Scrapping a Laboratory Oven for COPPER, STAINLESS and MORE!

This laboratory gravity convection oven doesn't work, so were going to recycle it and see how much scrap metal we can recover! Copper, brass, stainless, aluminum and tin make for a pretty fun afternoon, and a great excuse to try my newest tool!
Wire stripper I use: amzn.to/3sirg18
The motorized stripper: amzn.to/3y0JMuQ
The wire cutters I like: amzn.to/2T6j3OW
This is the cheaper version: amzn.to/2SwrYsB
And here are those grips I recommend: amzn.to/2QCJmYl
(If you make a purchase on amazon through the links above, a small amount of what amazon makes on the sale is shared with me. It's a great way to help support my channel, at no additional cost to you. Even if you buy something other than my tool recommendations!)
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[@inferno2740]

Please do more scrapping time lapse videos like this 🙂

[@mollynakamori]

You tipped over 70K subscribers today! Well done and congratulations! Congrats also on finally getting your smelting set up all put together! FUN!

[@thubprint]

I’m so excited about both those facts 😆

[@drdankchronic]

You earned all of those! I told all my friends about you..and how you've put more money in my pocket this month than my previous salary job.. Started may 27th. Thanks bro

[@Kenthis15]

Probably my biggest “movies aren’t real” moment was the first time I saw a melt video. Granted it was decades ago and I was a kid at the time but metal doesn’t magically melt together into perfect, gigantic ingots like it does in games and movies? Blew my mind. Neat pieces you made, theres something about solid pieces that just soothes the soul.

[@thubprint]

Lol, it sure don’t! These bars are a bit ugly but I think that’s part of the charm 😊

[@Ma_Deuce_338]

"Leave it better than you found it" Good advice... my "by permission" dumpster providers appreciate it. Goodwill seems to go along way toward successful scrap "missions".

[@thubprint]

Big facts! A lot of my best scores have been directly because of networking and being good to people 👍

[@ValacircaTN]

Casting, scraping and more love the format, you kept the drill part sped up, looks quite good for the first of a serie.

[@thubprint]

Thank you 🙂

[@TheUltimateRecycler]

Way behind on your vids Thub! I enjoyed this - good on you for branching out into new areas with new equipment! 👏🙂

[@benhumphregys3087]

I loved the melting

[@NathanielColson]

I love this format, like binging with babish but with scrapping. Fantastic editing, keep up the good work.

[@thubprint]

His vids are so good! With some practice maybe I can get my quality there 👍

[@farttart597]

This was a grate video. I love how you use a blow torch to melt the metal instead off one of those furnaces.

[@lowrads3653]

The real cost driver in a lab oven is calibration. As a lab worker, I am happy to see one properly wrecked. However, protect your health at every step as we put and create some real nasty stuff in those. The same goes for the TCLP flipper in the background.

[@thubprint]

That stupid material handler haha! I’ve been trying to re-home it for so long because its perfectly fine and worth way more than scrap, but there’s such a shallow market for such things and they live and breath writing off business expenses. Sooner or later it’s gonna get scrapped too 🙃 I appreciate the warning and I’ll be sure to handle it with gloves and caution 👍

[@lowrads3653]

@@thubprint Small labs are generally happy to get hold of second hand equipment. We will swarm like the vultures we are on closing labs, scooping up bulk glassware, or on non-calibrating hardware like a flipper. Nobody wants old reagents or anything that requires traceability or maintenance/logging records. Ovens and freezers are consumables, even if they cost thousands to replace with high fidelity models.

[@tedz74]

Great video as always. That black box, which you didn't know what it was, is called a solid state relay. It takes the control signal and runs the heater element. It very well could have been the thing that failed, knocking out the whole oven.

