How To Remove Copper From Motors - 2 Different Methods

In this video I show how to remove the copper using 2 different methods.
I use an angle grinder for 2 motors and my machete for 1 motor.
I'll be trying to show how easy and fun it can be scrapping copper and other metals to earn extra money and help recycling things to keep stuff out of the landfills
Here's a link to my video where I show how to remove the copper from small fan motors.
• How to Scrap Small Mot...
If you enjoyed this video please like/share/leave a comment. If you would like to learn more about scrapping please consider subscribing to my channel. You can use this link here and it will take you directly to my channel homepage where you can click the subscribe button and check out my other videos. / @scrapitall200
Hi, my name is James and I'm a hobby scrapper who loves taking things apart to separate the various metal to make some extra money!
In my video I hope to show you how to scrap things, I also hope to show you the fun in scrapping different items that we all can find easily.
Come join me on my scrapping adventures where I share how I scrap items for easy money.
Please have a look at my scrapping videos and I hope you'll consider subscribing to my channel.
If you'd like to mail me anything you can email at [e-mail] and I'll give you my mailing address.
Thank you for stopping by and God bless y'all.
Become a member for less than a dollar a month. Your financial support will go to shop supplies, tools and anything else I need to scrap metals and make these videos.
I thank you very much for all of your support!
/ @scrapitall200
/ @southernscrapbucket
/ @scraprodriguez
#copper #howto #makingmoney #recycle #hobby #scrapmetal #scrapping #fun #junk #electricmotor #earnmoney #steel #recycling #scrapper #scrap

[@cuscrapping]

If I can make a suggestion...when your motor is in the vise, don't pry from the side. That is the weakest part of the vise's holding power, and the motor wants to twist. Pry from the front or back where the jaws are. The vise holds a lot stronger at those points. Good video. 👍

[@scrapitall200]

That’s great advice, thank you, Roger! Thank you for watching.

[@al9929]

Nice to see the love of Jesus in your vids. He is coming very soon. God Bless

[@scrapitall200]

God bless you, brother! Jesus is my entire life, I am absolutely nothing without Him!

[@SirDexus]

I have a machete that i found along time ago. It have been sitting there for years. Im going to try this! Looks and seems alot cleaner. Also you save money on your power bill! Awsome idea man! Thank you.

[@scrapitall200]

That’s awesome, definitely give it a try. No electricity, no cost using cut off wheels and no mess! Thank you and you’re welcome!

[@steelisthemeal]

A scrapper & a dream 💵😃 Cooper for the win

[@scrapitall200]

Copper all day long!

[@kenslx]

Hi, great video. I used to be with a company that rewound motors and to make them more water resistant they were soaked in varnish. To make them easier to strip, they were first heated. Suggest after you have cooked a meal in your oven, put the motor in to soften the varnish. It will make stripping easier. All the best.

[@scrapitall200]

Oh wow, thank you for the tip, I appreciate it.

[@Sandy-u1o]

get you a air chisel let the chisel work for you .enjoy your viedo's Gpd Bless

[@scrapitall200]

That would be a very useful tool to have. Thank you and God bless.

[@PhilipRomeo69]

Great job there brother 👏 👍 🙌 👌. It really dislike it when I see people stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime. God bless my friend

[@scrapitall200]

Thank you so much! And God bless you!

[@scrapperbrad]

Great video! I don't know why I never thought of cutting the string before. That seems to make things much easier.

[@scrapitall200]

It definitely makes a big difference. Thank you

[@CandSMINING]

Never seen field windings cut in half with a knife before . I usually just cut as you did with a cutoff wheel and save the cuttings. Great video brother, thanks for sharing. Stay safe and blessed in all that you do.😎😎🔥🔥⛏⛏

[@scrapitall200]

The machete has been so awesome for me, cuts transformers as well. Thank you so much brother and God bless. Thank you for watching and for leaving a nice comment

[@mattgour5874]

you changed my life with the machete hammer trick

[@scrapitall200]

That is so awesome to hear. It has changed mine as well. It’s so much quicker and no mess from the angle grinder making dust. Thank you for your comment and for watching.

[@tommymostar8512]

Does the Machete cut through the copper??

