Thats exactly what I used to do when all the big jobs slowed down to winter fuel deliveries I'd scrap the copper for my wife and kids but 2500$ that's ALLOT of copper cleaned stripped separated its still so much copper my biggest scrap was 1600 so salute to you... That's a good job...
This is exactly what my husband and I do he's a painter and his buddies with the electrician Bonnie jobs Corey just back it up all year long and then when it gets close to kiss miss you start stripping just started a couple days ago and of course the day I looked it up copper was about $3.19 here a pound for Bare bright with the amount we had at that price I might have been able to pull off that 2500 maybe even a little more but it's already the quality of course my luck LOL damn you China hahaha
I've been scrapping for 40 years and I need to tell you something... I enjoy watching your channel more than any other scrap channel on UA-cam. Hope you have a great day!!
Finally, someone addressed the burning issues. Although I have been scraping for many years, I think your video is a great "how-to" for beginners. Thank you for helping make the world a better place.
I burn my Copper Wire and my scrap yard doesn't care to take it and if it's #1 Copper then they give me #1 price and so on, If I had a Electric Wire Stripper then I'd definitely stop burning it, but for me the fastest way to get a bunch of wire done is to burn it...
Exactly, I think it is probably different in different states cuz where I come from everyone burns it. There is no "bare bright" category and #1 is anything thicker than pencil lead while #2 is anything thinner like most of your braided wires
@@jarlaxle3588 we have a Bare Bright category, but bare bright copper is really hard to find tho and yeah that's how our #1 & #2 copper is here in Southern Ohio too, our #2 Copper is $2.45 lb right now, Cans are $0.45 lb, Yellow Brass is $1.70 lb, Stainless Steel is $0.20 lb, Electric Motors is $0.12 lb & Aluminum Old Sheet is $0.30 lb, These are just some of the prices from a ticket that I had laying in front of me here LoL
I've been scrapping for 15 yrs I am in no way a beginner I don't learn many new things i just like watching your videos. It always makes me motivated to get scrapping.
I’ve been scrapping for years, but you’re still teaching me things I didn’t know! I’m one of those who sits and carefully strips copper with a knife. Instead of scrapping the wiring (or anything to repurpose) from my grandparents farm house, I stripped it & repurposed it into art. Thank you for all the great information!
That settles it, I'm starting to scrap part time. I work at a school and they throw out so many Ethernet cables and wires and metal things. I've accumulated a butt load. This video is excellent learning material. I use to scrap copper when I worked as a specialist roofer in Louisiana, it was fun. Thanks for this.
To strip wire I use a block plane. Works amazing and it's cheap for a little block plane or palm plane. Mine is from my grandfather's wood working tools so it's older then anybody I've ever met and works great
I really love your videos, I'm not a beginner anymore but because of you I started really making money scrapping I'm just 14 but I still make a lot from scrapping. Thanks for all the tips your so awesome
Amazing video I’ve been selling bits of scrap on and off I spent 3 days cleaning wire using an exhaust at work from wires just to make 15 pounds was so not worth the time and effort I put in but will be collecting pipes from now on and focusing less on wires as it takes loads of wire to make even a 10 pound note
That's where I just left you a comment about burning wire and then I watch another one your videos and here you are talking about that's incredible stay strong my friend
Hello, Sweden here again. I do just about the same as you. I always cut all connectors and plugs off my wires, prongs and things go in my brass bucket. My yard loves it because they know it's clean scrap wire and quick to unload and already sorted in categories so I do get a better price. Ask how the scrapyard wants their material and try to get as close to it as you can, win-win. Scrap safe and take care.
Yep, all plugs and connectors cut off. They also pay for plugs (eg mains plugs) as there's brass inside I guess. But first I cut the mains plugs 3 pins off. My yard will allow the earthing pin to be in the clean brass pile, but the other 2 pins these days have plastic insulation covering some of the pin - so they drop into my #2 brass pile. They are strict lol. It's only 3 quick snips...and all adds up when you get loads of plugs...
Thank you so thubprint!!!! This video helped me so much I scrapped my whole neighbours van to pieces just so I could afford me and my family to eat for at least 2 days :) PS tips to you for wearing some handy strong gloves its always best to prioritise those hands of yours as if you cut them up they will hurt and you won't be able to scrap any more copper oh no!!!!!! :(
Greetings Thubprint. You were really missed. You're so inspirational & i like your style. Guys like you Vidvulture, Dumpster Jerry, Professor Scrappity, S&P man, Florida scrapper, Canadian Hunter Scrapper& Scrap Kingdom have so much integrity, hardworking & humble individuals. Ladies like that Breakfast girl Kelly, Steven/Steph, Diving Dee,Angel & family(with that adorable 7mos. Old baby Samuel)Ms.Canadian scrapper. PLEASE PLEASE don't stop making them video's. Be safe,healthy &blessed always
Cheapest diy copper stripper is a plumbing flaring tool. Forget the attachments and keep the frame. Sandwich a razor blade tween the jaws according to your wire size. It's my go to tool. Thub 4 present 👍👍👍👍
I find it easier to use an old kitchen knife than a box cutter or razor knife. The razor edge tends to dig into the copper while the kitchen knife only cuts the insulation. A kitchen knife also has a better handle.
Thank you! And yes, I figured it would be nice to have this miniseries just to cover all the basics. A lot of the time once we have a little experience in something we forget what the journey to that point was like, and become blind to the challenges that other people may face. My first few trips to the yard, I thought I was SO organized, only to learn the hard way that I didn’t know a darn thing about my material! If I can save somebody a bit of time and get them a little more money, that’s excellent 👍
I just smelt all my scrap copper and aluminium after stripping it clean then put a nice mirror finish on it and either pop it on ebay or put it in a tub to go to the scrappie
this was a good video. I have been scrapping since i was 16 and im 55 now. Talking with your scrap yard and building a relationship is the best advice given. i just got a granulator and i need to talk with them if they take granulated copper and at what size
Can you make a video inside and interview a scrap yard worker and look at different materials and machines in the yard and take us through the process of going in and selling a few batches of different copper
That’s what I’m here for! I recently did a video comparing all the wires I could find to see which were worthwhile ua-cam.com/video/K2IApTCFjE4/v-deo.html Turns out they all pay off, but the #2 stuff is basically impossible to make decent money for the time it takes
I've stripped a LOT of copper. If you have BX or Romex I always strip and separate because the Bare Bright payout will always be in my favor. I stripped 350 lbs of it one month in my living room watching baseball. Once I get it collected and separated I strip it in batches while I would normally be sitting around watching TV or Netflix.