[@thubprint]

That’s a solid guess actually, the system is pretty simple otherwise

[@LuisRodriguez-xf9lv]

not bad for a few hours and is allways fun to scrap something diferent nice video

[@fredpayne7581]

Love the processing videos, great job brother

[@mgpadi]

Ditto

[@thubprint]

Thank you! I figured they’d be a lot more fun with the ability to melt down components 😄

[@theodorelueker5057]

I have not seen you break out the torch and do some melting. Was fun to watch. Seems like you put in some time for the price. Thanks for the video.

[@thubprint]

It’s a first! I’m hoping to make it a thing

[@BushDogScrapper]

Loved the cutting torch part very ASMR my dad just gave me his cutting torch set can't wait to hook it up and use it 👍

[@thubprint]

Oh nice! I was pretty jazzed to start using mine haha Just.. I’m not gonna get right into it, but just be sure to research and follow all the safety procedures right? They’re pretty serious toys 😆 all the best!

[@kevink.2719]

Fun video

[@joshp6061]

Platinum thermocouples are very rare so I’ve heard, much more likely to be chromel or alumel based

[@vinnienowhere1015]

Thanks for the micro scrap thub! Quite interesting.

[@thubprint]

Thank you!

[@madelinerose5326]

GREAT VIDEO!

[@bigredbullion3883]

Great video

[@aredditor4272]

Yeah, copper wire is plated with tin to protect from corrosion of copper, but it also makes it easier to solder. Tin plated copper is ready to be recycled into bronze alloys. Bronze is classically tin/copper.

[@keith102955]

Good score

[@andrewwilcox6242]

Very cool dude

[@colormeleons1191]

That was fun to watch!

[@thubprint]

Ty 😊

[@JosePena-or9fz]

Thank you sir

[@thubprint]

Thanks for being here!

[@StrawberryShawtcake]

That was very informative and i like how u stripped and melted down the copper and brass nice job

[@user-fh1hz2bg9l]

Those copper wires some times have cote of silver.

[@davec1704]

Nice tear down vid Thub,i found a industrial power inverter not long back it had 3 massive transformer inside ,i got 20kg heavy cooper also brass and wire plus steel ,wish i could find one ever day ;)

[@thubprint]

That sounds amazing!! I’d love to find those every day too haha, transformers are my absolute favourite

[@DrJonHolt]

Great vid. Come a long way over the past few years. Nice.

[@thubprint]

Thank you!

[@lukelegg9915]

loved this video so much, especially the casting

[@thubprint]

I’m so glad to hear that ☺️ I’m excited with how it turned out so I’d really like to do a series like this

[@lukelegg9915]

@@thubprint id say its been one of my favorite videos in terms of the general informative stuff, though im a relatively experienced scrapper so i guess im biased

[@tinathompson2877]

Enjoyable

[@thubprint]

Thank you ☺️

[@gettuffstudios]

These are good videos, please do more

[@thubprint]

Thank you! I’m planning to do a whole series, but I’ll have to learn what parts people like and which parts to skip over

[@stubbshomestead1316]

that metalwork was cool, awesome video.

[@thubprint]

Thanks so much! It definitely makes it more fun for me, and it’s a neat way to visualize the actual yield

[@SkullerMetals]

Loved the melting part of it. Wish I had a torch like that - would be good for silver.

[@johannesthe5th154]

Nice scrap video 👍 i especially enjoy the smelting in the end.

[@thubprint]

Me too!

[@unclejohnbulleit2671]

I like this!! Years ago I was scrapping an oven like that, but older. I was well into it when I discovered all the insulation was asbestos.

[@thubprint]

Oh dear.. 😆 that’s not what ya want! This insulation was all synthetic fibre but that’s a good example of why we should always have the respirator on when busting into this stuff

[@danielmusumeci661]

Yes please awesome thank you for this

[@thubprint]

Thanks!

