Did I Just Make the ULTIMATE Copper Scrapping Tool?

[@noneyabeeswax3200]

‘Honey,the neighbor is talking to himself in the driveway again and he’s started something on fire!’

[@JunkNGrind]

😎😁

[@SHERRY0010]

A scene out of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation it sounds like 😂

[@ryanthescavenger]

I like how you accepted failure try try and succeed!

[@Mrs.T-bone]

Love your channel Thub! My husband is a welder. We always use water for quenching. Doesn't catch on fire and a lot less messy, you need a lot like in 5 Gallon bucket and don't get it too hot just dark red not bright orange next time. Happy Scrapping 😊

[@vincedibona4687]

Water cooling/quenching for an amateur is a little more complex. A few cracked blades will make them shy away from water.

[@MStark]

What should you use?​@@vincedibona4687

[@scrapitall200]

I love your creative thinking! I think if you find the right piece of steel, you’ll be able to make one that will be awesome!

[@Nas_Atlas]

Love it. Thanks for sharing your failures. Here's how i've been doing it. It's always the rivets through the transformers that break the blade like that. Just do a hybrid approach. Use an axe around the outside to break the rivets and then a cleaver or machete or whatever to finish chopping the copper neatly and it seems to work good for me. Cheers!

[@mrMacGoover]

Just an tidbit of information for you Thub, your only supposed to quench the business end in oil and you hold the blade in the vertical position only.... never lay it down horizontally which caused warping on the previous blade.

[@MattsAwesomeStuff]

A hatchet is the best tool. Hardened on the edge, softer on the back so you can hammer it. If I wasn't using a hatchet, I'd build something like a log splitter but smaller, built out of the largest screw jack you can find at Pick N Pull, and you power it with an impact driver. Then you just need a box frame out of some scrap angle and you're set for relatively fast guilotining.

[@jasonpeters3228]

I use an old Estwing Riggers hatchet/hammer with a 2-3lb mallet to split all the way up to 120hp motors. I’ve also been using a 70lb electric jackhammer with a sharpened wide bit for easier splitting recently. No more sledge hammers and brick chisels needed with the jackhammer. It does sometimes help to get the split started by hand tools first on some motors before the jackhammer. Jackhammer was a barely used Makita for $500 at an auction.

[@gussuperman7565]

M8 if you watch scrap it all ( as you already have ) he uses other methods to remove the copper from the transformers and EMs . I followed his advice , and I tried a different method and it works like a charm . I remove the top layer of the e.m. and then I remove the plastic things inside and all the copper comes out so easily . I like it better than the machete thingie . Keep up the good work . God bless y'all.

[@kentieber7309]

i work on a heat treat furnace for track shoes on earth moving equiptment. Hardening is only half the process. If you want sturdy hardened metal you have too temper it as well. For what you are working with i would try heating it to about 800 degree F. then quench in oil. If it doesnt warp. put it in you kitchen over at 200 degree f. for about an hour and that should give you a better edge. The only other thing that i can see as detrimental is the hammering instead of making it an attachment to be mounted on a hydrualic press. The more even steady force may preserve the cutting edge better. Even taking a clever blade and wen ld it up to go on a press may work very well

[@ScrappyVulture]

Keep on trucking Thub! Best way to learn is from failure. You're on the right track. With the quench, I would just do the edge. Also, maybe attach some type of striking edge on the opposite side like a hunk of wood or something similar. Also, an "apple seed" edge would work best for chopping.

[@whiggy6976]

Forget pounding the blade, get a bearing press or make a frame and use a big bottle jack

[@Xander081987]

Going to build one now. I've been thinking about this.

[@dino9071]

Arbor press 2 ton for $80 it will replace all his tools and make no noise or require gas and electricity, the neighbours should buy him one .

[@Xander081987]

@@dino9071 Haven't found a single video of anyone busting down transformers with an arbor press. Would love to see it in action.