I watch TV and strip wires alot too I have a hand held stripper that can do small gages of wires to I fixed it to a press but I also have a hand crank stripper for bigger gages as well both work great
I've been scrapping for quite a few years and I'm one of those ones who will strip all the wire that's worth stripping. I thought this video was very informative, but even if it wasn't, I could watch you all day talk about absolutely nothing! You are just too cute! 💕 Happy scrapping! Maybe you could do a video on scrapping brass. That is where I get confused. (Is it red brass or copper, is it white brass or aluminum or stainless)? Thank you
Oh fair enough! (And thank you hehe ☺️) I’ve done a video on brass before but I don’t think I spent much of it helping clarify brass vs other materials. I don’t bother separating red brass because I don’t find much of it but I’ll usually just file the piece or scrape it on the pavement real quick to see if it’s brass underneath 👍
If you have long pieces of hard-strip-but-worth-it copper wire, suspend it across a room and clamp it down while pulling it taut. Then run a utility knife down it and strip away long pieces at once. I’ve had an idea of anchoring a piece of wood with a V notch in it and put a small piece of a razor blade at the bottom, then have a top piece of wood that hangs but weighted down and is attached the bottom piece with a hinge, and then pull pieces of wire through it with vise grips. Havnt made it yet but it’s an idea. Also you can stand on one end of a piece of wire and hold the other end tight with one hand, then use your other hand and strip it using a utility knife pulling upwards. That’s worked fast for me.
Dude your spot on. Actually worked for a scrap yard processing their copper and brass. And again you are spot on. Biggest problem beginners have is impatience not willing to sort and process.
I picked up heavy copper cable that was the 2240V service entrance for a house. It was fiberglass impregnated tar insulation probably from 1950. It was the nastiest stuff I had ever seen. Needless to say it didn't get stripped.
Wait a second... was that a joke? This guy was making a joke! It wasn’t bad either, I’m just dense enough that it took me almost a year to get it 🤣 If you see this Joe... ayyyyyyyyy!
Protip: If you've got smaller single strand wire that has a thick core and thin insulation look into buying a pipe flanging tool. Put a razor blade in between the steel block and pull your wire through.
@@95ffd If you look up "pipe flanging tool" you'll see an image of a metal block with varying hole sizes and a set of butterfly screws to tighten the assembly. Just slip a razor in between the two halves before you tighten down and then pull your wire through.
What a great tip!! 👏👏 Here in South Africa they call it a pipe flaring tool…I can see how this can work like a charm. 👍 Thanks for sharing your ingenuity with us!!
One thing that I will say about stripping is to learn the rates of recovery on the different types of wire. For example thhn is roughly 85 percent, this way you can weigh a given amount ( say 5 feet) then do the math and know what the difference in payout is going to be before you strip it. That way you can decide pretty quick what is worth stripping and what isn't.
Sorry if I sound like an idiot but what does “rates of recovery” mean? And I have about 60 pounds of thhn wire from my jobsite so how much should I save up to get a decent amount of money? Thank you in advance.
Rates of recovery means the percentage of copper verses coating by weight. Simply put if you have ten pounds of wire at 85 percent recovery you will get eight and a half pounds of clean copper if you strip it.
@@Dani-ELmaninnoboxes That is why you need to know the rate of recovery. Sure it is nice if you get a bit more from the bright copper, but if your rate of recovery is like 50 %, the price difference between dirty and bright sould be at least double. Plus it takes time and effort to strip the wires, so you have to put a value for your hours also, as in do you hunt for more (dirty) copper or spend that time peeling wires.
I made my own “stripper” using two steel 1” sprinkler pipes, bearings, all threaded rod and a corded drill. It’s more of a “pincher” than a stripper. Will strip anything 1” or longer. The faster you feed it, the faster it strips. It’s fantastic. I’m an electrician so copper isn’t an issue. I also melt and cast it....Think I’ll go strip some now :)
@@joenewman763 it more or less eats it to pieces. I’ve tried running stranded wire through it before but it just flattens it for the most part. For smaller stranded wire, I like to drill a small hole in my work table and tighten a screw from the side into the hole just enough to cut the plastic on the outside of the wire, I just pull it through the hole by hand. For bigger stranded wire, I’ll just tie it off to a post or something and walk backwards with a sharp blade
The stripmiester will cut anything down to #16 awg but smaller than that is a pain your probably right either strip it with a knife or don't fool with it at all which is what I usually do.
I bought a hand held wire stripper from Sears for like $30. Basically it's a tool that forces a small razor blade tip just through the outer shielding of the wire. I can strip a vacuum cord fully in around a minute.
I've made a couple with varying degrees of success. Tried drilling holes in a 2x4 of various sizes and screwing a sturdy nails down through the holes, gauging boards and screwing razor blades over the tips of the divets, but my preferred method is just a vegetable or potato peeler. But I deal with thinner wires.
If it's frozen just take it by the end and slap it hard as you can on the concrete and it breaks the outer coating really easy and wow fast! Thought I would give you a hack back
🤣 I’m sure you aren’t that bad at it! I pick my battles though, I only strip decently thick stuff and only when warm. I have run into some pieces though, plenty thick but with the insulation caked right into the strands. Such a pain, I actually gave up halfway though. A bit embarrassed to admit it, but it just wasn’t worth the time.
