eesakiwis adventures

any chance of pics?


not nice to tell us all about what goodies u have & not show us pics.

Wow, backpacking stuff!! Probably keep in shape that way.

I got a little lost on the scrap drop off site. Someone else owns it but he lets you scrap some of it. Or is he paying you for breaking down the e-scrap and then gets a cut of the cash?

Why you saving up so much of the non-ferrous stuff before selling it? I'd be concerned about break in and someone stealing it...

if u dont mind me asking,
do u live off scrap only?

or do u have another job?

I like taking apart computer power supplies. Usually nice Al heat sinks there. There is 1 e-scrap buyer in my metro that's on this forum. I plan to take over some boards and see what he would give for them. If power supplies would go more as whole there instead of scrapped, might save them up for him. I'm saving all my gold ram, etc. Maybe try to home refine it some day. A fantasy to see if I could actually do it and produce something...

Some of the power supplys have a small, easy to break in 1/2, transformer in them. Some have Copper heatsinks, very few of them.
There's no scrap dealers who buy escrap here, in my area or in the whole of NZ. There's one guy who does have a 'contact' in Asia who buys escrap. He has got the 'contact' thru buying Jappa cars 'n vans and tearing out the engines/gearboxes and shipping them in containers to Asia & the middle east.
So its going to be a learning curve for both of us.

I am on a benefit, no shame in that in NZ. Stress mainly, screws up my eyesight, fall over... People stress mostly, asbergic don't help either. I expect the truth because that's what truth is, reality. False is fake, fake is not real, not real in a real world is stress.
So, scrapmetal does not involve others much and removes ambiguity. Scrapmetal is about the only game where "If I do this, you will give me this $$" and it actually happens like that. 'Cept a couple of times, sorted that out of the mix.

I am self reliant, got my own house when I was working, welding fitting turning construction. Have a trade.

Today, on the walk to the scrapmetal, found a pile of Ali cans and will get them tomorrow.
I didn't get much other metal, spent the day scrapping down a 4 toner photocopier, unscrewing screws.....
From that I got a bunch of stepper motors for my mini lathe. The emco minilathe works well if the hand wheels are turned by motors. Turned by hand the machine finish is rough, it needs consistancy. Stepper motors will do that.
Next step would be semi CNC controls. My next door neighbour is a computer buff/tinkerer. Great guy, ex school teacher & Vietnam vet. He's really interested in doing the computer stuff for it.
Its going to be set up inside a older Singer sewing machine case. Portable.

On a side note, I am intending to build a metal lathe from a set of motorbike front shocks. Sounds weird, but I'm a fitter/turner, latheworks my job. Sort of a cross between a mini lathe and a Capstan lathe, but using only specific second hand parts. Probably a collet chuck. And a tailstock using the 5 piston car AC pump, 5 tools in it.

Ok, so today I got stepper motors, big handfull of steel shafts, plastic coated wire, Copper strips, Ali rocker cover, Ali housing, Copper winding drier motor. Found a large flatscreen LCD tv, will check that tomorrow for broken screen.
But mostly I am near finished the clearing of the guys yard.
Tomorrow I start on the plotter printer, which I want most of the parts from for a project. And scrap some 26 v DC power supplys, toroid transformers, from CCTV system. I wish I could do something with them, sell them.
But scrappings quicker. I don't have a need for them, 12 + 26v outputs for cct cameras..

Sounds like you keep plenty busy!!

You ever use a bike and trailer for scrapping? Seems like you have the talent to whip up a trailer to increase the amount you can carry.

Eesa,

You got plenty stuff to do! I'm a wannabe fitter/turner--over here they call it a machinist. I became an engineer instead--I think they call it a "chartered engineer" in the UK...not sure about your part of the globe.

I've always wanted to play with CNC and finally am getting it in sight. Just picked up an old electric eye burner from a fab shop--I'm friends with the boss and stopped by a few weeks ago just as it was preparing to go into the scrap dumpster. I'm hoping to get it running with steppers or servos.

You might find some of the slider rods out of the photocopiers and printers look very nice for axis slides for CNC but don't be surprised if you find them harder than the hinges of H*ll. Great if you don't have to rework the ends much. They might be softened by judicious heating and slow cooling.

I think your idea of a toolchanger from an air conditioning compressor is a great idea. You have an agile mind for sure!! And not scared to work...walking 10 blocks each way to chase scrap, well, I have to imagine you are one wiry dude with all that excercise...

I'll be watching for updates to your thread!

Jon.

I tried using a small garden trailer behind my pushbike. I made a drawbar from a old bikes front forks.
Sorta hard to describe, but the forks bolted on the rear axle of my bike, the first two inches of frame was still on the front forks( which were horizontal behind my bike) I welded a steel plate across where I cut the frame off the donor bike. In the centre of the plate was a 1 inch hole, which had a bolt up thru it, that connected the drawbar to the drawbar of the trailer. It was a good idea, I can turn corners because it swivels at the bolt, and I can lean the bike over because of the swivel.action from the frame of the donor bike on its headstock on the forks.