[@countdales5275]

Almost every motor ive torn apart goes like your 2nd one. Never has as easy as your other ones. I love your machete!!!! I will be making one of my own!!

[@scrapitall200]

Me too, it’s been awesome! So you’re going to make your own machete?

[@countdales5275]

@scrapitall200 yeah. 1/2" flat bar. I'm pretty sure i got some laying around i could use.

[@scrapitall200]

That’s so cool, I’d love to see the finish product.

[@maritimescrapper]

Love the macette lol, AWESOME video

[@scrapitall200]

Thank you buddy. It’s a game changer imo. Thanks for watching.

[@dalemills8052]

Very informative video. Been searching for a good vise, yet people are very proud of them. (Cost way to high) Yesterday I remembered I have my grandpa's old leg vise, need to see if it works.

[@scrapitall200]

That would be cool if you can make it work. Thank you for watching.

[@dalemills8052]

Update on the leg vise, it's in pretty bad shape but still kinda works. Y'all get a chance to get a good vise, go for it.

[@scrapitall200]

Can you clean it up and bring it back to life? I always grab vises whenever I see them. They are so expensive nowadays

[@dalemills8052]

It's beat up and the leaf spring part is messed up. Still gonna try to fix it so I have some kind of vise. No clue how old it is either.

[@scrapitall200]

Sounds really cool! I would definitely give it your best shot at making it function well for you.

[@Gbienek1]

Great video as always brother/ fellow scrapper. I’ve got about a dozen I’ve been saving up to do because the $.35/ lb I get for electric motors is just not jiving with me. Thought I’d give this a try! Thanks buddy!

[@scrapitall200]

Thank you so much and I’m really happy you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment.

[@rossbrumby1957]

There's been a couple times I'd stockpiled motors, only to strip them out all at once- making a huge mess all at once. Makes it a chore doing it and cleaning up when youre tired is a drag. Now I strip them as I get them, making less mess at any given time and fits in with having a spare 15 mins. Fridge and ac compressors even more appropriate to not let them pile up.

[@scrapitall200]

Ross Brumby that is really smart. A lot can get done in 15 minutes!

[@DavidGS66]

I did 7 motors like this one. Garden shears & grill scraper didn't work, but meat cleaver, after creating split with hand chisel, worked well but was damaged a bit.

[@scrapitall200]

I’ve been looking for a meat cleaver to try. What sort of damage happened? Thank you for watching.

[@scrapnjunk81]

That was awesome. I found a machete now will have to put it to use. Great video

[@scrapitall200]

That’s great, you’re going to love it. Thank you and thanks for watching.

[@metaldetectingwiththesilva8311]

I've never seen a machete used in that way for motors..excellent tip!

[@scrapitall200]

Thank you! I use it on transformers as well. Thank you for watching

[@scrapitall200]

Thank you for subscribing. Just returned the favor on your channel.

[@metaldetectingwiththesilva8311]

@@scrapitall200 Thanks mate 👍

[@scrapitall200]

You’re welcome!

[@Followerofchrist878]

Great video!

[@scrapitall200]

Thank you brother God bless you!

[@Followerofchrist878]

I appreciate that

[@andyweins]

Great way to do it!

[@scrapitall200]

Thanks buddy, I appreciate it!

[@Rick-m4o]

Good stuff

[@scrapitall200]

Thank you

[@Rick-m4o]

​@@scrapitall200you are welcome

[@joeybuldo3008]

I find the machete method to be very interesting, I’ve done the same thing by using a hatchet and hammer, but honestly I’m personally more efficient by using the grinder to chop the top off and I use an air chisel to push out the windings

[@scrapitall200]

Grinder definitely works really well. I just don’t like all the copper dust getting all over everything. I’m also trying to show ways to do things without power tools in case some don’t own any. Thank you for your comment for watching my video.

[@countrysidelife5768]

Hi everyone… I know we all have our preferred way of doing things!! I feel like I have to say why this method is crazy 😜 helpful easy simple extremely clean no waste of material no need for power tools even you have them, you can spare their life expectancy, no need to buy new discs after the wear down, no need to clean the surroundings or your or the tool, no need for the grinder or chisel noise (is noisier than 5-10 hammer strokes) no need for breathing ppe, no need for safety goggles 🥽 even though you should have them on at all the times you work!! Less risk the the knife/machete/hatchet method IMO!! Happy scrapping everyone

[@JohnJoe-pf8of]

Thank you

[@scrapitall200]

You’re welcome. Thank you for watching.

