Trying Your Scrapping Hacks!

[@scrapitall200]

Thank you, Drake! Scrappers from southeast Asia use machetes scrapping sometimes, I have to credit them for the machete idea

[@scrapitall200]

I’ve done a 22 pound stator with my machete, worked like a charm.

[@thubprint]

Do they? That makes sense, I’ll have to hunt down some videos of that if I can! I appreciate you putting the technique out there, it definitely seems to be taking off 👍

[@scrapitall200]

@@thubprint if I can find the channel I saw it from I will let you know! Keep up the great work you do, buddy!

[@edwardloduca5975]

I appreciate both of your videos and your crediting others. I've learned a lot from you both. ~Blessings

[@scrapitall200]

@@edwardloduca5975 thank you, I really appreciate that.

[@pendlechild7516]

Love your channel and this vid - with one exception, cleaning pressure relief valves with no eye protection. Hopefully it was an oversight, but as a reminder - you are working with a spring loaded piece, and just one unlucky day that spring will fly where it shouldn’t. With over 40 yrs in the biz I learned that scrappers all get hurt sometime, somehow, yes - me included. All you can do is reduce exposure to risks and don’t tempt fate but rather stay one step ahead of it through safe practices. I only mention this in the hope that I might help someone avoid losing an eye. Thank you, and keep up the great videos!

[@E-BikingAdventures]

Reminds me of that old public safety commercial of someone hammering a big metal spike and a piece of metal flies off in slow motion towards the camera lense.

[@woodguy76]

A hatchet is better for splitting motors. A wood splitter works great too.

[@wheressteve]

For motors I use a hammer/screwdriver in the middle to split it enough to stick a nail or screw on one side, do the other side and then sawzall through the gap. I works well for me and I've been using the same 12" blade for a long time now so no extra costs.

[@bread-gz3rl]

11:00 newer romex has a secondary clear plastic layer that's a pain in the ass. This trick works great on the outside rubber layer though

[@gsmscrazycanuck9814]

there is a solution to using the machete. Once you get down to the top of the blade, turn it over, support both ends and hammer on the transformer or whatever you are splitting.

[@ericprater4017]

It is from a "disc" a common farm implement.

[@multidave2650]

I'm so pleased you found the motor clip, that's what I've been doing the last year quick and no money spent on electricity or disks

[@wikkedspindl]

I used a hand planer for stripping wire. Thick blade, easy on the carpal tunnel and safer than knives, blades or cheap potato peelers. Aside from that I always wanted to try the machete idea. Good to see someone with an honest answer and not trying to grab for content.

[@blackwidowfarms]

Temperature has a lot to do with how easily the insulation can be cut off. if you crank up your woodstove those potato peelers should work a lot better on the softer insulation

[@TheOtherBud]

A hatchet for splitting motor's works well or a SDS drill plus wide chisel works plus a big vice helps

[@christopherzweerink176]

The thin steel in the video is a old blade from a disk that is used for farming can allso be found on platers and plows .

[@rubberz1]

Dude this was so much fun, and I really appreciate your honesty with the analysis of each hack.

[@patrickmorrissey2271]

Great video.... @ 7:10 There are heavy gloves out there intended for this sort of thing.... I don't have the Hands Of Hercules, but, proper gloves help A LOT....

[@Trash_Cowboy]

I would consider finding a chisle for the pressure relief valves instead of the screwdriver. I'm going to try that :)

[@thubprint]

Oh, like a narrow little one! That sounds like a winning improvement.

[@raymondmundt385]

Hey Thub I think it would help out if you mounted your vice to a more stable surface like your work bench. It would really make some tasks easier for you.