But, I used it twice.... The wheels are too small a diameter and wide, there's just too much rolling friction in the tyres.
I carted 6 odd microwaves and a few fridge compressors.
It ment pedalling hard the whole time, even going downhill...... Too much sweating and I got followed by someone in a car the second time I used it.
However, it will get modified so it can be towed behind my honda xr250.
For the bike, which I would like to make a usable trailer for, I have started making one using a small fridge shell and two wheels from pushbikes, less rolling resistance. It will need welding to make it, can't see a way around that.

Yesterday I got rid of the lightgauge iron from my property in the deal I have with the guy who let's me scrap the nonferrous metal from his scrap metal dropoff yard. Good, less mess at my place and some ca$h in his pocket.

Today I finished scrapping a plotter printer, got Copper from 3 crt tvs, washing
machine motor, various steel shafts and some escrap, 1kg ali casting a dehumidifier and a toroidal transformer from a cctv power supply 26volt by 12outputs. I want to see what it scraps out at because there's some others, it may pay to sell them. Along with some 9 yr old servers from the same cctv setup. Dell brand.

Tomorrow I will be helping shift 50 odd CRT tvs, I will get the Copper out of the best yealding ones, about ten tomorrow, another ten next week. Oh, and helping the guy shift his metal so he can take it to the scrapyard.
He's got internet, so we can see what the servers are worth.

By the end of this month I should have sorted out all my metal so its ready for selling, next week will be busy cleaning stuff down. Then next month, clean down the escrap and sell it.

Rained yesterday. So today I started late. Got to my area & found 6 microwaves..
Only 1 of them was a invertor, yay. The rest seem to be 'double Coppers.'
Just after I got there, my nemesis drove by, haha, 'yah not stealing any metal now...'
Between that and a washing mc motor & some wire, a glass beer jug 1litre, a fridge icebox.
That was a 45kg load to carry home.
Nice, it ups my microwave transformers to about 9, + a Copper motor.
The 5 servers I have are Dell 2850. I sent a message and 'no bites' was the answer. Oh well.

This weekend is 'labour day' a sorta workers holiday on Monday. That, with spring weather, means people will be out cleaning up stuff, which means more metal dumped, which means I should be at the metal dumping area to get first dibs, and to clean it up a bit if the owner doesn't on Saturday.
If I'm there, I can help others unload, get first chance at the metal and drive off people wanting to steal stuff, and rearrange the roofing iron into a nice wrapped pile so the owner can pick it up with the grapple in one go.
It also helps stop people dumping rubbish there. 1/2 of them just come back later, or to dump it elsewhere.

Also, I have 2 car batterys, 3 fridge compressors to take home, along with what I can scrap out of what's been put aside. Someones (nemesis, fat fxxx, steals metal with 'weight' to sell to scrappers, stealing from metal dumps owner) found my 'spot' where I store stuff I cannot carry home at the time. I lost a cast iron gas hob and real nice cast iron cooking pot, and found the lid just afterwards....
I need 40 kg Copper wire #2 to get to my goal, so far, unscrapped I have about 14kg. Plus 4 elsewhere.

Keeping busy! So why a 40 kilos goal (88 pounds, right??)?

Originally Posted by DakotaRog

Keeping busy! So why a 40 kilos goal (88 pounds, right??)?

Its so I get a total of 200kg #2 Copper....
I 'won't count my chickens' on the amount of 'Domestic Copper' till its bare Copper in my hands, the rest I can figure out sorta what its worth. But hearing that metal prices have dropped.. ouch. Dunno what its done at my yard though.

Today, I got 2 all Copper microwaves, a purple ceramic Gold pin CPU computer, a cast Ali chassis lawnmower (great score, looks like it works) a small flatscreen, 4 small cable CRTs, a mix of small Ali & wire.
30kg load plus the lawnmower...

I did, stack all the roofing iron so its easyer for people to dump their stuff there.
Tomorrow I will get what's arrived, the fridge compressors and start moving some CRTs and sort out the bigger cable ones, the Sony flatscreens.

The day after the last post, I found another, green this time, jerry can, canny?! Another kg of window putty, some Kerosine and linseed oil, all yard sale leftovers I think, someone needed them gone.

The next day, a lawn mower again, this time its a 2 stoke, plenty of compression, yay.
Stripped out 4 tvs, Ali extrusion from a fridge and scrapped down the 7 servers after all.
I carried the large fridge compressor on my back and pushed home the lawnmower with the rest of the stuff on it.
Nice haul.

Today, talked to the guy with the tvs, told him about the red jerrycan, he mentioned he'd like to have one, would pay for it (the red one) as he's got a car the same colour. So I'm giving him that one and I will keep the green one.
I stacked corrigated roofing iron at the scrapmetaldumpoff yard, to make more space for them.
And got a car aircon compressor, dunno if its a piston sort yet. That's what I'm looking for for my lathe.
Scrapped out 5 crts with super thick cables, one random one of med size cable.
A couple of store display steel tubes for my gocarts.
And the last two motherboards from the servers I scrapped yesterday and a fridge compressor. Car spark coil.
Total today 35kg, small load....
I left a reduction drive I found from a old car, its still got long metal bits stuck to it, reduction drives are handy, great drop in revs for something like a rumbler I intend to build from a flying saucer shaped gas bottle.

Tomorrow, intend to do another 5 crts, fridge compressor, reduction drive and see what else I can pick up.