I'm about to do a massive copper run tomorrow. Appreciate the advice. I have the strip meister original. If you have a lot of wire, it will pay for itself quickly.
@@thubprint yeah, my laborer spent 8 hours on it. used it to chew through 2 big bins of copper wire. It worked awesome but it only came out to 40lbs of bright brass which was deceiving
I just subscribed to your channel have watched quite a few of your videos I'll find them informative articulate and intelligent and quite entertaining thank you
Just make sure you check what the price difference is at your yard! I was really surprised that mine was so close, and a lot of comments are sharing that their dirty brass price is a whole lot lower than clean, so it definitely depends on your numbers
i live in welland ont.i am neww at scraping just wonded to say thanks for doing this vido.it has helped me out so at that note i have a shop that i pay 100 bucks a mouth for i have two work tables a ton of tools for striping i dont have a full time job i was a truck driver but i got hurt loading brids on my trailor so i have all the time to strip everything i just got a trailor 8x8...now i am looking for a pick up truck o boy...the cost of a truck every one wonts big buck.....not bad for a new guy thanks keep the vids comeing
Where I live in the US, bare bright is wire only, 12 gauge or bigger, applies to solid and stranded wire, no tubing or pipe. #1 is the same for wire and includes any other thick copper, tubing, and pipe, patina is OK, #2 is 14 gauge and smaller for wire and includes tubing and pipe with solder, verdigris, etc.
Thanks for the video, it was much help. Just one thing from where I live. The scrap dealers where I live will offer a fifth of the scrap price from unstripped wire, so in some areas the stripping of wire would be an advantage for more money, so check your local scrap merchants and ask what the price difference is for stripped and unstripped.
You can also sale wire online for higher prices than scrap prices sometimes. I've made bank scrapping in the trades . Christmas paid for. Tools paid for
I’ve never really been into the whole scrapping thing, but I’ve always had a weird passion for taking things apart ever since I was a kid. Maybe this is something I could do to earn some extra income, it seems like fun!
When I was scrapping back in the day ... I Whenever I saw copper my mood lightens, I really liked how the metal felt and looked .... o called it copper fever.... like with gold....
Thanks man, this info was very helpful. I'm retired and have plenty of time to prepare the copper that I have. I've called around various scrap yards and as of this post the price for #1 is around $1.60. This down from $1.90 prior to the C19 crap. I decided to just sit on it until the price goes up. However, your tips were helpful in that I will take this time to turn the #1 stuff into bright-shinny stuff. Only 75 or 80 pounds so it won't take long. Thanks again.
A good tip from a guy that works at a scrap yard.... If coper wire has individual strands bigger that the thickness of a pencil led. It is worth more and worth more striped.
Great video. I'm glad you gave good detail on the burning of insulation from wires. It IS illegal and can cause cancer. I tell many scrappers I know about that and most look at me like I'm crazy. For #2 copper pipe, I cut off the fittings and any parts with solder on them. That way I salvage as much #1 as possible. That's my tip.
Great video man! You did well , I've watched few of your videos and have definitely picked up on a few things. I drive roll off and company runs 2 transfer stations , I come across copper alot of days. As years are going by I've gotten much more aware and taking action (I used to not , and just dump everything at landfill) , I have biggest pile I've ever had currently , price way down and I'll be keeping that right in storage unit till times right. Thanks!
Thanks for the tips. For stripping solid copper wire I clamp a utility knife in a vise and pull the wire through guiding it against the blade by hand. Doesn’t work as well for wire with strands though, best with solid wire as AC household wiring. Smaller wire, I don’t bother stripping, yeah I looked at table mounted wire strippers but couldn’t justify the cost.
I spent a grand on a multi disc stripper (9 sizes plus fine tuning adjustments) had it 5 months and have it's value in copper sitting in the corner. Well worth it, and being electric makes it fast and easy. Mess around with blades pulling wire through and you'll likely have an accident someday- not to mention the sore hands you get from manual stripping with a knife or mounted blade.
Just my humble opinion but if you are not doing something in the media, you should be. You are more polished than most people making million dollar a year salaries.
Thanks man for the info I scrap in my spare time and this really helps you have a great channel I'll be going Monday to our local hospital and asking about a good size load its different types of metals so I think it might be worth the trip
About stripping wires: I've got exactly the same method but my knife is not that big 😊 I also clean wires from PC power supplies and all of that thin stuff
I strip romex and get one Bare Bright ground wire. Also 2 plastic coated wires. If it's not thin gauge- I strip it for $1.00 more. I bought an Electric Wire stripper for $189. It paid for itself 4 times over- in 2 months!!!! I had so much thin gauge thnn wire I cashed it in " as is". Two rules I have- invest in tools to be efficient and only strip when the junk yards closed
When we lived in SC my husband and I used to walk 10 miles a day on the highway, It averaged out to $300.00 plus per day! No joke. You'd be shocked at what people throw into the woods and gullies!
I'm a seasonal scrapper, I wanted to know id there is a healthy length to cut my larger gauged copper or should I keep it all in a bundle? 3ft. Is the metal pieces is it any difference?
I use a drywall foam sanding block on old copper pipe i find in the garbage. It cleans it to #1. It dont take that much effort to sand it to make it look brand new.
Been watching you for a while and enjoy your stuff, But. ... . Get youself a wire striper...; put a couple bucks away on each load, I did. After a bit of stripping you'll be looking at those extension cords a little diff.
The grades I'm used to and what scrapyards have given me over the years are #1 also sometimes bright bare. Most yards consider it the same thing. It's clean copper thicker than a pencil lead. Anything less than that is #2. Then there's copper pipes, that's it's own grade. Usually roofing tiles gets yet another, though the few I run across I sneak into #2. Then there's unstripped wire. Most yards won't take it unless it's at least a foot long. I've heard of yards taking Christmas wire. I use a similar method for #1 but use a utility knife. Romax strips quite easily that way. Ethernet/cat 5 cable has some really pretty copper. I strip it as it's usually really easy to strip even if it's only #2. One tip with coax is that the part that looks like copper is almost always steel. The wire on the outside however is copper or aluminum. Razor down the center, it strips quickly and easily. Rub ion concrete to see if it's copper or aluminum. Thanks on the video, lots of good tips in this video.