[@MattsAwesomeStuff]

I've nagged at him before for this. You're only as strong as the weakest link in your leverage machine. If you can't heave your whole body at something and have it stay put, then you're probably only working as hard as a child could. Strong vice base, heavy strong worktable, and your productivity probably triples. At least he bolted his vice down to the stump. It's better than last year. Baby steps, we'll convince him :p

[@alexpanagiotidis1828]

Agree

[@joshuamorris9050]

For real

[@NeverEvil1]

The Princess Auto machete had my butthole puckered. Grab a non mulching lawn mower blade. The steeper bevel will help protect your edge, and you will have a thicker spine on the back to hit against. Most of them will be free if you pick up mowers regularly and when they are beyond saving, they can be turned in as prepared steel. The brass pieces, I’d say you found the best process. Second idea would be getting a set of locking pliers and then smacking the insert out. Wire stripping. If it’s stranded, turn it in as insulated and save your money for a $60 stripper from the Jungle site or the electronic auction site. If it’s solid 14/12/10 gauge, a peeler looks decent, but Thub’s kitchen knife idea might be the best.

[@thubprint]

The jungle site 😆 I love the idea of the lawnmower blade, that seems super accessible and for the reasons you outlined would probably be a big improvement over machete. A little welding would turn it into the wedge shape I liked as well

[@ScrapFatherScrapSon]

This is a cool way for creators to shout out other creators . This is a family each trying to help out the other! Awesome video!

[@thubprint]

Rising tide raises all ships? I won’t pretend I was simply being altruistic, it would be wrong not to credit the people the ideas came from but if this video helps them gain some more visibility, that’s a win for everyone!

[@driving_in_YYC]

Nice to see content from a good local guy. Thanks man.

[@paulcoenen7918]

A+ Thub. This is why i subbed many years ago, you try new things and report how it goes 😊 I did a bunch of wall outlets i had piled up the other day. I wanted the brass. Spent 3 hours for a pound and a half of nice brass. Looks great in the jar but at $1 an hour i had to question my sanity 🤔

[@thubprint]

😆 note to self: don’t do wall outlets! That sounds really not great, but now we both know that!

[@handlesRdumb]

When it comes to brass valves that are a hassle i just crack them in half but squeezing them in my vice maybe it's bigger or heavier than an average vice but it does the trick. For small wire i had a 2x6 with a bunch of different size holes (for each size wire) and a sharp screw going perpendicular through the hole. Thread the wire through and tighten down the screw to pierce the insulation then pull the wire through. Cheap and easy just replace the screws when they get dull

[@campervan-john]

Scraping on a budget ideas 👍

[@mariushmedias]

For stripping wire, just make a tool... try drilling a hole in a wood board or aluminum bar just big enough for the thickness of your wire, make the piece maybe 5-10 inches deep ... then make a small opening at the top, just enough to be able to press a safety razor blade down on the cable (make a sort of lever that grabs the razor by its edges so you can replace them as they get dull and you can press down on the level as you pull the wire. So basically lift lever, insert wire until it comes out the other hole, press lever down for razor to get into insulation, pull on the wire. The tiny piece of wire that still has insulation can be manually processed.

[@joeigneczi2524]

Use a hook razor blade and a vise to strip bx and romex wire

[@choccolocco]

This. Works great and a big pack of hook blades is fairly cheap. They also work great at splitting the main insulation on romex. Of course, I’ve since built a simple two wheel stripper for large amounts operated by a drill. That’s the beauty in scrapping, there’s always parts you can use to build tools and machines.

[@pgh1729]

I was reading on Reddit and saw a guy mention that he doesn’t strip his Romex and instead he soaks it in water for a few days, let’s the paper get wet and the inside fill up with water and then he sells it when gets a few garbage bags full like that and the water weight makes up almost to the point $wise as stripping it…criminal, but thought was interesting and if anything I couldn’t knock the ingenuity…🤣 Ever heard of anyone doing this Thub?

[@robwaterfiled6168]

when hitting the machete on both sides and jarring your hand, remove machete and rotate motor, replace machete and hit at the top again. If you can find an old machete it would probably be better steel than cheap new ones. A clever would work well too. Cheers Panda, appriciate ya

[@Kreacher1974]

The best way to clean the brass is to cut it in half with an angle grinder. Brass is soft and will usually cut easily.