[@trench124]

Reminds me of doing a dishwasher to get the stainless steel inner shell

[@thubprint]

Ooo, I’ll have to do a dishwasher! I’m just excited to play with the torch. Will keep an eye out for a proper stainless one

[@trench124]

@@thubprint I should get an honourable mention lol

[@stevew.7188]

I enjoyed the video. Great quality and very informative. But there is no chance of a subscriber finding one of these and realizing that it’s worth X$ based on your video. I was hyped to see your torch and to see you melting metals now. That’s a great new addition. I would maybe try to just work the smelting in to your scrapping videos on more of a stockpile basis than a value per piece basis. People like big stack d because he has the huge stockpile. You can be a nice combination of a street/dumpster scrapper plus smelting, and you can attract fans of both or at least find a new way to entertain your existing subscribers. Keep your copper and brass separate and don’t sell it. Keep making videos like you did in the past and work in new content of you smelting your stockpile instead of selling it, and show how much you’ve accumulated. If you can afford to not sell brass and copper, then I think this would be entertaining for your viewers. Whether you consider my input or not you and e waste Ben are my favorite KZbin scrappers, so keep up the good work! 👍🏻👍🏻

[@wozzajayscrapping9056]

Some nice scrap in there. Good start on you're melting efforts also. Practice makes perfect.✌

[@benhumphregys3087]

I want to find one of these bad boys !!

[@damienwalsh5104]

All your videos are great and interesting, you learn something new every day keep up the good work 💪☘️☘️

[@dr.a006]

Thanks for speeding up things 😄 It’s like when I’m doing a root canal, it’s tedious but I’m focused. If I have to watch a root canal….🥱😴😵.

[@iffy9776]

I took apart a commercial electrical oven huge it was with a big fan motor and that had lots of insulation. The second item I took apart was a commercial carpet cleaner. I was really surprised how good it was for scrap aluminium and stainless steel body with a Hugh motor.

[@thubprint]

I’ll keep an eye out for one of those!

[@cocopufer5667]

That was DOPE! You need to do more melting MORE MELTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@thubprint]

I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I think you might be as excited as I am haha

[@trasieinkersole491]

Nice! 👏👏👏❤️💙

[@spangdeez498]

If you ever look into the huge mountains of scrap - people junk HUGE COPPER cables/ all types of copper.. big aluminum pieces … people don’t know what they have sometimes …

[@thubprint]

Definitely true, that’s the whole reason I find great stuff in dumpsters sometimes!

[@zlatanmorrison8182]

Excellent video, would very much like to see more of this time lapse style of voice-over content, keep up the good work :)

[@thubprint]

I’m looking forward to doing a few of them!

[@andrewcannon587]

it's IC circuitry malfunction most of the time.

[@arielkozak]

I use a dewalt impact driver to remove screws. The speed on it is like 2-3 times faster than what your using. So I feel like it will get you just a bit more faster disassembling times

[@thubprint]

I’ve been meaning to pick up one of those impact drivers! Just the little shortie would be great for me

[@andycolumbia2011]

Hello love your video

[@thubprint]

Thank you!

[@amethystwinter8231]

Very interesting 🤔 needs some club music ❤ maybe John Parr, Naughty, Naughty 🙂

[@keithwood6459]

Would rather see you focus on scrapping rather than branch into melting. There are some good melting channels already. Your scrapping stuff is more interesting. But if you continue with the melting, make sure you have better ventilation. Doing it in a closed garage isn't a good idea.

[@soerenbode]

Thub to the max! Nice new (?) tools. Great video - keep doing the.. well u know. Cheers*

[@thubprint]

Oh it’s brand new to me 😁 I’m pretty excited, I’ve spent the last month getting it all put together and learning everything I can about it

[@thescrapmeister]

Another Great video... Keep them coming. Congrats on hitting 70K subs :-)

[@thubprint]

Thank you!

[@MrChunkydunk]

I've been thinking of getting a forge. But I live in the south. It's already to frigging hot.

[@heddita1]

Interesting…❤️❤️❤️

[@thubprint]

😊💙

[@superjonboy873]

I love that you have a nice little setup to melt down metal. NIce way to condense and purify your metal, save space AND make more money lol! I was a welder for a number of years, I do agree you should have some kind of venting for the melting setup. Literally just a fan and an open garage door would do the trick. ( I used to be a welder). Question - do you save the silver buttons to eventually melt down in a big group? Thanks!

