hi! im new to the scrap game... Q&A time!!

hey!

my name is Carlos and I own a ford ranger and have been making money of it since the day I got it!!! Ive recently graduated from san jose state university with a degree in civil engineering, but ive been taking my time... sweet sweet time finding a engineering job i really wanna do (australlian mining??) and ive just been enjoying being able to pay rent and bills on my own time bout 10 hours a week :D and ride bmx and eat food the other 500 hours

I usually do furniture deliveries for dirt cheap off craigslist but then my tweaker neighbor's truck broke down, showed me the game, some of the dirty tricks and a lot of the legit ones. Well I have a pickup truck and my own property and i live 2 miles away from sims metals, so now ive been taking a little extra time to actively seek metal.

I work in San Jose, Ca right inside a little suburb off to the south of downtown, and theres literally a scrap truck on every block down here. every shop ive even bothered to talk to say they have multiple guys asking everyday. still theres little jackpots here and there, microwave and old shudders left on the porch, misc crap next to dumpsters.. trash day once parked their trailers around the corner from my house, 50 pick up trucks waiting in line in front of my driveway

I guess my only real problem with scrapping is that im not a people person, so its been great practice approaching people and figuring out how to get what I want and how to talk to people... been pretty tough so far, especially when I see my neighbor get metal from every he asks as well as the million people he already knows!
So Right now I have a great network of recent fellow engineering college grads who are interning and working for construction companies but I wanna get a little more 'professional' at this before I start approaching them for their job sites! any tips?

heres a buisness card I drew up a few days ago - went to print it out today but lost my flashdrive :/ where can I get some mailed to me fast and for cheap?? and where can I get a free flashdrive??
cheesy name but a spin off my old craigslist ad, ha
http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/4...scardimage.jpg
Only going for one side first


Questions!
-how do you approach construction sites?
-do i talk to any guy holding a shovel?
-ask for the forman? <---im sure hes tired of some guy in a scrap truck stopping by asking for him every half hour...
-I have a orange vest but it has a company name on it i used to work for... that bad for some reason or another?

-I dont have too many of my own tools, just stuff to fix a bike, but I have access to a roommates car mechanics mess of backyard tools a mallet and an axe and a pickaxe.
-I live across the street from the flea market and go there weekly for farmers market, lighters and bike tubes, what tools should i look out for to buy? not trying to buy a lot, just the real basics.... like my own set of wire cutters, cold chisel and something else i keep hearing about?
-I have a rusty vise im trying to sell for $20. I should probably keep it, huh?

I CL resell a lot of the metal I find, microwaves, bedframes, tools, etc and on residential trash days I also look out for aquarium supplies.
-anything else I should look out for
-i was thinking free furniture but I dont wanna get stuck with a whole lot of junk... any tips on deciding whats valuable and what isnt. i passed up a pretty nice desk today

-I picked up an 'amana' window ac unit today. I looked all around and couldnt find a model number...

-I have a big ass hundred pound jack that has been rusted to ****. I tried to budge the siezed bolt.. took a closer look and realized theres a lot of tight siezed impossible to get there bolts between the jack and the 'cylinder/pump?'... can i drill it over a drain pan so they will accept it?

-does anyone actually PAY for used motor oil?
-I might be working for a convenience store delivery service.... worth getting into paper recylcing? I hear some cardboard is worth a lot more money..
-what else is recyclable

-what is 'motor price'? is that for people too lazy to strip the copper out of motors?
-what about electric cords? how hard is it to strip off the rubber/plastic stuff? is there unclean price i can sell it for?

-broken appliances, how hard are they to troubleshoot/fix now that we have google these days? Is that a bad idea if i have very limited mechanical know-how? should i just offer them to appliance repair stores? are appliance stores worth going to? Ive never even seen an appliance repair stores only seen em on old 80s movies.

-i read somewhere that theres a certain industry that cannot recycle their 55gal plastic drums and you can call them and theyll be happy to give them to you... who remembers this one??

-any good fuel saving tips?? I usually ride the bus (free bus pass) or ride the bike if im not usuing my truck for work.
-how do I know if im overloading my truck? ford ranger... quarter ton? is a half ton safe? cuase if I dont got AT LEAST 1/4ton then sims metals wont pay
-my neighbor keeps a go-ped attached to his truck for sometimes, ha!