[@JohnJoe-pf8of]

You're welcome

[@gjohnston281]

Great video , very informative

[@scrapitall200]

Thank you, I’m happy you enjoyed it.

[@yrretsnikda1464]

Thank you helped me alot

[@scrapitall200]

Awesome! I appreciate you watching.

[@albertpfaff6686]

Just saw that you have done similar method 👍…

[@scrapitall200]

@@albertpfaff6686 thank you for watching another video. It sure does help my channel a lot.

[@keithhuett4916]

Air chisel will save you a tun of work.

[@scrapitall200]

I know but that costs money and I want to show ways of doing things without having all the tools that a lot of beginners don’t have. Thanks for watching.

[@BushDogScrapper]

Awesome stuff!

[@scrapitall200]

Thank you buddy! Hope you’ve been doing well.

[@BushDogScrapper]

@@scrapitall200 yea I’m just trying to get back into the swing of things!

[@scrapitall200]

I can understand that my friend.

[@bfdmanbfd]

Try using a sds hammer drill on hammer only with a flat chisel attachment modified to a v shape Can you can remove them coils in seconds I used to do it the way you do with a screwdriver now i can probably do 2 to 3 in the same time using the sds

[@scrapitall200]

Yeah I need to get one of those! Thanks for watching and your good suggestion, I appreciate it.

[@bfdmanbfd]

@@scrapitall200 👍 keep up the work

[@scrapitall200]

Thank you!

[@nachostuff]

That little motor gave you a run for your money.

[@scrapitall200]

Crazy how some are just that way. Thanks for watching

[@prisonersforprofit]

the one was so tough because of the plastic inside the holes, you'll notice the plastic came out with the copper, the others it did not. with tough ones like that i find that channel locks work better than prying. and when prying it helps to put a block of some sort between the steel plates and your pry bar, i like to use the square end of a big punch, it changes the fulcrum giving you better/easier leverage.

[@scrapitall200]

Yeah that darn plastic lol. Thank you for the great ideas and tips. I really do appreciate them. Thank you for watching.

[@jeffshutters236]

Hi, what kind of machete do you have please?

[@scrapitall200]

It was made by a company called “I,Wilson” I found it from a clean up job I did. I have not purchased a new one myself, so I unfortunately don’t have one I can recommend. I will say, if you buy one just don’t buy a cheap flimsy Walmart brand. Check hunting and fishing stores or even online. I hope you can find a good one. Thank you for watching.

[@anthonycolangeli4133]

Does the machete just work on iron or can it be used on steel also? The use of the machete is definitely new to me but I will give it a try.

[@scrapitall200]

I’m sorry, I’m not exactly sure what you’re asking? Machete works great, I haven’t been disappointed yet. Thank you for watching.

[@anthonycolangeli4133]

@@scrapitall200 The way you are able to cut the motors in half. I do not know if their are steel motors and if so, can the machete cut through it. God Bless!

[@scrapitall200]

@@anthonycolangeli4133 the layers are steel but I’m cutting through just the copper. God bless you too brother.

[@limtuc7030]

What type of metal is it that holds the copper? Is that worth saving to scrap?

[@scrapitall200]

It’s steel and at most scrapyards that will go as #1 prepared steel. Around 10 cents per pound. Thank you for watching.

[@limtuc7030]

@@scrapitall200 nice thank you for letting me know I couldn’t find it anywhere on google had no idea how to even search for it

[@scrapitall200]

@@limtuc7030 you’re welcome!

[@oneandonlymikey]

Hi from U K ,good idea using the machette,no grinding waste ,could I suggest when using a punch or drift ,to rest metal body on jaws of vice ,as gripping steel part could also squeeze tight copper ,peace Bro

[@scrapitall200]

Hey nice to have you here, love the UK. Yeah that’s a good point you make, thank you!

