Given the market, why are the newest scrappers even bothering?

I used to buy portable engine driven welders that were no longer working to repair and resell as a side line to scrapping. Sometimes getting an old Lincoln welder back up would as simple as polarizing also known as flashing with a 12 volt battery to restore residual magnetism in the generator.



The shipyards during the war years, usually only one Lincoln welder would have electric start, once started the operator would take the welding leads over to the next nearest machine starting it from the power generated from his machine and this is the way it went until all the machines were up and running.

Lincoln welders are also known for the commutator to become egg shaped, when this happens the brushes will bounce on the high spots no longer making full contact, this is another easy fix using a long piece of flat wood with sand paper affixed to one end while the board is supported against the generator frame the sand papered end is placed against the commutator just far enough enough to make contact with the high spots while the engine is running. Soon your commutator is back to being round..

Usually I could buy these non operational welders at $100.00 or less, as you can well imagine the profits were substantial.

Miller big 40's have their own set of problems, worse case scenario broken or cracked stator rings, in most cases I would find a burnt out rectifier diode or a broken wire at this location. The diodes at that time cost me around $20.00 each and there are two of these used on the machine wired in pairs.

My dad one day asked me why I always bought this junk.

No matter what the price of scrap is, being on the road gives opportunity to find more worthwhile treasures. And this is why I scrapped even when prices were low, often I would buy cores from the yards I frequented.

Transmission shops are often looking for cut out cores ( transmissions and differentials ) to use as parts or rebuild for inventory, also engine rebuild shops are a good source to sell heads and some engine blocks.

Ford in Edmonton would buy all the 9 inch diffs centre pots I could bring in. If you find a differential that has a gear ratio or posi unit ebay is a good place to market these items.

You just have to enquire before hand making a list as to what is in demand, shops get a bit dissed when your bringing in everything you find some of which has no value.

A small selection ford 9 inch which have recently sold.