Do you cut your scrap ?

I'm very OCD and I need everything neat and in its own bin . So when I get some aluminum or copper that's too big to fit in my drum I cut it up so it'll fit. Do you guys feel as I'm wasting my time or is it something that you guys do as well ? I also don't cut them up right away I put them to the side with my "breakdown " stuff such as TV and computers to do when I have off time.

If that's how you want to process your scrap, then you're not wasting your time. Everybody has their own way of doing things. For example, I cannot stand to have screws, small pieces of plastic, metal or wire laying around on the floor. I always keep my work area picked up and swept.

Some may think it is a waste of time. I say what ever works for u do it. I have bins that I place stuff in too, mostly large totes, plastic oh and milk crates for some stuff. I do cut up some things to make sure they fit into there prospective tub properly, so that when it is full, I know it is full as it can get.
So I don't think what u do is really a waste of time, as long as it doesn't take away from gathering or production per say.

If its aluminum I usually break it over my knee until it fits in the drum. As for steel, unless there's no other way to fit it in with my load I leave as is with the exception of long steel pipes that I will bend in half using my trailer tongue for leverage. Copper is soft so I just stuff it in the barrel and pack it down with my sledge. If I had the time to cut it all up and the money to spend on fuel/blades etc to cut it with I would probably have an easier time fitting more weight in one load.

What do you use to cut? If its a grinder with a cutoff wheel you are literally burning money unless you're using it to cut windings. And for a torch in my opinion the only thing worth cutting is super long pipe and compressors. Save ur used up blades or keep track of ur fuel and u may be suprised at how much u spend on being neat.

A while back I did a clean out of a warehouse/thrift store and they had like dozens of these cheap cutoff wheels so I use them for the thin aluminum and I only cut down what I need to fit in a drum like aluminum and copper all my steel goes as is

I'm not familiar with the name mechanic do you have a pic ?

Mech is talking about tree trimmers/stick cutters. I use a medium size wire cutter for cutting pipe up to 1". I like to bend my wire to fit in bins if possible. Always nice to make your loads manageable. OCD can be good at times

I have a 6 foot stepside chevy so its only a 4x6ish bed. I don't cut anything unless I can do so with tin snips. Usually I will just disassemble until I can put stuff inside of it or bend it to take up less space. But I also do the same as gamedayron, and put certain things with Al and Cu into a "breakdown" pile for when I have time. Also, I just like taking things apart to see how they work.

Oh okay yeah I have a few of those laying around , I'll give them a shot next time