What is my stuff made out of?

So I was curious how I could help identify which metals some of my scrap is made of. I have an old filing cabinet in the basement that I'm getting rid of, and I'm assuming that's some type of steel or aluminum. I know copper and brass are more distinct due to the color, but is there any easy way to test or determine which metals you have?

Originally Posted by Mick

Magnet. Steel is magnetic; aluminum is not. Copper is red-ish; brass is yellow-ish.

A magnet is a very basic tool that every scrap metal buyer has AT ALL TIMES. My first month, I bought a 40# roll of copper-coated steel wire as copper wire. I felt real dumb until a scrap yard owner told me an employee once bought 5,000# the same way. Then I didn't feel so bad.

How about stainless steel? That's not magnetic, correct?

I called the place around the block from me and I got quoted as follows, tell me if this sounds decent to you:

Brass: .50/lb.
Copper: 2.90 - 3.10 /lb.
Steel: .08/lb.
Aluminum: .50/lb.

That seems pretty lucrative to me.

That is about the prices I get here. I took in alot off brass last week and was a bit bummed that it dropped so much after it held steady at $1.05 a pound. Got there with this batch and got $0.55/p.

Originally Posted by Mick

Some stainless steel is magnetic and some is not. Then there are various degrees of magnetic for different types of stainless. Stainless steel will more likely be confused with chrome plated steel than with aluminum. There is also the "spark test" using a grinder. Do a search on here using "stainless steel" and prepare to do some reading and take notes.

I have no grinder available to me, so I guess that won't matter. Still, I'll do my reading - I always enjoy learning new stuff anyway. Thank you for the swift, informative replies. I'll let you guys know how it goes when I collect my stuff.

Oh, sorry this may be a dumb question but could I just take that entire filing cabinet to them, assuming it's all metal in some form? I don't know the protocol with this stuff yet, so I don't know if it's appropriate to drag a full-sized file cabinet in there, or if I have to break everything down into pieces, or what.

Yes, you don't worry about smashing it up or taking it apart. Can you imagine how hard it would be for us scrappers to flatten a stove we just tore apart. Only reason to smash different items up is if you were trying to eliminate a trip by squeezing everything into one load.

Awesome to know - it's a shame I have a coupe, and not a pickup truck. That's going to be the biggest issue with trying to make money with this endeavor!

Correct, no need to strip out the cabinet, or crush it. I took 230 5 drawers file cabinets in last year. Dump 'em out, they crush 'em.

I've never heard of an SS file cabinet either, but a search shows they exist. Particular one I saw is painted, so it wouldn't hurt to put a magnet to yours to see.


As for a grinder, I've had good luck with the $20 angle grinder from Harbor Freight. 5 years of hard use and still going strong.

Oh cool - maybe if this turns out to be a profitable hobby for me, I'll pick up a grinder one day.

Other quick question - old TVs, anything useful in those? I have 3 of them, they work so I feel kinda bad wasting them, but old bulky TVs are a pain nowadays. Any point in tearing them open to grab parts inside, or no?

There's a little steel, copper, and some wires in a TV. There's also a few circuit boards in there that can sell for $2 per pound on eBay if you want to deal with that. They're not that hard to take apart. Just a few screws in the back and usually some tape and zip ties inside holding everything together.

Originally Posted by Scrap man

There's a little steel, copper, and some wires in a TV. There's also a few circuit boards in there that can sell for $2 per pound on eBay if you want to deal with that. They're not that hard to take apart. Just a few screws in the back and usually some tape and zip ties inside holding everything together.

Ah, cool, maybe I'll try this tomorrow. I almost feel bad taking apart a perfectly useful (albeit heavy) TV, though.

I personally know of several grades of Stainless Steel that is attracted to a magnent one being 400 series.


Just saying