[@dino9071]

@@Xander081987 I've tried and failed at doing that couldn't work out how to edit didn't get past that stage so I didn't go any further I had to watch ads for the edit appt to do nothing but just make more copies of the same video, but I've been doing this for thirty years before internet and KZbin I would actually prefer people to leave my scrap alone it's these videos telling people make $100 per hour on scrap that causes problems for me because that's all I do for income but this guy is honest about what you can expect to make I like his video's. My press weights almost 100 KG and uses a small axe shaped head to break the seam the wedge shaped blade separates it as it cuts it's not mounted to the bench and will rock forward sometimes under the pressure then slam back down I use a steel pipe for extra leverage the head attachment also cost $80 I had it custom made.

[@mrMacGoover]

What you did with heating it up slowly and dropping the temp slowly was annealing it, this is necessary for shaping and sharpening but you have to heat and quench the cutting edge to working hardness and afterwards normalize at 400 degrees in a oven for 1 hour so it's not brittle and doesn't chip during use.

[@richardwarnock2789]

That fun machine that scapes ice hockey 🏒 rinks Zamboney probably not right name trust it's sharp!!!!

[@bread-gz3rl]

I think a good idea is make a better one of those and mount it to a hydraulic press, way easier on the arms and may cause less damage to the blade

[@matthewsemenuk8953]

I was thinking a wood splitter sort of thing. But ya a hand powered press/lift could would too with a more smoother shear with less of than a pounding one.

[@benstrait333]

Yes! I was coming here to say this too, so I'll just upvote and comment😁

[@MrLemaire1]

You mean, how Derrick with Project Shop FL has done?

[@brian56]

@@MrLemaire1 Stator Wrecker kicks butt!

[@Oldgrumpyvet67]

This is how we learn what works and what doesn’t. Thank you for sharing.

[@bentleyalder5492]

This was 😂❤ great!!. I did something similar not too long ago. Found a flattened piece of thick steel, sharpened one edge, and began hammering it through motors. It was ok but the hammering quickly bent the flat edge do now it's shelf art until I can find a better way.

[@ABrokenSociety]

"Bevel" is the word you're looking for, my friend. Taper is when the blade starts thick and thins out near the tip. Bevel is the blade edge. :) ANYWAYS. Leesauder already gave you some tips and it sounds good to me. I've made a few tools to scrapping myself and I've made a blade out of a saw blade as well. But I made the bevel more of an ax edge. Making the bevel too long like you did makes the metal of the blade much too thin and prone to rolling and .. yeah, what you did lol. Make the edge much less of a bevel. You don't need to have it super sharp. Steel is just much harder than copper and will slice through it even with the dullest blade.

[@stackerMannsrabbithole]

Just a thought, a thick coulter blade from a piece of farm equipment, like a fertilizer open disk off a corn planter or a 28% applicator. They are hardened and thicker than your saw blade. You could check out a mail order company called Shoup to look for ideas. I made a tool for a whole different purpose from one but can't remember what the coulter blade was from 🤔

[@trasieinkersole491]

Yeah you tried and that’s good! ❤️💙

[@JayJohnson-s8u]

You are a wealth of knowledge, I use a clever but I'm always running to learn. Love your channel.

[@timnavarrette6932]

Man you put the effort in and to me in my eyes you’re succeeding

[@trench124]

Last couple of cleavers I've used either snapped or just kind of exploded so will be watching your experiments with interest

[@leebrogan7213]

I have watched many of your videos on youtube here and I do enjoy how people work in the scrap business collecting scrap metal I did it when I was younger I learned the scap game when i was about 9 years old and i grew up for a good 6 year or so then over here in the uk rules and laws changed it all I do watch how you ride a little motor bike use a good car carrying all that meta it must of bin hard on the springs of your car and the truck you got well that's the job you needing to do you needing a bigger truck to collect more in the back

[@leesauder969]

Hey Thub- 50 years of blacksmithing here... You're making it too difficult. You don't really need to mess with heat treatment yet (especially since you don't understand it yet!) The saw blade is good steel and already properly heated treated, so just don't let it get too hot when you cut and grind it. If you see the colors, like like the straw and bronze and blue colors, it's getting to hot. Only worry about that on the cutting edge. But I think your main problem is you ground the edge too a much too acute an angle for metal cutting. You made all that metal way too thin.