[@williamstockman9867]

Good stutt you should have a look at Mike the scavenger great scaper

[@scrapitall200]

Thank you! Oh I’m a huge Mike the Scavenger fan! Thank you for watching.

[@williamstockman9867]

Old Mike is the best

[@scrapitall200]

@@williamstockman9867 He is so fun to watch!

[@whiskeytangofoxtrot8041]

He's a legend... lol.

[@scrapitall200]

He is, with over 500,000 subscribers I’d say he’s well liked!

[@steelisthemeal]

What the?!!!!!! How ya cut that?

[@scrapitall200]

You like that machete, huh?

[@ScrapMan69]

Great video buddy!

[@scrapitall200]

Thank you!

[@chrisw1462]

Peeling off layers also probably flattens out some of the mushrooming the cut caused to the copper.

[@scrapitall200]

You’re probably right! Thank you for watching and for your comment.

[@OttoDayZ]

What blade do you use in your angle grinder (amazon link)?

[@scrapitall200]

I use Go Yonder cut off wheels. I really love them. Thank you for watching! Here is the link www.amazon.com/GoYonder-Cutting-Stainless-Cut-Off-Grinders/dp/B08113W88Y/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=1E9JNN7RJ0WTZ&keywords=go+yonder+cut+off+wheels&qid=1685546222&sprefix=go+yon%2Caps%2C5703&sr=8-3

[@SilverScorpion]

Great video

[@scrapitall200]

Thank you!

[@jackjohnson3220]

I use a sawzall, i think copper can clog your grinding wheel and cause it to explode, and if you've ever seen a grinding wheel go thru a face shield, well the juice isn't worth the squeeze

[@scrapitall200]

I’ve tried a sawzall and I think I need to try a finer tooth blade, cause the ones I had just made a mess. But I prefer my machete over sawzall or a grinder. Grinder works great but it’s messy, the dust gets everywhere and is dangerous to breathe in, plus what you said, they can explode. Thank you for watching and for your comment.

[@rossbrumby1957]

Done a couple hundred with the 4" grinder and 1mm thin discs.never had a problem. Practically can't buy machetes in the hardware stores in australia any more because of african street gangs in the cities and the govt runs a nanny state. Finally found a large meat cleaver and it works great and I dont have to sweep up copper dust anymore. Fridge motors are best as the windings pull out by hand mostly. All the sawzall cuts ive seen on videos make a frayed mess.

[@onyxfire7511]

Yikes! I didn't know about the exploding. I don't like the dust, though, as I scrap inside my living space. I'm a hobbyist, and I don't have a shed.

[@bigcountryscrapper6885]

Stiff copper motors that's why I use a hammer drill quick and easy

[@scrapitall200]

You remove the strings before you use your hammer drill? Thank you for watching.

[@bigcountryscrapper6885]

Great video bro seems u getting lots of motors like me

[@scrapitall200]

I get a few, but nothing like you and motor mountain! Thanks for watching.

[@TheJohndeere466]

Just put the windings in a wood burner for a while. Wire comes right out after that

[@scrapitall200]

My scrap yard will not buy burned copper.

[@TheJohndeere466]

@@scrapitall200 I know I did it before and the scrap yard bought it

[@TheJohndeere466]

I had a 50 hp motor

[@scrapitall200]

@@TheJohndeere466 lucky you but mine and many others will only buy it as shred.

[@robban057]

Could you please get a tape measure that has both inch and metric? That would be helpful for us European! Great videos! Robert Sweden

[@scrapitall200]

Sorry about that, I’ll work on trying to remember y’all better next time. Thank you for watching.

[@pbrodie1065]

the iron is silicon steel also worth money

[@scrapitall200]

It just goes as regular steel at my yard. Thank you for watching.

[@rahmanmokhtar2474]

How much for 1kilo you sale Sir?

[@scrapitall200]

That’s around $6

[@scraprodriguez]

Watching now 👀

[@scrapitall200]

Thank you my friend!

[@jefft1122]

Okay you are doing that lol

[@scrapitall200]

Yeah the punch is a very handy tool. Thank you for watching.