[@thubprint]

Well I really wouldn’t say it makes more money, it’s kind of just burning fuel and time haha But it is pretty fun! Silver buttons yes, I do save them up. I have an AP solution I drop them in to dissolve the base metal but I can’t just torch them because they’re alloyed with cadmium (way more toxic than zinc aha) my intent is to keep collecting them until I can make one of those silver cells and purify them through electroplating the silver out

[@aleshaweigel8339]

Nice video, seems like a lot of time 🐼

[@mollynakamori]

I love those little bowls you were sorting into. The glaze is amazing. Did you throw those?

[@thubprint]

I have no idea who made them haha, found them at a garage sale with the kiddo. I love stoneware for my house but they don’t stack well so they aren’t ideal for the kitchen, but they seemed like they’d work here! 😄

[@ahmadarab1312]

Hey thUb love the content brother I got so many questions man

[@thubprint]

Thank you! I’m always happy to help, so anytime you’ve got questions let me know and I’ll do my best to answer

[@jakertheelaborater2573]

is there a way to recover the solder?

[@OriginalNethead]

Kind of cool. Was it worth it for the money? Probably not. Worth it for the giggles? Most likely.

[@thubprint]

😆👍

[@NathanielColson]

You should do this to a geo metro.

[@thubprint]

That would be hilarious! Those are sort of desirable though, oddly enough. Fuel efficient little grocery getters. Maybe a truly awful car, like a dodge dynasty

[@MrChunkydunk]

I'd try to figure out why it wasn't working then tear it apart....that's probably why my scrap pile is stacking up. I'm way behind.

[@marcusmckenzie9528]

are mosfets made from copper? i often clip them with my snips and it "looks" like copper shining through

[@drdankchronic]

Thank you man. 1500 and counting this month thanks to You I have two full buckets of copper (over 150lbs). Do you suggest I call around or keep saving it? My main yard has ridiculous requirements for bulk (they want a full bin for bulk pricing)

[@drdankchronic]

Brite copper. I stripped it all from large gauge wiring

[@thubprint]

They want that much huh? Well it doesn’t sound like you’ll realistically get to their “bulk volume” so I guess it comes down to when you need the money. Many people seem to believe the looming electric car revolution will increase the price of copper but nobody can see the future. It’s unlikely you lose by hanging onto it, but a spike in price is extremely rare for copper so just sell it when you need the cash and don’t think too hard about it. Personally I enjoy having a couple hundred pounds hidden away for unforeseen expenses 👍

[@drdankchronic]

@@thubprint good point maybe I'll hang on to it for a time in need!

[@drdankchronic]

@@thubprint ps thank you again I just picked up an air conditioner on the way home from getting groceries which I totally would have passed up if I didn't see your new video. Thank you thank you thank you

[@1pureone]

Do the scrap yards that you work with buy melted down metal?

[@thubprint]

I’ve never tried selling any lol I certainly hope they would!

[@tommyulman6623]

so what do you do with them ingots

[@thubprint]

Well nothing yet haha

[@jerryjennyc5352]

Hello thub

[@thubprint]

Hello!

[@chuck396]

Bin a bit mate

[@thubprint]

I’ll do one a month I think, I was excited to try my new tools out but I still love the hunt!

[@kimtoy6035]

Was that beryllium on the ends of -what I assume is- the heating ...w? Coil? The pinkness...-es?

[@thubprint]

I hadn’t even thought of that! Y know it probably was, I’ll have to wrap it in tape and be careful not to throw it around again

[@aredditor4272]

Just plain old ceramic. Resistance heating elements are almost always nichrome - nickel/chrome alloy. Higher temp kilns will have more exotic heating elements - molybdenum or tungsten containing alloys. Yours look more exotic. The ceramic is a non conductor and unaffected by very high heat.