[@thubprint]

Ohhhhh those are great tips! Skipping heat treating would be ideal, and the point about the angle makes sense. I’ve obviously made a very thin piece of a blade to abuse like that. I’ll try again with something closer to a 45° rather than a 90°!

[@empirefinds]

​@thubprint brother you watch projectshopfl you speak to Derek . Nuff said😢

[@thubprint]

@@empirefinds oh I enjoy his videos fairly often! Never met him in person but he’s a good dude and makes some pretty great tools 👍

[@empirefinds]

@@thubprint yes brother I know and he also showed us all how to make the blade he still uses now on the copper King. Go back watch you can not improve perfection brother

[@empirefinds]

FYI your channel is still one of my favourites not so much the content . More you and your beautiful outlook on life stay safe brother.

[@janielunday5012]

If only you had a Shop in Florida where you could do the Project. But alas, you're Canadian being a Hunter looking for Treasure. You don't have to change your name to Mike to be The Scavenger. Seriously- I will sell the transformers as is because time is money. I work from my two car garage with limited equipment, so I do minimal micro scrapping. Just the easy to remove metals. Thank you for the effort and your time to prove for myself it isn't worth it to squeeze every last dime from the garbage I collect.

[@MrLemaire1]

As soon as I saw the thumbnail I was like… “is this gonna be a Project Shop FL rip-off??” 😮🥴

[@adamstephens99]

I agree stolen invention.

[@Leovinus76]

i'm going to use an hydraulic wood cleaver. Lots of them in Norway. Good video :)

[@ericevans9782]

Love the nod to Doug Marcaida

[@vincedibona4687]

A hatchet and a deadblow hammer are all you need. 👍🏻

[@GuberShep]

wasn't expecting a thub video today. What a treat!

[@JunkNGrind]

What’s Up Thub 👍🏼. Procrastination is Very Underrated 😎👀😁. I Remember when You Tried Machetes and Gave it a Bad Review 🤔😁. I see where you’re going Just off the Thumbnail and that’s a Great Idea man 👏🏼✅. Great Idea/ Craftsmanship with the Heating Up Super Hot 🔥. Pringle 😳😁😂. Round 2 was Much better man 👍🏼. I always say You have the Most Informative out of almost every Scrap Channel Buddy ♻️🛠️👏🏼. Great Stuff Sir 👍🏼. LOTs of Resistance 😎. Wow. Blade Folded Immediately. Amazing Try However. Maybe Find a Stonger Steel like an Axe Head Buddy. 👍🏼 Meat Clever it is ! -End Junk Rant.

[@robwaterfiled6168]

try and find a thin bladed axe, i use one thats about a quarter inch thick for the first 3-4 inches before it starts to thicken

[@jayc8180]

If you take a couple C clamps and two pieces of wood and put the warped piece in between, right after the quenching, sometimes you can take a warp out.

[@scrapmanindustries]

I think a splitting wedge might work for that application. Although I’ve never tried it yet

[@RyeOnHam]

Maybe start with leaf springs from a truck.

[@ActronJimmy]

Didn't work but we learned what not to do, which is very educational and... now I'll keep an eye out for some cleavers! Thanks!

[@hoktang1]

Whoever invented the lightbulb. Someone asked him if he failed 10000 time before success. He said that found out 10000 different ways to not make a light bulb. Just like the little blue pill is actually a heart medicine. Women are prescribed that also. It with circulation that some older people body doesn’t pump blood that well. Sorry for all this.

[@tommymadden9746]

Yes thub. That thing looks medieval. A Viking would love it. Excellent job.

[@mikeweddleton2489]

Great experimental adventure. Thanks again thub! Keep doing the thang brother!

[@joemcintyre2090]

I would think that being in Canada that there would be a lot of log splitters around and that someone you know has one you could try. There's a KZbin guy I saw cutting tires with one.

[@Suzu92]

Thank you for the research. Ive thought about it alot from Project Shops tool

[@brian56]

The Stator Wrecker rules!

[@sorinankitt]

Thank you for "failing" for the rest of us to do better. It wasn't a failure, by the way. It is the progression of the scientific method. Excellent video to help us learn.