@@KrisRoberts114 Most coax has a steel core, even though it looks a LOT like copper. It's the sheaf around it that's usually copper or aluminum. It's easy to strip the sheaf off of it. The core is usually a serious pain to get the insulation off it. Most people put a magnet too it and think it's all steel. They then toss their coax or abandon it at the scrap yard. It's good easy to strip copper if the sheaf is copper.
@@DracironSmith yeah most the modern stuff is steel, the older stuff is mostly copper I used to struggle more cutting the outer off without nicking the mesh copper while doing it, I found once that was removed a sharp knife got me down to the core wire easy enough🤷♂️
Good video, think you missed armoured cable off that list, ethernet cable although thin its solid as opposed to braided thats why its worth more, also look out for cheap steel copper coated cable a magnet will detect that, we granulate copper for a living so this is out of experience and we are finding more of it
Jasper Leighspring I’m hoping it’s helpful! I know a lot of people already know this stuff, but there are people that don’t so maybe they’ll find this 🙂
Table stripper all the way. I range from 6$ to 20$ an hour(or more) depending on the wires, doing small gauges last. Like you said, the volume in the end does most of the talking. Good video, smart, entertaining, liked.
@@weallride101 i'll do 14awg because it passes still in #1 copper. Smaller if there's nothing else to scrap but at that point just picking steel is better. I have the machine on my channel, one my old videos.
I been collecting Leads it got Millberry Copper as some clean and some glue or burnt I separate them I use the potatoes peeler to strip leads The next one the copper pipe I use sand paper I just sand the pipe out it clean Dosmic copper wire I always use it to put it away make it more weight Alumium wire leads If wire got burnt half money If wire clean good cash
I'm a plumber. I save my scrap copper throughout the year. Then buy Christmas gifts for the family. It's like 2500$ bonus every year.
Heck yeah! That’s definitely one of the perks for plumbers, and electricians too 👌
Thats exactly what I used to do when all the big jobs slowed down to winter fuel deliveries I'd scrap the copper for my wife and kids but 2500$ that's ALLOT of copper cleaned stripped separated its still so much copper my biggest scrap was 1600 so salute to you... That's a good job...
This is exactly what my husband and I do he's a painter and his buddies with the electrician Bonnie jobs Corey just back it up all year long and then when it gets close to kiss miss you start stripping just started a couple days ago and of course the day I looked it up copper was about $3.19 here a pound for Bare bright with the amount we had at that price I might have been able to pull off that 2500 maybe even a little more but it's already the quality of course my luck LOL damn you China hahaha
Copper price usually decreases around Xmas. Because the scrap yards know people do this
One smart dude!
This video helped out a lot, I’m 14 and scrapped my first batch 2 days ago cashing in 50$ 😁
Where did you collect
Lucky. In the U.S you have to be 18. Im 16
I’m 15 doing the same abandon industrial mate the amount their is crazy
I started at 11 or 12 cant remember my first load brought 120$ I think that's not counting first load as cans im talking about first load with copper
I made 250 because I know like 8 electricians and plan to become one myself, probaly would've been 450 if the BX cable wasn't reused
I've been scrapping for 40 years and I need to tell you something... I enjoy watching your channel more than any other scrap channel on UA-cam. Hope you have a great day!!
I second this comment
❤😊@@t.j.shropshire2583
Finally, someone addressed the burning issues. Although I have been scraping for many years, I think your video is a great "how-to" for beginners. Thank you for helping make the world a better place.
That’s what I was going for!
I burn my Copper Wire and my scrap yard doesn't care to take it and if it's #1 Copper then they give me #1 price and so on, If I had a Electric Wire Stripper then I'd definitely stop burning it, but for me the fastest way to get a bunch of wire done is to burn it...
Exactly, I think it is probably different in different states cuz where I come from everyone burns it. There is no "bare bright" category and #1 is anything thicker than pencil lead while #2 is anything thinner like most of your braided wires
@@jarlaxle3588 we have a Bare Bright category, but bare bright copper is really hard to find tho and yeah that's how our #1 & #2 copper is here in Southern Ohio too, our #2 Copper is $2.45 lb right now, Cans are $0.45 lb, Yellow Brass is $1.70 lb, Stainless Steel is $0.20 lb, Electric Motors is $0.12 lb & Aluminum Old Sheet is $0.30 lb, These are just some of the prices from a ticket that I had laying in front of me here LoL
So any wire you strip, and its bright is considered bare bright?
I've been scrapping for 15 yrs I am in no way a beginner I don't learn many new things i just like watching your videos. It always makes me motivated to get scrapping.
I’ve been scrapping for years, but you’re still teaching me things I didn’t know!
I’m one of those who sits and carefully strips copper with a knife. Instead of scrapping the wiring (or anything to repurpose) from my grandparents farm house, I stripped it & repurposed it into art.
Thank you for all the great information!
That settles it, I'm starting to scrap part time. I work at a school and they throw out so many Ethernet cables and wires and metal things. I've accumulated a butt load. This video is excellent learning material. I use to scrap copper when I worked as a specialist roofer in Louisiana, it was fun. Thanks for this.
To strip wire I use a block plane. Works amazing and it's cheap for a little block plane or palm plane. Mine is from my grandfather's wood working tools so it's older then anybody I've ever met and works great
Cool! Definitely would be easier to have the blade angle in a set position with a proper handle
T
I really love your videos, I'm not a beginner anymore but because of you I started really making money scrapping I'm just 14 but I still make a lot from scrapping. Thanks for all the tips your so awesome
tips on finding wire and stuff?
