dollars and the rest we split
Some of the bosses were making thousands of dollars on the side and it was common practice and just considered a perk of there position
On a personal note many years ago the local town would have a pick up free day for any items no longer wanted the streets would be lined with huge piles of everything and the city was spit into zones different days for their pickup times
My brother and I sometimes a cousin would help (both have passed on RIP)
We took my old pickup around town any aluminum item especially old storm doors, ladders ,lawn chairs any thing metal we grabbed we always made a couple hundred off that free pick up day and always got a decent push mower or three .
My youngest son still parts out old cars and trucks and scraps the rest
I went by his place last night he was loading up my trailer i didnot know he had borrowed (remember the trailer post) with some s10 pick up trucks he had scrapped out
With a little effort and the right cirmstances it's easy money
My uncle installed aluminum awnings and carports and such. He saved all the scrap aluminum that generated and paid the lot rent for his travel trailer up at Lake Erie for the whole year.
When I worked crew on construction projects we saved everything metal .Kept me in ammo money
Got literally tons of it. Batteries, radiators, basically anything car related. I just sort and stack the big ticket stuff and wait for prices to go up. I bet I get a few thousand every year just from the scrap at my shop.
That is to distinguish it from .45 short Colt.🤣