[@Polpey]

Nice attempt! Really enjoyed that.

[@douglloyd3802]

Dude, try using the metal from an old auto leafspring. They’re usually Spring-steel, you can grind and file down the edge and make a sort of type of heavy duty machete, with it you should be able to split transformers, it will be more heavy duty than your machete.

[@punkyroo]

It's a good attempt! Keep up the good work.

[@saulsscrappersdelight8875]

Make sure the rods,or pins are removed from the transformer body, I did the same thing to my machete!

[@ltdan2990]

I use the clever, found it works best also.

[@notit2730]

Wood wedge. Use one for splitting firewood

[@JunkNGrind]

Also what if you tried Putting an Edge / Bevel on the Inside or Center of the Saw Blade Possibly Stronger Steel 🤔

[@rickclogston3679]

That magnetic point is known as the CURIE point. cool idea you have threre

[@HerbalNerdal]

Great experiment, thanks

[@ScrappinLou]

Well...I don't feel so bad for my transformer scrap debacle last night. Thanks for the giggle!

[@BrianMDIY]

I have to believe there's a small hatchet out there that would work just fine. This is like reinventing the wheel. A fun and educational journey, just not convinced it'll come out any better.

[@vincedibona4687]

@4:55 - majestic AF

[@spotonstupid]

Interesting tool creation. This is how we learn and get better. Great idea.

[@joshp6061]

Find a scrap piece of high carbon or tool steel online or at a yard and use that, probably better if you just buy already hardened and normalized. I think a piece of air hardening steel would be good, like A2 or D2 tool steel

[@salmonking4799]

Go to harbor freight and buy a H frame press !!!!! It will work I promise use the press ( 12 tons ) to press down on the staters and transformers !!! ( obviously while using the blade you made )

[@Puppybuns]

I would love to see more of this, it would be fun to learn alongside you.

[@sticksandstones1885]

Good job 👍thanks very helpful

[@lukasblazek5225]

Thank you, I think you just saved me few days of failure :D

[@bobsunkees3392]

Used disk for turning soil cut and shape it heat from cutting edge up 11/2 inch tell none magnetic have a metal tray with approximately 1/2 inch of water drip the cutting edge of it into the water for a three count and check with 🧲 till it sticks and air cool .PS you are changing molecular structure from body center carbon to face center on the cutting edge only.

[@kindawild7298]

Hello Guys from Colorado ❤❤❤

[@jonathanhege5029]

Nice episode!

[@gudnilehtinen]

Cool video

[@hoktang1]

I have an idea since you want the body of the blade to be mailable. So oil quench achieves that. But to have a strong edge. It can be an achieved by cutting some of the edge back. Then run a a bead of welding along the edge. That will result in a blade with the same qualities as a Japanese katana. Strong flexiable spine. Strong Hard cutting.

[@timmychonga4901]

At some point you should come across ax heads in your scrapping, those should work very well for your items that you are trying to pull apart, or steel wedges. It is already a crafted steel for abuse and you would be able to sharpen it as needed and to the desired starting width. Great video on what NOT to do in the process of trying to learn tempering steel. It's always a process of trial and error, which at times can be a little dangerous.

[@camperjack2620]

How about using the section from the blade as an extension on the top (hammering edge) of the cleaver? Cut a 4 inch x 6 inch piece from your saw blade, and weld it onto the top of the cleaver so it was 6 inches taller to the part you hammer on. The blade and the handle part is already done by the cleaver manufacturer.

[@willlastnameguy8329]

Okie dokie then. Have a good day.

[@tinknal6449]

I've used my SOG machete.

[@E-BikingAdventures]

A saw a video of a guy using a log splitter machine to split motors and and transformers. It was incredibly fast.

[@nelsin1925]

Seems like a homemade hydraulic press, with a bottle jack welded to a cold chisel might work. Then you could just press them apart like a log splitter. Might take forever, and having a wide enough throat on the device could inhibit it's usefulness. Would make things a lot quieter though.