[@StephenLewin-rb7bz]

You should be wearing a industrial mask so you don't inhale the copper dust. I had a friend die of copper poisoning

[@scrapitall200]

Copper poisoning? I never heard of that. Thank you so much for the advice. Very sorry you lost your friend 😢

[@scrapitall200]

Just looked it up. Thanks again for pointing this out to me, I really do appreciate it.

[@5x535]

Copper poisoning is a real deal. It simply requires a proper dose to be deadly. The copper dust is most definitely deadly-- potentially. This is coming from a guy that was born way before they invented safety. I never have cut a motor in half with a knife before. You can bet big money that I'll try it next time----if I can remember. I enjoyed your video.

[@scrapitall200]

@@5x535 i definitely looked it up after Stephens comment and I’m being way more careful now, thank you! I sure do love my machete, cuts transformers in half as well. Best of luck to you and thank you for watching.

[@moondog4313]

The machete was a better outcome to me, the problem on my part it's hard to find a machete

[@scrapitall200]

I was lucky to find this one from a clean up job I did. Not sure where I’d shop for one, maybe a fishing and hunting store. Where you from? If you don’t mind me asking.

[@jefft1122]

You can take a punch and knock the copper through enough to pull out

[@scrapitall200]

I should’ve used the punch more on one of them, don’t know why I didn’t lol.

[@ScorpionMetals]

Great video

[@scrapitall200]

Thank you

[@wannabescrapper72]

Nice!

[@scrapitall200]

Thanks for watching, hope it helps you with that frustrating motor you had.

[@wannabescrapper72]

@@scrapitall200 oh that generator, yeah. That was a pita, for sure.

[@scrapitall200]

Did you ever get the copper out?

[@wannabescrapper72]

@@scrapitall200 nope. I haven't even looked at it since.

[@Kreacher1974]

I see the little critter sneaking around, it looks hungry.

[@scrapitall200]

It’s very hungry, I think it’s nibbling on my copper lol

[@Kreacher1974]

@scrapitall200 tomorrow will be fun, earlier today my neighbor gave me 3 pool motors, hoping they are copper 🤞, and 32 pounds of pool motor extension cord. Next week he should have a pool heater for me next week.

[@scrapitall200]

@@Kreacher1974 that’s is awesome, great score!!

[@Kreacher1974]

@scrapitall200 I'm gonna strip it all to see how much copper I get to determine if I will steip all the time. I'm like you, I'm a hobby scrapper so I can play around with stuff.

[@scrapitall200]

That’s always a good idea! 👍

[@Åbhîshēk-Raj-009]

Isn't there some method to actually remove the copper coils from the stator as a whole without exploiting it with the cutter machine ?!🤔 Obviously yes put the stator part of the motor with the copper windings intact in the hydrogen peroxide and acetone solution inside a glass tumblr (1 litre demineralised water +400 ml of acetone and 350 ml of hydrogen peroxide ) The mixture temperature should be just ranging between 5°-7° celsius Then slightly turn on the gas flame and bring to a boil with Tumblr lid closed a small vent open should be there for steam pressure to escape As the mixture starts to boil keep it boiling for 5 min then turn off the flame and let it cool to room temperature naturally after it is cooled take out the stator and start unwinding it with taking out plastic from the stator slots first then copper wires one after the other until fully scored in one piece .👍🏻

[@scrapitall200]

@@Åbhîshēk-Raj-009 I have a video showing how to remove the copper without cutting at all, but it’ll only work with the ones where the insulation sleeves can be removed. Very interesting method you just shared, thanks!

[@Åbhîshēk-Raj-009]

@@scrapitall200 but I think it will work in most cases because the manufacturers usually use the papers or plastic inside the slots and the insulation jacket tube is generally present outside or the part of the copper coil that's protruding outside which most scrappers cut to score the copper. And I feel if the copper is scrapped as a whole it would fetch the scrappers a little handful some of bucks more .

[@scrapitall200]

@@Åbhîshēk-Raj-009 the price will be the same as far as the scrapyard is concerned, but I love ideas that most don’t think about and your idea I’ve definitely not heard of before.

[@Åbhîshēk-Raj-009]

@@scrapitall200 hahaha definitely brother because it's practised in here the local workers scrapp copper in the same way from big old junky motors and use the coppers to make transformers ranging from small to medium to slightly big all for the electronic purposes all that's local hand crafted to even machine one's So the value of the copper reaches from the scrap value to market value thus fetching the local owners a good amount of money.