[@scotthoward4836]

The video was based on use use on non power tools though

[@dumpsterjerry3577]

Them water release valves i watched a guy scrapper D ( RIP my friend ) lock them in a vise upside down and pound down on the copper stem. On the wire peeler ( hi BK ✌️ ) you have to use a certain brand of veggie peeler.

[@nachostuff]

Fun video - love it!

[@ThatsRightRecycling]

@Nacho Stuff break down videos 😂😂😂

[@nicejunk666]

@@ThatsRightRecyclinglol like never!

[@BOOT]

A bench top press with a modified blade might split those easy, pumping the handle might be a bit slower/faster but still easier.

[@Edward-ju1vj]

3 more tips. I already left 3 on this thread.1st I use vinegar on wire to get dirty wire to the bear bright price. It works good on Dark stained wire And for people who burn wire (I dont But I don't have this much of a problem with that as other people, because the wire is gonna be sold to the Philippines and they're gonna burn it there anyway in my opinion) Anyway, I use a construction bag Fill it with tightly spoiled wire and vinegar, then push all the air out. Take the copper out a few hours later and reuse the bag and vinegar over and over. I use a rare earth magnet to separate my MLC's monolithic capacitor. I don't collect them unless the board is from the 1990s or older. Any MLCS that stick to a rare earth magnet can be tossed in the garbage. Third- I put my cable spoiled up in the sink Or bathtub and soak it in hot water. And you can will strip cable twice the size of my thumb like butter with a good sharp knife.

[@E-hab]

cold weather probably made pealing the wires more difficult

[@steveherr450]

i had a fireman ax head that i used to cut them open that worked great but someone walked off with it a while back. haven't found a decent replacement yet. i did try a stone chisel the other day and that might have worked if I had a bigger hammer but my big hammer walked too. for pressure relief valves i just asked at the yard how they wanted them clean for the best price seeing I have over 400 to do. and he showed me that they take a screwdriver and insert it in the side hole pointing up against the top and hit it with a hammer and the top supposedly pops off. another scrapper guy listening in at the yard showed me the way you just did it but then the yard guy said it was easier to do it the other way and knock it up with one punch versus hammering down and prying. I haven't tried it yet though but that is how they clean them, they should know. i like watching how they clean different things. lets me know if they can hire guys to clean things in the background then it pays me to take it apart too then. if they don't take it apart then maybe it isn't worth stripping farther. for cutting copper pipes i have a few bigger bolt cutters floating around my shop besides a couple of smaller ones.

[@sagelikea6130]

I better option would be a hydraulic press with a Vicsonvee-type wedge.

[@kdscrapping4452]

I have been doin the brass relief valve that way for years, I use a pointed end instead of a flat screw driver. the first one in your video is called a coulter disc from a plow .I have a video of this type ,but put a handle on mine call it the Motor Hatchet!!

[@cindylucas3145]

Really enjoyed the video Thub. More of these please.

[@keith102955]

On the pressure release valves the part that is copper on the bottom has a steel bar in it that has to be removed after you take the plastic coating off just cut the end off it will fall out

[@thubprint]

I thought it probably wasn’t pure copper!

[@keith102955]

@@thubprint it’s Hollow with a steel rod in it easy to take out

[@gussuperman7565]

M8 that was a good video , but when it comes to wire stripping , I'll use your proven method The Strip Meister . It is an expensive way to strip tons of copper wire , without getting tired by stripping by hand . The machete method I tried and it works like a charm on small transformers and small electric motors ,an axe head works on the bigger stuff. You're a good man Thub . Keep up the good work. God bless y'all.

[@gussuperman7565]

I meant to say an inexpensive way to strip copper wire .

[@williamclark9624]

Got a stripmeister 250. Working great for 3 years now.