[@AHT4USA]

Weld a piece of good steel to the top of the clever. Use a spot tack weld process to keep the clever blade end cool. If done correctly, you shouldn't burn the wood handle. Take your time and keep the clever blade end cool. Maybe dunk in cold water as you go. By keeping the clever blade end cool to the touch, it will never lose its hardening properties.

[@TRD_solutions]

I've been thinking about this same thing. I've thought about a cleaver in a table press. Swinging a hammer hurts me. 😢

[@robsargent8611]

Hey man I would have tried a brick bolster👍

[@sleepybadtzmaru]

The metal working with already processed steel is way different. You're learning and it works. That would be a good large scraper. A steel plow blade would be ideal.

[@scrappirateroberts]

Hi there again, please take a look at this guys breaking of transformers and motors. Both hydraulically and with a hammer. Pretty interesting. JIM

[@itshappeningwhennow]

To thub man. The content has always been entertaining. And I don’t know if you recently upgraded equipment or acquired some new knowledge. But the quality and technical skill in both shooting and editing have seriously improved. Not that they even needed to. How-it’s-Made-esque. Could easily be segment on a show on discovery. Really wicked job man. Thanks, and keep it up

[@thubprint]

Thanks so much! I became interested in vintage lenses a little while back so I get kind of excited for opportunities to use them now 😊 I’m really happy you noticed!

[@BobbyFerguson-f1m]

Try a old Acts and a sledgehammer it will be thicker and you will have a handle to hold on to. May not work but could be worth a try.. good luck

[@John-jl3ky]

At least you tried. I could be wrong but I would think those cement blades are already hardened. Maybe all that heat made the steel brittle, I don't know.

[@benvandusen8112]

What if you tried a froe? Used to make shingles one at a time off a round of Cedar, for example. Supposed to be pounded with a hardwood club.

[@MadelineRose-ep7fj]

Try Silver Scorpion, he may have some ideas.😊

[@SCRAMBLER390]

A year or so ago you went to a knife/sword foundry there in Calgary. Why not go there and let them assist you in making the perfect tool? Would make a cool video also!! Just a thought.

[@thubprint]

Oh they actually would be the experts in stuff like this.. they were really friendly too!

[@edattfield5146]

The "non-magnetic temperature" is called the Curie point or Curie temperature.

[@Bosco632]

Hi ya Thub Just use a Bolster ......which is like a fat end chisel....get the one with rubber hand guard Cheers

[@redvortex427]

I think you got the right idea but instead of hammering it you need to build something you need to put them in and then like a bottle jack or something

[@jbeckley6849]

Sharpen a wood splitter wedge.

[@mollynakamori]

Whoa! This is some next level thinking, Thub. I think you are actually reinventing the guillotine, but you go for it.

[@jimrobertson9011]

You win some you lose some, it's all the same to me ♠️. God loves a tryer.

[@tomahawktom7595]

Good video

[@JustAnAverageBrad]

got an ice rink in your town?...old zamboni blades are good steel

[@thesawofsarcasm115]

Have you tried a fro? It's a tool made for splitting cedar shakes. It might be too thick but I bet it's the right kind of steel

[@andyl2644]

Try a car leaf spring

[@wheels1455]

What about a hydraulic splitter just smaller? Might be able to make a mechanical one with a pulley system with counterweights

[@davidgelinas4776]

old snow plow blade is a very hard steel

[@CoinSilver800]

How about using a modified gas powered or electic wood splitter? maybe modify it with a thinner blade and or a more robust end plate where the transformer or coil would sit so that it wouldn't shear the end off?

[@rickgrimes7948]

I would pay so much to watch this in real time on twitch

[@DanielHouston-uw3ir]

Ive just been using my hatchet

[@mediocrefunkybeat]

Transformers: Copper in Disguise.

[@Stray_GM]

Sweet jacket Thubster.

[@Joel-ym3ij]

Try an old paper cutter, but increase the leverage with some gears or geared teeth like long handled pruning sheers or bolt cutters. Long handles, and gears to multiply your arm power.

[@thubprint]

Oh WOW that would be cool!!! I like where your head’s at, who better to show off some over-engineered contraption like that? I love it

[@manlikekeylo-g242]

Yes now