@@Doughboy_540abandoned buildings and factorys you from the UK ??
Amazing video I’ve been selling bits of scrap on and off I spent 3 days cleaning wire using an exhaust at work from wires just to make 15 pounds was so not worth the time and effort I put in but will be collecting pipes from now on and focusing less on wires as it takes loads of wire to make even a 10 pound note
That's where I just left you a comment about burning wire and then I watch another one your videos and here you are talking about that's incredible stay strong my friend
Stripping wire during quarantine is how I’m staying sane
@George Lucian true but I don’t have the best internet for streaming movies
@@joeigneczi2524 but how do you get the wire?
Yay KRUSER oh had neighbors give me a bunch of broken extension cord and Christmas lights
Hello, Sweden here again.
I do just about the same as you.
I always cut all connectors and plugs off my wires, prongs and things go in my brass bucket.
My yard loves it because they know it's clean scrap wire and quick to unload and already sorted in categories so I do get a better price.
Ask how the scrapyard wants their material and try to get as close to it as you can, win-win.
Scrap safe and take care.
Yep, all plugs and connectors cut off. They also pay for plugs (eg mains plugs) as there's brass inside I guess. But first I cut the mains plugs 3 pins off. My yard will allow the earthing pin to be in the clean brass pile, but the other 2 pins these days have plastic insulation covering some of the pin - so they drop into my #2 brass pile. They are strict lol. It's only 3 quick snips...and all adds up when you get loads of plugs...
You are very sensitive soul for environment.God bless you.
Thank you so thubprint!!!! This video helped me so much I scrapped my whole neighbours van to pieces just so I could afford me and my family to eat for at least 2 days :) PS tips to you for wearing some handy strong gloves its always best to prioritise those hands of yours as if you cut them up they will hurt and you won't be able to scrap any more copper oh no!!!!!! :(
Greetings Thubprint. You were really missed. You're so inspirational & i like your style. Guys like you Vidvulture, Dumpster Jerry, Professor Scrappity, S&P man, Florida scrapper, Canadian Hunter Scrapper& Scrap Kingdom have so much integrity, hardworking & humble individuals. Ladies like that Breakfast girl Kelly, Steven/Steph, Diving Dee,Angel & family(with that adorable 7mos. Old baby Samuel)Ms.Canadian scrapper. PLEASE PLEASE don't stop making them video's. Be safe,healthy &blessed always
Hands down the best scrapper personality on UA-cam by miles
😳❤️ high praise, my guy! I’ll work hard to honour it 👏
Cheapest diy copper stripper is a plumbing flaring tool. Forget the attachments and keep the frame. Sandwich a razor blade tween the jaws according to your wire size. It's my go to tool. Thub 4 present 👍👍👍👍
Blue 414 I bought a manual stripper from amazon with two blades for 40 buck it paid for itself first time
same
Deane Minister yea but razor blades didn’t last that long this stripper comes with two blades. One lasted me like a year b4 I needed to sharpen it
One thing I do is put one end of wire in a vice and pull the other end tight then use box cutter or knife n strip toward the vice. Good info thanks !!
Michael Guthrie it’s only 40 bucks for a manual stripper with 2 blades it’s worth it and you’ll save a lot of money on razors
@@joshuamorris9050 What brand do you recommend Josh -
I find it easier to use an old kitchen knife than a box cutter or razor knife. The razor edge tends to dig into the copper while the kitchen knife only cuts the insulation. A kitchen knife also has a better handle.
Seriously, I just because a huge fan. Your videos are EXTREMELY helpful to people like me, new at this.
Thank you! And yes, I figured it would be nice to have this miniseries just to cover all the basics. A lot of the time once we have a little experience in something we forget what the journey to that point was like, and become blind to the challenges that other people may face. My first few trips to the yard, I thought I was SO organized, only to learn the hard way that I didn’t know a darn thing about my material! If I can save somebody a bit of time and get them a little more money, that’s excellent 👍
I just smelt all my scrap copper and aluminium after stripping it clean then put a nice mirror finish on it and either pop it on ebay or put it in a tub to go to the scrappie
I really dnt know much about scraping but I do enjoy it
this was a good video. I have been scrapping since i was 16 and im 55 now. Talking with your scrap yard and building a relationship is the best advice given. i just got a granulator and i need to talk with them if they take granulated copper and at what size
Can you make a video inside and interview a scrap yard worker and look at different materials and machines in the yard and take us through the process of going in and selling a few batches of different copper
Iam exactly stripe wires like u did with knife and that idea💡 come from myself without copying anyone
Thank you. I was sitting here trying to strip that tiny wire. You saved me a ton of time😌
That’s what I’m here for! I recently did a video comparing all the wires I could find to see which were worthwhile ua-cam.com/video/K2IApTCFjE4/v-deo.html
Turns out they all pay off, but the #2 stuff is basically impossible to make decent money for the time it takes
My man, I appreciate the shout and the tip. Great video. Gotta love it
I've stripped a LOT of copper. If you have BX or Romex I always strip and separate because the Bare Bright payout will always be in my favor. I stripped 350 lbs of it one month in my living room watching baseball. Once I get it collected and separated I strip it in batches while I would normally be sitting around watching TV or Netflix.
Love it. I do the same. Watch TV and strip copper.
I thought I was the only one that did that!😂😂😂😂😂
Hi
I watch TV and strip wires alot too I have a hand held stripper that can do small gages of wires to I fixed it to a press but I also have a hand crank stripper for bigger gages as well both work great
I've been scrapping for quite a few years and I'm one of those ones who will strip all the wire that's worth stripping. I thought this video was very informative, but even if it wasn't, I could watch you all day talk about absolutely nothing! You are just too cute! 💕 Happy scrapping!