[@vinnienowhere1015]

I use an ax on smaller transformers. Works really well! Also use those wire cutters on the brass ends of water lines.

[@choccolocco]

For tubing, a corner edge of some thick steel, such as the peening flat on a vice, and a two pound hammer. Smack the tubing on the corner and make a “crease”, work your way down the tubing in sections, and then just break it by hand. Much faster than the cutters, and less work imo. I use that method sometimes, other times I use a small 3 1/2” circular saw with a metal blade. It’s the best for large amounts, very “assembly line” like.

[@Ljokerz]

14:20 i got my self a hand healed wire striper from amazon but after using it for 100 lbs of copper wire stripping i realized its much easier to use a sharp alpha knife and a leveled table. one day ill do KZbin videos as well and i can show how i do it. Side note im in Canada and i buy my alpha blades at dollarama for 1.50$ for a pack of 10 blades

[@dr.a006]

Great examples! In the end, find efficient ways to scrap with the simple tools, then take that money earned and buy better tools or power tools. Screwdriver => power drill Hacksaw => angle grinder or sawzall And so on.

[@jrae6608]

Thanks for doing these.

[@VetvsWorld]

Don’t hammer towards yourself bro, especially w/o ppe! Otherwise, great video. While not a scrapper, I do stop and angle grind pipes off water heaters-but I cast things, so it saves a big from having to buy copper or bronze ingots. I also snag wires from dyers and the like too. ✊🏻

[@jinquai87]

There is a tool called a froe, its for splitting kindling and for making wood shingles. It is made to be hit with a sledge/maul/hammer/etc... and would be nicer on your hands & wrist than the machete. Might be a better candidate for motor splitting.

[@joemcintyre2090]

I know that it's out of category but I wonder how a log splitter would do? May have to modify the wedge or perhaps a hydraulic press?

[@thewonderfulwizardofozisan7573]

Cool! The potatopealer thing could be good for me if I get into microscrapping! Thanks Thub!

[@ScienceFoundation]

I tried the splitting trick after I saw this one with the head of an old square point shovel. It worked really well

[@coreydyck1468]

Best stripper hands down is a break flare clamp and any razor blade you get a multi sized adjustable stripping plate hand held and you can always find them in the cheapy bin at your local auto parts store

[@VibinBryan]

i saw a guy cut the ends off of extension cords, boil the ends in water to make the rubber malleable so he could pull the brass bits out of them.

[@tommymadden9746]

awesome video. But I love my Dewalt angle grinder

[@ericprater4017]

Great Job thub!

[@MetalMelters]

I'm going to use some of these for sure!!!

[@John-jl3ky]

I enjoy your videos, I've been wanting to try the machete method, really soon, mostly on transformers.

[@DianaRea-nv8zc]

I used a hatchet instead of machete and that worked well. Love your videos.

[@joshuamorris9050]

Grinder nd a pry bar is way faster

[@mr.zardoz3344]

It only works well if it works for you. We like your style no matter how you do it.

[@georgepppp533]

so the blade didn't always cut it, the peeler wasn't really appealing, pressure is off the TPR valves, jaws in vise didn't grab me. all good to know!

[@gregfleury1705]

Use a meat cleaver vs a machete. The cleaver is good quality steel and most people don't them regularly for their intended purpose =) I tried and it worked well. Awesome work man! Calgary for the win!

[@E-BikingAdventures]

The harder the steel, the more easily it will break. Hardness and tensile strength are 2 different things. Stainless steal has a lot of chrome. Chrome is hard, but it's brittle.

[@E-BikingAdventures]

" most people don't them regularly "? What does that mean?

[@josephstanley200]

On the first one I’d just use an old ax with or without the handle Super cheap for the rusty old one at junk shop and great steel

[@bearhardcorepicker]

I use a manual hack for removing rivetted frying pan handles (video on my channel), not a 100% foolproof, but works on easily 90% of the aluminium frying pans out there.

