What should I do with my hard drive spindles?...

So I was scrapping some batteries (UPS batteries at .25/lb), cast aluminum (from hard drives at .45/lb), computer wire at .40/lb, and some small electric motors (from computer fans at .24/lb), at my local scrap yard this afternoon and I asked the metal man there some questions with some pieces I was curious about....

1.) 1 thing was the hard drive spindles...which have copper inside similar to the computer fan's CBM. He told me they count those as aluminum ...which is fine considering I get more per lb on aluminum (.45/lb) than CBMS. (.24/lb)

Should I be opening these up and separating the copper from the aluminum...if so...how? I cant seem to get these open....and is it worth it?



2.) Do most of you scrap your hard drive platters as aluminum? Or do you collect a bunch and throw on EBAY?

3.) The magnets from the hard drive he classified as "light iron" and I received (.27/lb) ...is this the best way of going about this?

So what do you guys think...and am I getting good pricing or not?

Thanks in advance for any help.

We have a buyer here on the forums who buys Platters. For well more then your yard. Some folks sell to said buyer, some sell on ebay, or wherever they prefer.

If the spindle's are what I think your talking about, I don't break them down. Way to much time spent, not enough money for me to justify it.

I dont' sell my HD magnets so can't tell you on that. I trade mine to others for stuff, or keep them for no good reason. I wouldn't sell them tho to my yard I can tell you that much.

YMMV.

Sirscrapalot - Keeper of the traveling cooler.

The hard drive spindle motors I had been selling them on ebay but not really any this past six months. I think the problem is that the market is flooded with them along with the economy being bad. I believe the people who bought them were building remote controlled cars, trucks and airplanes. They liked them because of the high RPMs they turned. The problem I have selling them locally here with the scrap yards is that none of them will take them as aluminum scrap or not really even as motor scrap. I don't understand why this is so. What I have to do is mix a few of them at a time with my cast aluminum or motor scrap to get them out the door. Best I can do.