Maybe you could do a video on scrapping brass. That is where I get confused. (Is it red brass or copper, is it white brass or aluminum or stainless)? Thank you
Oh fair enough! (And thank you hehe ☺️) I’ve done a video on brass before but I don’t think I spent much of it helping clarify brass vs other materials. I don’t bother separating red brass because I don’t find much of it but I’ll usually just file the piece or scrape it on the pavement real quick to see if it’s brass underneath 👍
Very intuitive video!! I would of never thought that I would be doing scrapping!! I am starting to make good money as a start!! Thank you my friend!!
Well congratulations! It’s a difficult thing to make a full time gig but as a side hustle I think it’s great
thank you so much man, i’ve asked so many people and never got a clear answer
If you have long pieces of hard-strip-but-worth-it copper wire, suspend it across a room and clamp it down while pulling it taut. Then run a utility knife down it and strip away long pieces at once. I’ve had an idea of anchoring a piece of wood with a V notch in it and put a small piece of a razor blade at the bottom, then have a top piece of wood that hangs but weighted down and is attached the bottom piece with a hinge, and then pull pieces of wire through it with vise grips. Havnt made it yet but it’s an idea. Also you can stand on one end of a piece of wire and hold the other end tight with one hand, then use your other hand and strip it using a utility knife pulling upwards. That’s worked fast for me.
I got give a lot of copper from my grandfather it was his hobby it’s all striped and all sorted but do I need to clean it up or ? Idk
Water, vinegar & lemon juice. Dump the copper in, wait 24 hours, and you got clean copper
Dude your spot on. Actually worked for a scrap yard processing their copper and brass. And again you are spot on. Biggest problem beginners have is impatience not willing to sort and process.
How much would they buy an alternator for?
I picked up heavy copper cable that was the 2240V service entrance for a house. It was fiberglass impregnated tar insulation probably from 1950. It was the nastiest stuff I had ever seen. Needless to say it didn't get stripped.
My wife will be very mad at me if I get a tabletop stripper!
🤣 just tell her how it pays itself off! And you won’t have to borrow the kitchen knives anymore!
They are like 40 buck
@@thubprint im
I
Wait a second... was that a joke? This guy was making a joke! It wasn’t bad either, I’m just dense enough that it took me almost a year to get it 🤣
If you see this Joe... ayyyyyyyyy!
It was a joke boyz...
I love your videos. You have lots of info. I don't scrape anymore, but I still find it interesting. I guess it's in my blood.
Protip: If you've got smaller single strand wire that has a thick core and thin insulation look into buying a pipe flanging tool. Put a razor blade in between the steel block and pull your wire through.
I would love to see a picture of what your talking about. I can’t picture how this would work. Thank you!!!
@@95ffd If you look up "pipe flanging tool" you'll see an image of a metal block with varying hole sizes and a set of butterfly screws to tighten the assembly. Just slip a razor in between the two halves before you tighten down and then pull your wire through.
🤑
Great idea thanks for sharing
What a great tip!! 👏👏
Here in South Africa they call it a pipe flaring tool…I can see how this can work like a charm. 👍
Thanks for sharing your ingenuity with us!!
A couple of years later, and I still love your channel.
One thing that I will say about stripping is to learn the rates of recovery on the different types of wire. For example thhn is roughly 85 percent, this way you can weigh a given amount ( say 5 feet) then do the math and know what the difference in payout is going to be before you strip it. That way you can decide pretty quick what is worth stripping and what isn't.
Sorry if I sound like an idiot but what does “rates of recovery” mean? And I have about 60 pounds of thhn wire from my jobsite so how much should I save up to get a decent amount of money? Thank you in advance.
Rates of recovery means the percentage of copper verses coating by weight. Simply put if you have ten pounds of wire at 85 percent recovery you will get eight and a half pounds of clean copper if you strip it.
yea but they pay way less for dirty
@@Dani-ELmaninnoboxes That is why you need to know the rate of recovery. Sure it is nice if you get a bit more from the bright copper, but if your rate of recovery is like 50 %, the price difference between dirty and bright sould be at least double. Plus it takes time and effort to strip the wires, so you have to put a value for your hours also, as in do you hunt for more (dirty) copper or spend that time peeling wires.
I made my own “stripper” using two steel 1” sprinkler pipes, bearings, all threaded rod and a corded drill. It’s more of a “pincher” than a stripper. Will strip anything 1” or longer. The faster you feed it, the faster it strips. It’s fantastic. I’m an electrician so copper isn’t an issue. I also melt and cast it....Think I’ll go strip some now :)
You wanna make a second one? 🤣
I wish some company would make one like your talking about I believe it would strip that small stranded wire better than the cutting blades do
@@joenewman763 it more or less eats it to pieces. I’ve tried running stranded wire through it before but it just flattens it for the most part. For smaller stranded wire, I like to drill a small hole in my work table and tighten a screw from the side into the hole just enough to cut the plastic on the outside of the wire, I just pull it through the hole by hand. For bigger stranded wire, I’ll just tie it off to a post or something and walk backwards with a sharp blade
The stripmiester will cut anything down to #16 awg but smaller than that is a pain your probably right either strip it with a knife or don't fool with it at all which is what I usually do.
Now that’s ingenious! 👏👏 Thank you 👍
Plumber here, in Australia. I find brass is more profitable for me at the moment.
I bought a hand held wire stripper from Sears for like $30. Basically it's a tool that forces a small razor blade tip just through the outer shielding of the wire. I can strip a vacuum cord fully in around a minute.
I've made a couple with varying degrees of success. Tried drilling holes in a 2x4 of various sizes and screwing a sturdy nails down through the holes, gauging boards and screwing razor blades over the tips of the divets, but my preferred method is just a vegetable or potato peeler. But I deal with thinner wires.
You're losing more weight in insulation than the increased value makes up for, I've found.
My yard considers stripped wire bare bright so I strip everything vacuum thickness and up. Just wanted to give a safer alternative that saves thumbs.