[@MattsAwesomeStuff]

With respect to the machete trick... a junky old axe head might would work fine. And you don't want it to be sharp necessarily, because it'll cut into the metal if it ever gets a bite. You ideally want it to cut at first, and then just push the halves apart. Also, if you have a welder, what I would do is a build a mini hydraulic press. Basically some box tube or bed rail in an H-frame or A-frame or square box with a car jack (scissor style). Weld your blade (whatever it is) to a plate that bolts to the bottom of the jack, and then use your impact gun or drill to raise and lower the scissor. Like a slow motion but super strong guillotine. Probably a half-day project, but a fun benchtop tool that you'd probably see a lot of use from. Tool/project videos for scrapping would probably get a lot of views. I know guys who have made firewood splitters using car jacks and a piece of big pipe they cut the belly out of and then chop sideways, can't be much different.

[@tylerwieczorek6011]

I’m not sure I can post a picture but if you have a peeler that fits in your palm, it works great

[@eternalbatteringram5916]

Has anyone tried a wood splitting axe maul on motors ?

[@allthingsjack89]

Hey Thub. I have never tried the machete method but i found that an axe works well useing the same technique. Cheapest hatchet at Canadian tire, after sharpening it, it works pretty good.

[@thadofalltrades]

I was thinking a hatchet might be the way too. Works much more like a wedge

[@dart336]

I use a harbor freight air compressor driver, would be interesting if you could convert a harvester blade into an attachable chisel.

[@SkullerMetals]

Great idea for a vid. Interesting!

[@stevesrt8]

i feel like its hard to beat a large kitchen knife for stripping wire

[@randk8609]

You are amazing dude!

[@donnajohnson2604]

Canadian Treasure hunter uses a small sledge to hit the machete.

[@E-BikingAdventures]

He did a video years before that using a hatchet.

[@Edward-ju1vj]

I have a few tips that I'm shocked I cannot find on KZbin or anybody else doing that save me enormous time... I can strip wire almost as fast as a stripper does. I pin the wire to my Right leg With a hunting knife With my right hand. And pull the wire Through with my left hand It works similar to your Vegetable peeler, except you have a much better blade with a knife. Much much better being on a vice and trying to run yourself down the wire. I can strip Hundred lbs of bear bright in a few hours. And that With taking my time and I'm watching TV when I do it. My second tip is that you turn a skill saw blade backwards. It will cut aluminum copper and any soft metals without Trashing the blade... In my 3rd tip is that I use a Little pipe cutter That you spin around the copper pipe to get a clean end. I used that tool to Cut thick cable when it's in areas that I can't get a saw or a blade into. I use it just like you would on a copper Water line. You just keep tightening it and spinning it It won't go all the way through But it cuts 3⁄4 of the way through and you just wiggle the cable back and forth and the copper breaks off. This is save me from nightmares and headache galore. I don't check my Replies often but I'll try to check in in case I didn't explain something right I can clarify it if someone needs me to but the wire stripping one People need to learn. I can't believe People are using vegetable peelers to try to strip wire when this works so incredibly well I can do 60' of wire in 30 seconds! Just remember the wire goes 1 direction in the blade goes it at 90 ° angle And don't have the blade straight down into your leg have the blade flat on your leg with just a little pitched angle to get under the Jacket jacket. It works incredibly well because the knife doesn't dig into the copper for some reason it just glides on the top of it strips it off as fast as you can pull. The knife never moves. If you're moving the knife around you're doing it wrong. The knife pushes the wire into your leg causing a little track that it runs in almost. As you play with it you'll get the idea and see how incredibly easier it isis. I have a wire strip and don't even use it.

[@aaronhoyes1781]

That is exactly how I strip wire too. It works so well!

[@ashliedavis8396]

Chop saws work good for most everything

[@maryroberts4126]

Nice I should try

[@E-BikingAdventures]

Stranded vs solid core wire makes a big difference in which hack will work or not.

