New to Scrapping - Old Microscopes

Hey everyone first post,

Glad to be a part of this forum, and glad it exists.

All of your posts have been a great help to me so far.



Now to my question...

I have been able to get my hands on (legally of course) 4 old microscopes.

Everything but the frame seems to be solid brass, and the frame is made out of solid cast aluminum (weighs at least 5-10lbs each).


I was wondering what the scrap yard (I know they are all different just looking for guesses) would pay for solid aluminum
or if they would even take it.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by hobo finds

Break it down they will take it, or turn it in as and maybe get dirty brass for them

What I was wondering is if I broke it down, what quality of aluminum would they look at it as. It is a solid piece of aluminum that has a thin
layer of paint. Is all aluminum treated the same or can I get more for better pieces?

(I have already started separating the brass out)

Originally Posted by oldtoothlessbassmaster

did you cross check ebay completed auctions for "old brass microscope" before you started tearing them down ?

Yea... for a "working" microscope it is between $15-$20, but these are not working, and lenses are non-functional (trashed).

I have already read the posts where others wished they would have researched before tearing in so I made sure they were worthless.

Originally Posted by RyanScrap

Yea... for a "working" microscope it is between $15-$20, but these are not working, and lenses are non-functional (trashed).

I have already read the posts where others wished they would have researched before tearing in so I made sure they were worthless.

are they old or interesting looking?

Eric

I would think that if they appear to be complete then they might be marketed as vintage interior decorations.

I would not give up on anything made of brass that could possibly re-purposed for something else. Mike.

If you can completely separate the brass from the aluminum, check to see what type aluminum it is. Probably "Cast" (breakable - hit it with a hammer). Maybe around $0.37.

Aluminum here is one price, cast,extruded etc .45-.50#. Unless it is dirty or has alot of paint then it pays less, 75% less.

Ok well I found out that these are 1962 Swift Microscopes. Found one on etsy going for $70. I have just enough pieces to make a whole microscope. I think one set of optics looks pretty well. I have not decided if I am going to sell the other two broken microscopes for parts or just scrap them. I am going to undo my scrapping, and figure out if they will actually sell.

Thanks for all the responses!