If it's frozen just take it by the end and slap it hard as you can on the concrete and it breaks the outer coating really easy and wow fast! Thought I would give you a hack back
Aight I’m liking this video cause I’ve stripped wire and you made me look like I have feet for hands.
And I’m glad to hear u say don’t burn it
🤣 I’m sure you aren’t that bad at it! I pick my battles though, I only strip decently thick stuff and only when warm. I have run into some pieces though, plenty thick but with the insulation caked right into the strands. Such a pain, I actually gave up halfway though. A bit embarrassed to admit it, but it just wasn’t worth the time.
Great video ! Very informative .Keep up the great work Scrap On!
I'm about to do a massive copper run tomorrow. Appreciate the advice. I have the strip meister original. If you have a lot of wire, it will pay for itself quickly.
Ooo, StripMeister are the good ones!
@@thubprint yeah, my laborer spent 8 hours on it. used it to chew through 2 big bins of copper wire. It worked awesome but it only came out to 40lbs of bright brass which was deceiving
I just subscribed to your channel have watched quite a few of your videos I'll find them informative articulate and intelligent and quite entertaining thank you
Copper bullion bars sold online hand poured do suprisingly well, same with lead and aluminum
Rush, Poutine, and Thub. My 3 favorite things from Canada!
😂 thats an esteemed list, and I am honoured!
I love your channel so much because it helps many peoples and one of the peoples is me thank you so much for making this channel
Just make sure you check what the price difference is at your yard! I was really surprised that mine was so close, and a lot of comments are sharing that their dirty brass price is a whole lot lower than clean, so it definitely depends on your numbers
i live in welland ont.i am neww at scraping just wonded to say thanks for doing this vido.it has helped me out so at that note i have a shop that i pay 100 bucks a mouth for i have two work tables a ton of tools for striping i dont have a full time job i was a truck driver but i got hurt loading brids on my trailor so i have all the time to strip everything i just got a trailor 8x8...now i am looking for a pick up truck o boy...the cost of a truck every one wonts big buck.....not bad for a new guy thanks keep the vids comeing
Where I live in the US, bare bright is wire only, 12 gauge or bigger, applies to solid and stranded wire, no tubing or pipe. #1 is the same for wire and includes any other thick copper, tubing, and pipe, patina is OK, #2 is 14 gauge and smaller for wire and includes tubing and pipe with solder, verdigris, etc.
Leave it better than you found it.... I wish that was universal. Thanks for posting,
Nice video man, worldwide scrappers! Scrapping in Australia!
Lol. I used a box cutter to stripp the wires. I mostly stripped those from BX electrical wires.
Thanks for the video, it was much help. Just one thing from where I live. The scrap dealers where I live will offer a fifth of the scrap price from unstripped wire, so in some areas the stripping of wire would be an advantage for more money, so check your local scrap merchants and ask what the price difference is for stripped and unstripped.
Fair enough! I have noticed that the price for insulated wire is pretty bad at some yards
Bro you give the best advice ever 😂
You can also sale wire online for higher prices than scrap prices sometimes. I've made bank scrapping in the trades . Christmas paid for. Tools paid for
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I’ve never really been into the whole scrapping thing, but I’ve always had a weird passion for taking things apart ever since I was a kid. Maybe this is something I could do to earn some extra income, it seems like fun!
It really is fun. The trick is knowing what kind of time you’re willing to spend on it because lots of things are not worth the time required
If you stretch your copper tight you can walk the knife down it. I use a couple bench vise's
When I was scrapping back in the day ... I
Whenever I saw copper my mood lightens, I really liked how the metal felt and looked .... o called it copper fever.... like with gold....
Thanks man, this info was very helpful. I'm retired and have plenty of time to prepare the copper that I have. I've called around various scrap yards and as of this post the price for #1 is around $1.60. This down from $1.90 prior to the C19 crap. I decided to just sit on it until the price goes up. However, your tips were helpful in that I will take this time to turn the #1 stuff into bright-shinny stuff. Only 75 or 80 pounds so it won't take long. Thanks again.
It’s up now
Bluerock wire stripper $998 expensive but it works great. Will strip all different size wires.
A good tip from a guy that works at a scrap yard....
If coper wire has individual strands bigger that the thickness of a pencil led. It is worth more and worth more striped.
Did someone say copper? 😁
Scrap & Pallet Man Right? 😄 I hope everyone likes it!
PAUL!!!!!! we all love copper and we all love you god bless brother
Now why would I be surprised to see Paul...lol
When I see copper I go watch the video.
I'm about to start street scraping and all of you guys are so helpfull
Lol yes they did mate and I've just watched your last video mate Clifford looks good now
BX cables can also be turned into garden hoses and power washer hoses too, pretty easily at the hardward store.
Im tempted to strip heavy copper cable eg housing wire..industrial 3 phase..be sure copper is.."unvarnished" means no clear coating
Sick, I work on this here in Brazil. Good job buddy!
Very nice video and thank you so much to give the tip for wire.awesome
This is a great video and very true. Im a residential electrican and i ALWAYS have scrap wire. Always comea out to a grand a month..more or less 👌
Great video you have a new fan. 👍
damn, best tutorial video on yt I have watched since 2010, keep it up man!
Great video. I'm glad you gave good detail on the burning of insulation from wires. It IS illegal and can cause cancer. I tell many scrappers I know about that and most look at me like I'm crazy. For #2 copper pipe, I cut off the fittings and any parts with solder on them. That way I salvage as much #1 as possible. That's my tip.
Great video man! You did well , I've watched few of your videos and have definitely picked up on a few things. I drive roll off and company runs 2 transfer stations , I come across copper alot of days. As years are going by I've gotten much more aware and taking action (I used to not , and just dump everything at landfill) , I have biggest pile I've ever had currently , price way down and I'll be keeping that right in storage unit till times right. Thanks!
Thanks for the tips. For stripping solid copper wire I clamp a utility knife in a vise and pull the wire through guiding it against the blade by hand. Doesn’t work as well for wire with strands though, best with solid wire as AC household wiring. Smaller wire, I don’t bother stripping, yeah I looked at table mounted wire strippers but couldn’t justify the cost.