[@jayr9810]

Water heater valves, quicker to use long punch through the hole side you can see the spring, keeps the parts from flinging across the garage with pry driver method. Curious about efficient way to remove steel rod inside the copper portion

[@JacobafJelling]

Hello mate. Could you do a video on the best car parts to scrap?? Thanks. I come across numerous out in the desert as I travel here in Australia. Cheers from a newbie

[@joeybuldo3008]

Plz make more of these

[@buckhensley4421]

I find a fixed razor knife works real good 😅

[@4squarebeast554]

In your compressor video you did were did you buy all of them from???

[@thubprint]

I bought them from a local scrapyard, the same scrapyard I brought them back to. They don’t process them in house so they were happy to sell them to me for an experiment.

[@jessicamarez5024]

I’ve seen where they use a hatchet instead of the machete

[@christiancrowe8996]

Put a blade similar to that on the bottom of a hydraulic press and it should split them quick.

[@lorrainemcdonald7332]

I think the potato peeler was inspired!

[@44davewright]

Love these!! I've used the knife for wire, thinking that the peeler might be a good substitute. Going to try splitting motors and transformers next. Great vid Thub, thanks

[@nicejunk666]

You need a higher quality machete the one scrapitall uses is Damascus steel

[@ThatsRightRecycling]

That's Right

[@DavidGS66]

Try meat cleavers as I have. They work, but I had the same issues as you with machete, except I didn't have a problem holding onto handle. I found the 2 meat cleavers in garbage, broke 1 after -- I forget -- maybe 10 motors & still am using 2nd one. Meat cleaver will break if you hammer it thru steel, so I use other tools to create a split that I can easily hammer meat cleaver thru.

[@jerrykroskie7782]

I put my vise on a 4 in steel pipe 6 ft long post hole dig 3 ft deep a bag or two of premixed concrete so far mine is permanent

[@ScrappyDoGooder]

Thanks for another great video!

[@johnchristie1423]

you need a vice nut in the jaw before it lets go. Good review. Guess we will see that machite in the PA return bin . Hope you get to 1k thumbs up with this one

[@johnwilkening3785]

I use 2 axes and a hammer a flat head screwdriver and a Philips and a wire cutter, also a few knives 😂😂😂

[@billa9298]

I'm just going to suggest the obvious how about a hatchet instead of a wedge it already is a wedge you can either leave the handle on or take it off

[@jonathanhege5029]

Beautiful video!

[@trasieinkersole491]

Great idea too so this, very interesting. ❤️💙

[@ScrapPalletMan]

Nice

[@saskk2290]

That scraphound one is straight up money. I feel dumb now

[@joshuamorris9050]

Wanna see a timer I still say a grinder and a pry bar is fastest for the motors

[@richavic4520]

Holy caramba, the machete thing is repeatable. Scrapitall's machete is quite substantial. It looks like you got yours at a big box store. Oh, and did you try to cradle those motors inside of the circle of that plate? I learned one hack from the guy from Florida. His fillet knife wire stripper against the hip was easy to learn, and I can strip stranded wire as fast as I can pull it. If I start digging into the copper strands, I just rotate the wire and start a fresh cut.

[@thubprint]

Yeah, I did just buy the one I could find in a store, his looks like it was probably handmade. I didn’t try setting the motors in the middle, that would certainly stop them from walking around!

[@ProductionsLightMike]

Yeah, I was going to mention Project shop Florida for the fillet knife too, seems pretty easy. Especially when I leave the wires out in the sun to soften....Of course, I live in Arizona, lol... ~LightMike

[@82camionero]

My potato pealer was absolutly great! 2£ and dont hundreds of kilos in copper

[@a7mad421]

Instead of a machete, use a meat cleaver. Works like a charm.

[@SmokyNiteSky]

Use a hatchet for the motors maybe?

[@BushDogScrapper]

As I always call my subscribers ScrapHounds I had no idea there was a channel with the same name 😂

[@dadgadcan]

Awesome video!!!!