[@vincedibona4687]

Curious, how cost-efficient is the torch method of melting metal? I was thinking of one day getting one of those small, electric furnaces as I am not about making huge ingots like BigStackD. Small bars and coins would be my jawn. But that’s far away, although I am saving all clean copper for just such an occasion, got a big bin half full already. I will not sell it! But just clean pipe and wire. Thanks for another great video, Drake!

[@thubprint]

Hi Vince! Let’s just be clear that burning fuel and time to melt scrap metal is a net loss 😆 But if doing it for fun and storage, it’s really hard to say. My initial investment here was not small, about $500 and that was a spectacular deal. Acetylene is heckin expensive and when I run out I’ll switch to oxy-propane. I chose the torch because I can cut with it, weld with it, melt anything from aluminum to gold and (most importantly) I can give the camera a clear view of the whole business. I do believe that my lifetime cost of use will be lower because I’m really not using much but that’s not why I went this route and I don’t have the experience with the electrics to compare them 🙃 Generally speaking, fuel is much cheaper heat than electricity, but I think it comes down to logistics more than anything else. A tabletop electric is super small and convenient! I’ve got a friend who has one and as far as I can tell he’s perfectly happy with it

[@vincedibona4687]

@@thubprint As always, thanks for replying to your fanbase!

[@GalenCop9]

Great video, thanks for posting, did you order the small crucible and mold off Amazon?

[@thubprint]

I didn’t, but now that you mention it I probably should so I can share affiliate links for them 😆 I’m fortunate to have a gem and jewellery making supply store in town, so I’ve bought all these tools there so far

[@GalenCop9]

@@thubprint that's great, I talk to my local scrap yard and they'll take ingots, lead, copper, aluminum etc.., but as you mentioned with lead and pewter if you can find bullet makers that might be a better venue to sell to.

[@robw505]

Did sense a nod to BigstackD casting at the end? 👌

[@thubprint]

I would say his videos had a hand in inspiring the melt and pour 😁

[@robw505]

@@thubprint I watch him every Friday morning too!

[@spangdeez498]

Hey Thub! Was wondering if you had or there was an easy way to tell between stainless and regular junk steel? Does the stainless not stick to a magnet, but still looks like junk (not aluminum looking) metal? And someone else mentioned the 70k subs… Congrats my guy and can’t wait for the 100k!

[@thubprint]

I can’t wait to hit the big 100! 😁 I did a video awhile back where I got right into different types of stainless. There was a lot more to it than I realized haha! There’s two reliable methods, the magnet test and the spark test. There’s a bit of nuance to it though, if the magnet doesn’t stick at all then it’s 304 stainless, and if you grind it a bit with a grinder and it sparks then it’s not aluminium. The magnet will attract a bit to certain types of stainless however, like 316 which is actually more valuable. Fortunately 316 is kinda fancy so it usually has a stamp indicating that somewhere. 200 and 400 series are also slightly magnetic. The sparks from stainless are also shorter and duller than the ones from plain steel. It doesn’t have to be that complicated though, most scrapyards are just gonna do the magnet test and if the magnet sticks they throw it in the plain steel, so you can just sort them that way as well. Keep an eye out for the 316 though because they will recognize the difference and pay more for it. The 200 and 400 series are not worth caring about unless you’ve got a couple hundred pounds of them because you might have to drive all over the place before you find a yard that will have a category for them

[@spangdeez498]

@@thubprint And you’ll get the 100k subs too! Thank you for responding- and you taught me more in that paragraph than I’ve learned my whole scrapping career lol My expertise is in the NON ferrous category, as I never had a truck to junk until here recently .. can’t fit much scrap in an old Monte Carlo / Blazer 😂 my Yard will take stainless separate but you’re right - 90% just goes out into the pile

[@crankyemoji2328]

Highly enjoyed your video two thumbs up👍👍. The thing I thought was the most interesting was your wire stripping machine operated with your drill. Where can I get one or is that custom? Since you know a lot about melting metals. My question is can copper be melted down so it can be a heated brick so when camping this brick can be brought into the tent for heat without toxic chemicals fumes being emitted out. Example like the Indians would do with stones at the campfire.

