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/diy/ - Do It Yourself


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File: 283 KB, 1024x768, recycle-copper-wire.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
2049426 No.2049426 [Reply] [Original]

Hi DIY. I'm an electrician. For years I've been throwing my wire ends in the trash. A year ago, a drywaller asked me if he could keep my scarps. He told me his son (who had down syndrome) stripped them and saved enough money for a vacation to Thailand.
That planted a brain bug in my mind.
For the last year, I have been keeping my scrap copper and stripping it in my spare time.
I ended up with a car load of bare bright copper.
Yesterday, I took it to the scrap yard and made $1100 bucks CND. I've never been to a scrap yard before in my life. It was a great experience. Everyone was so friendly.
I can tell you: it is completely worth it.
This thread is a diary of what I have learned, my methods and tips for aspiring scrappers. Please feel free to ask for advice or give suggestions of your own.
For the record: I Iive in a major city in Western Canada. I mainly do commercial work but for the last year I have been doing residential renovations and various 'side' jobs.

>> No.2049446

>>2049426
How many hours of your time did it take to get that $1100?

>> No.2049452
File: 53 KB, 640x480, WIN_20210307_15_25_54_Pro.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
2049452

I'm trying to send a bunch of photos from my phone to my laptop so I'll have some IRL photos to show you guys. before then, let me tell you a thing or two that I've learned:
1. Don't bother taking in any scrap aluminum or scrap steel (unless you have tonnes). The guy at the scrap yard said scrap steel is worth 60 bucks a tonne or something like that. Just throw that stuff out. It is not worth your time.
2. Car batteries. Right before I left my house to go to the scrap yard, I removed an old, dead battery from my hobby truck. Smart move. I got 32 cents per pound for that sucker. I made $13 bucks just with a couple turns of a wrench. (keep in mind,in canada, everyone pays a 30$ deposit for every car battery that is sold). Also, I saw a guy with a trailer who had about 50 car batteries in his truck. he must have made a small fortune.
Pic related. I'll have better photos later.

>> No.2049459

>>2049446
That's a good question. The guy who worked at the scrap yard who processed my shit asked me that same question. I didn't really have a good answer.
This goes into the "Methods" part of the first post.
I'll go into this in more detail later but basically my method is: Work all day. Come home with my odds and ends copper. Spend about 45 mins after dinner stripping wire while listening to an audio book or a podcast. My reasoning is: I'd rather strip wire than watch netflix. In Canada during the winter; you can't go outside bc it's so fucking cold. I'm a bit of a busy body so I enjoy being active instead of watching garbage on TV.

>> No.2049607

>>2049459
My litmus test for earning side money is simple: If an hour of my labor doing whatever it is earns me less money than I get paid for my job I skip it. Hobbies are a different story of course, but stripping the insulation off of wire is not exactly what I would call enjoyable or relaxing.

>> No.2049616

>>2049459
Are you doing this by hand? They make devices designed for this that you can attach a drill for $150

>> No.2049618

how many different 'kinds' of copper are there? They throw away a lot of copper at work but not all of it is wire, a lot of it is small refrigerator-like tubing and electronic components

>> No.2049631

>>2049426
my dad does this. he's retired and during the winter it keeps him busy. he just made a run last week and made a little over 900. he strips wire out of pretty much anything.

>> No.2049638

>>2049607
Ive been blessed to have the kind of job that is hell for an hour or two a day and the rest of the day is pretty leisurely. I think if I do a little every day it might add up eventually

>> No.2049751

>>2049616
i do this with an implement that I made. it's basically a 2 by 4 with a hole drilled in it and a drywall screw as the cutting die. i'll post an image later.