The tabletop ones can be a little fiddly too, they’re definitely best for heavier gauge stuff. I’ll have to try the clamped blade technique!
I spent a grand on a multi disc stripper (9 sizes plus fine tuning adjustments) had it 5 months and have it's value in copper sitting in the corner. Well worth it, and being electric makes it fast and easy. Mess around with blades pulling wire through and you'll likely have an accident someday- not to mention the sore hands you get from manual stripping with a knife or mounted blade.
You just saved me a lot of time many thanks 👍
And if you go to the yard with everything nicely sorted it can translate into more money too 😊
Just my humble opinion but if you are not doing something in the media, you should be. You are more polished than most people making million dollar a year salaries.
Thanks man for the info I scrap in my spare time and this really helps you have a great channel I'll be going Monday to our local hospital and asking about a good size load its different types of metals so I think it might be worth the trip
About stripping wires: I've got exactly the same method but my knife is not that big 😊 I also clean wires from PC power supplies and all of that thin stuff
Nice brother from toronto here sending the love and stay healthy
You too! It’s apparently kinda hard these days
I strip romex and get one Bare Bright ground wire. Also 2 plastic coated wires. If it's not thin gauge- I strip it for $1.00 more. I bought an Electric Wire stripper for $189. It paid for itself 4 times over- in 2 months!!!! I had so much thin gauge thnn wire I cashed it in " as is". Two rules I have- invest in tools to be efficient and only strip when the junk yards closed
When we lived in SC my husband and I used to walk 10 miles a day on the highway, It averaged out to $300.00 plus per day! No joke. You'd be shocked at what people throw into the woods and gullies!
definitely has kitchen experience 😁, keep up the good work brother! Subbed.
I'm a seasonal scrapper, I wanted to know id there is a healthy length to cut my larger gauged copper or should I keep it all in a bundle? 3ft. Is the metal pieces is it any difference?
I use a drywall foam sanding block on old copper pipe i find in the garbage. It cleans it to #1. It dont take that much effort to sand it to make it look brand new.
Tnx a lot
Just start doing copper
This vid help me a lot
That’s what I was going for! A lot of folks know all this stuff, but I thought it would be good to put it all in one place.
Great video my fellow Canadian 👌
Thank you!
Been watching you for a while and enjoy your stuff, But. ... . Get youself a wire striper...; put a couple bucks away on each load, I did. After a bit of stripping you'll be looking at those extension cords a little diff.
I just put all the wire from the year in a big drum and burn it off. Been doing that for years. Saves all that time stripping the wire
If you have any apartment complexes near you I find the dumpsters are a treasure trove of metals to scrap.
The grades I'm used to and what scrapyards have given me over the years are #1 also sometimes bright bare. Most yards consider it the same thing. It's clean copper thicker than a pencil lead. Anything less than that is #2. Then there's copper pipes, that's it's own grade. Usually roofing tiles gets yet another, though the few I run across I sneak into #2. Then there's unstripped wire. Most yards won't take it unless it's at least a foot long. I've heard of yards taking Christmas wire.
I use a similar method for #1 but use a utility knife. Romax strips quite easily that way.
Ethernet/cat 5 cable has some really pretty copper. I strip it as it's usually really easy to strip even if it's only #2.
One tip with coax is that the part that looks like copper is almost always steel. The wire on the outside however is copper or aluminum. Razor down the center, it strips quickly and easily. Rub ion concrete to see if it's copper or aluminum.
Thanks on the video, lots of good tips in this video.
I usually just bend the coax and if it stays bent its copper where as the steel stuff springs back more
@@KrisRoberts114 Most coax has a steel core, even though it looks a LOT like copper. It's the sheaf around it that's usually copper or aluminum. It's easy to strip the sheaf off of it. The core is usually a serious pain to get the insulation off it.
Most people put a magnet too it and think it's all steel. They then toss their coax or abandon it at the scrap yard. It's good easy to strip copper if the sheaf is copper.
@@DracironSmith yeah most the modern stuff is steel, the older stuff is mostly copper I used to struggle more cutting the outer off without nicking the mesh copper while doing it, I found once that was removed a sharp knife got me down to the core wire easy enough🤷♂️
Good video, think you missed armoured cable off that list, ethernet cable although thin its solid as opposed to braided thats why its worth more, also look out for cheap steel copper coated cable a magnet will detect that, we granulate copper for a living so this is out of experience and we are finding more of it
My Australian yards pay less for data cables. I'm presuming that includes ethernet as well as ribbon....
I have some pretty damn good information I never thought about some of that thank you I don't scrap a lot but yeah thanks
Great vlog Thub. Very informative. Thanks!
Good job Panda that helped a lot take care
Thank you, you too!
Very helpful & very entertaining. ⚒️ 😊 🎉
I just take a torch and get it warm. I dont burn it at all. But its much quicker and more efficient.
Awesome video as always.Thank you for taking the time to help.
Jasper Leighspring I’m hoping it’s helpful! I know a lot of people already know this stuff, but there are people that don’t so maybe they’ll find this 🙂
Table stripper all the way. I range from 6$ to 20$ an hour(or more) depending on the wires, doing small gauges last. Like you said, the volume in the end does most of the talking. Good video, smart, entertaining, liked.
How small of gauge do you go? And what table top stripper are you using?
@@weallride101 i'll do 14awg because it passes still in #1 copper. Smaller if there's nothing else to scrap but at that point just picking steel is better. I have the machine on my channel, one my old videos.
I been collecting
Leads it got Millberry Copper as some clean and some glue or burnt I separate them I use the potatoes peeler to strip leads
The next one the copper pipe I use sand paper I just sand the pipe out it clean
Dosmic copper wire I always use it to put it away make it more weight
Alumium wire leads
If wire got burnt half money
If wire clean good cash