[@thubprint]

Thank you! The wire stripper I use is called a Stripmeister, there’s a link to it in the description. That’s a cool idea for some melted copper! You could make a really cool design too if so inclined. Copper is an interesting material because it’s so good at heat transfer, it would heat up really easily but it may go cold faster than you’d like. Combined with hauling a heavy metal plate, you may find you’re happier just finding a few rocks while out there. If you just want to warm the bed up before you get in it though, I bet copper would be awesome

[@matt2244]

Now you need a room and place to put all the smelted metal and try and reach 1000KG.

[@thubprint]

Something to aim for!

[@gravitybear]

@9:01 Did you check those standoffs? Sometimes they are aluminum, even on a steel frame.

[@thubprint]

Oh good idea, I hadn’t really looked at them. Although the steel doesn’t have to be clean but worth keeping in mind

[@gravitybear]

@@thubprint Yup, they are often just press-fit into shallow holes so you can easily break them off with a pliers. No sense throwing the aluminum in the shred if you can easily get it off.

[@richardwarnock2789]

Scrappy is good 👍 👌!!!; )

[@Payaso_M13]

Could of sold for some good money in used market for electronics.

[@contomo5710]

repair and sell for 3.5k € or scrap for some change

[@FogartyAvenue]

Tree-mendos

[@thubprint]

😆

[@jakertheelaborater2573]

should've melted the aluminum

[@bentleyalder5492]

Why is your shop so dark?

[@thubprint]

It’s not too bad, but I use a single studio light and camera settings that make it appear that way so I have more control over how subjects are lit. I think it’s cozy!

[@handduggraverdronline]

Lovely now you can't sell your brass or copper

[@thubprint]

Come on now, you and I both know that’s not how copper works

[@killjoy987987]

Stainless steel screws

[@Geometrys]

Where’s you get this from, a crematorium?lol jk

[@ThePentadecagon]

GRRR ADULTING SUCKS IM SO BEHIND ON VIDEOS REEE

[@thubprint]

😂 the struggle! I’m right there with ya bud, but I’m proud of you for doing the thing and I’m sure future Patso will be grateful for the work you’ve been putting in 👊

[@ThePentadecagon]

@@thubprint yea lol just grinding up a cushion of funds so I can breath while I'm in job corp xD

[@jonnaughton]

Ok. I have to give this one a dislike. Saying you could fix it, but that's not what you do is heartbreaking. Had that machine been fixed, it works have gone for a LOT more than $70 Canadian. Those things retail for thousands.

[@vinniecocco9932]

You are wrong

[@vincedibona4687]

Jon, where in the title does he say he will fix it?

[@jonnaughton]

@@vincedibona4687 I know. It was more a half tongue in cheek comment as much as anything. At 0:25 he says “it probably could be repaired, but that’s not what I’m interested in”. Now, I absolutely love scrap (and scrapping), and I REALLY like thubprint’s videos. But I also like being able to save and rescue things if they can be saved, and I just feel that, ***IF*** this could have been repaired or repurposed, then it’s just a little disappointing that it just get broken up into scrap when maybe it would have been worth more to someone as a fixer-up-era. And ultimately at the end of the day, the only reason I did comment was to help thubprint via the like/comment/subscribe portion of the YT algorithm. As I said. I love his videos and have learnt a lot from watching them.

[@BushDogScrapper]

Congrats on 70K Subcibers Thubprint I followed your Instagram page not sure it it's still active or not

[@thubprint]

Thank you! These milestones do feel like little accomplishments, and I appreciate your help 👍 I haven’t posted to my insta in quite a long time but it’s really just to make it easy for people to dm me, I’m not trying to grow an audience there