3 Essential Tools For Scrapping Metal

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recycling abandoned trash and items

I began taking an interest in every aspect of recycling when an area close to my hometown was destroyed by people dumping off trash and unwanted items. This area was down a long dirt road that was rarely used by anyone other than those looking for a scenic drive on a nice day. I took part in the clean-up effort and that was when my recycling obsession was sparked. From that point on, I have stopped along the road to pick up trash and dumped off items. Once I have these items, I do my best to break them down and recycle every element possible. This blog will show you all kinds of things about recycling that you may not already know.

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3 Essential Tools For Scrapping Metal

19 February 2016
 Categories: , Blog


If you want to start scrapping metal to put a little extra cash in your pocket, you can just take your scrap to the yard and take what you are offered. If it is something that you plan on doing often, you may want to organize your scrap to get more for your metal. Here are the essential tools that you will need to better separate your scrap to get the most for your labor:

1. Magnets To Separate Different Metal Types That Are More Or Less Valuable

If you have various metals to scrap, it will pay to know if they are ferrous or non-ferrous. Even steel can be non-ferrous alloy, such as stainless steel, and it is substantially more valuable than ferrous steel. Other metals that are non-ferrous include aluminum, copper, lead, tin and zinc. You can use a magnet to test if a metal is ferrous, since most ferrous metals will have magnetic properties. Magnets are great tools to use to separate your metals.

2. Testing Kit And Optional Metal Detector To Find Precious And Semi-Precious Metals

While it may pay to know whether a metal is ferrous or non-ferrous, you may want to be able to know a little more. For metals like silver and gold, there are simple testing kits that will tell you what the metal is. The precious metals can often be found in things like electronics and electrical equipment. For other metals, you may want to have a metal detector that gives you readings on the different types of metals in objects.

3. Hammers And Hand Tools To Dismantle Items 

Once you know what different metals are, you will be ready to separate them from the items that you find. To do this, you will want to have plenty of hand tools. Hammers, a good hacksaw and metal snips can be a good start for your tool kit. You may also want to have crowbars of various sizes to pry things apart. A replicating saw can also be a good tool to have to break down items into piles of different metals. When you separate the metals from objects, it does not have to be pretty, but you will want to make sure that the metals are not mixed.

These are some of the essential tools that you will need to organize your scrap metal to get the most cash. If you have metal that you are ready to recycle, contact a scrap metal service like Summit Recycling of Penn Hills and talk with them about selling the metal you have collected.