[@Mr_guernsey_explorer180]

Done hundreds of them engines big lil tiny made a bit from them

[@scrapitall200]

They are a great source of copper. Thank you for watching.

[@zakbaker395]

Soup a fast it's the new slim fast diet

[@scrapitall200]

Thanks for stopping by. I’m not sure what you’re trying to say?

[@Handcraftedrock]

I can not believe people still go through all these trouble when practically everywhere now they pay good money for used electric motors. Where I live it is about 30 cent a pound for a used motor. Is it worth to waste my time to take the motor apart? Definitely not.

[@scrapitall200]

Every place has different yards and you’ll definitely make more money by removing the copper and for me as a hobby scrapper, I’m definitely going to do it. It’s fun, don’t forget fun is invaluable

[@michaelwillcutt2619]

Longer pry bar

[@scrapitall200]

👍

[@jimbauer6822]

No need to remove any metal just tap coils out with punch way to much messing around d to pry it out

[@scrapitall200]

Sometimes the punch of the perfect tool, other times it’s not.

[@donneuburger2005]

air chisel....

[@scrapitall200]

Yes, they work great!

[@michaelwillcutt2619]

Large air or electric chisel

[@scrapitall200]

@@michaelwillcutt2619 👍

[@timmyshear3457]

Can tell this guy has peeled batteries before

[@scrapitall200]

Nope never done it.

[@scrapitall200]

@@timmyshear3457 and who are you talking to? 🤣🤣

[@andreaswinterleitner22]

Hello James. I do not understand why you working and working and working on such a motor. The cutting by Knife and Hammer is good, but the outpulling of the Copper is a catastrophe... Buy a Machine...

[@scrapitall200]

I’m a hobby scrapper and I don’t mind the amount of time things take. A machine would be awesome but unless I can get one for free, I’m just going to keep doing this way. Thank you for watching and your comment.

[@michaelwillcutt2619]

Lot of work for so little return

[@scrapitall200]

👍

[@michaelwillcutt2619]

Waisting copper grinding

[@scrapitall200]

@@michaelwillcutt2619 👍

[@patrickm.8425]

Wastin' time on those little, tiny motors, not making any money!!! If you're going to work that hard, and spend that much time, you need big honkin' motors!! Rather than making $0.15 - $0.45 an hour, make $45-$55+ an hour!!! Need 400+ Lbs motors!! Machete = Yes! If you're going to do these little ones, and the Machete can make them that fast, you are in gold town!!

[@scrapitall200]

I’m a hobby scrapper and if it’s fun, it is always worth my time.

[@EddieTheH]

Thank the subscribers for their subs. It's a bit insulting to thank Jesus, he didn't sub us all. If he made us sub then that opens up a whole new can of worms about freewill. I'm contemplating unsubbing for that, it's disrespectful to your audience.

[@scrapitall200]

Thank you for watching and for subbing to my channel. I did thank my subscribers before I thanked Jesus. I will never stop praising Jesus in my life or in my videos. I hope you consider to stay, but if you choose to leave I will understand!

[@EddieTheH]

@@scrapitall200 I suppose there's an argument that Jesus could've motivated you to make the videos in the first place. 🤔

[@scrapitall200]

We all have our own beliefs and my intent isn’t to ever offend.

[@EddieTheH]

@@scrapitall200 Yeah, I apologise for that criticism. I've just got a bit cynical from too much internet and I'm in quite a bit of physical pain of late, though it's no excuse. I've caught myself being unnecessarily bitey recently. I hope you accept my apology, you seem to be a good guy.

[@scrapitall200]

I’m very sorry you are dealing with pain! Pain can be so overwhelming at times. I absolutely accept your apology. Feel free to talk to me if you need, my comment section is always open for anything.

[@kevinrider8703]

You wasting so much time cut both crowns off they pound right out!

[@scrapitall200]

Not always

[@markillenye7489]

So let me get this straight you just made $2 an hour why don't you just get a job

[@scrapitall200]

It’s a hobby!

[@nicejunk666]

Great video

[@scrapitall200]

Thank you!