-when I worked as an intern for a construction company, half the time they just used me as a last minute delivery boy from the yard to all the sites. Made me always think about approaching the hundred of small various companies withing the two mile radius of me if they would need an oncall delivery boy... think this is something worth persuing?

and the reason I joined the forum?
becuase one time i sold this for tin

No
Internet
No
Cautiously
Possibly
Could be
Drill, bfh, sawzall
Yes
??
Not sure
Sort of
What about them?
Depends on skill level
Usually
Defiantly easier
No
Yes
Yes
Not me
Change the nut behind the wheel
It doesn’t return to the before load height when emptied.
Check manual or google
“
Do it

Welcome. Try the search feature.

For someone that is not a people person you seem to have the "Gift to Gab". Welcome to the forum, Card looks good, go for both sides from the start. If you have a printer print them yourself if you need them fast.

My two main hand tools are a Sawzall and 7" grinder.

some people can write well, but have difficulty communicating in person, KZ. blue, you flat wore me out with that long introduction and it is disheartning when new people come in and ask all sorts of questions which have been discussed over and over and all you have to do is go to the search button and look it up. THEN, if you can't find your answer, ask. Welcome anyway, enjoy reading and learning....if you are like me, you'll feel like you're back in school. I learn something new every day.

http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/showt...ko-County-Area
Blue, I made these from the Avery blanks you can get at Walmart, 3.59 for a hundred, and you can print them yourself like KZ said. It was real easy and cheap to start, then after I make some money I'll have better ones made.

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-how do I know if im overloading my truck?

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When the truck starts squatting, and the tires are bulging, it's time to stop.

Yes, you should definitely wear your orange vest at all times when your on a construction site, just put some duck tape over the name of the old company.

Sawzall or a angle grinder would be a good investment also wire cutters and a drill if you don't already have one. A magnet is a must (anything that sticks goes in the iron pile, if it doesn't stick its either alum, brass, stainless steel, etc.) or a little hand held grinder for spark test. Since you have a ford ranger I'd recommend getting a trailer for it so you have more room to put scrap.

Paper sells for about 5 to 6 cents a lb, cardboard is usually a cent more per lb 6 to 7, and plastic is around 2 to 3 cents but it takes up way to much room in the bed.. I'd stick to metal or paper if your having trouble finding metal

Motor price is around 20 to 30 cents a lb that's really good considering that 90% of a motors weight is from tin, if you have the time you can make a LITTLE more money by taking the copper out but not much.

Insulated wire sells for around 1.10 per lb, but again its not really worth it unless your really quick at striping wire. You only make about a dollar per lb so if it takes you 1 hour to strip 3 lb of wire your only making 3 bucks a hr.. your time is better spend finding more scrap.

I do remember reading that thread about the 55 gal drums use the search bar.

Ford rangers are rated to be able to haul half a ton (1000 lbs) that is just what they are rated at you could probably haul a bit more and still be ok.

Hope this helped and good luck!!

my advice you have a civil eng degree, go get a government job, more pay, lifetime security, great retirement, health care, a hell of a lot less work etc. :) just my .02.

just kidding, but probably good advice, good luck! but if you are determined to do this them study the archives here like you did for your degree, dont kid yourself evry successfull scrapper is an engineer. many have been studing the craft for decades.

ohhh... ive been lurking for over a week, felt like i read every thread there was but still wanna.. need to know more!!

Dude, you really sold that for tin? Thats sucks! How did you fid out it was a mistake?

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Originally Posted by Scrap Master J

Change the nut behind the wheel .

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Welcome to the board Blue.

SMJ some great answers there but the above quoted answer is my favorite by far!
It could answer so many different questions! :cool:

once you become a true scrapper. you know wnen to stop loading your truck when you can no longer steer it, then ya go back and take off 50 lbs or so lol funney but I have actually done this.

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Originally Posted by Hypoman

Dude, you really sold that for tin? Thats sucks! How did you fid out it was a mistake?

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Were did that come in at? This thing reads like a novel, I missed that part...

I see now it is in that inviso blue text font like," angle grinder "

Looks like everyone already answered most your questions before I got here but I can tell you a good cheap place to get a flash drive. Try www.newegg.com for any computer stuff. Got my little 2gig for 5 bucks. I got me a Ford Ranger too. The most I've hauled in it so far is 660lbs. Didn't actually know what the limit was till now. For sure need to get a trailer. Our little trucks just can't hold that much. Not bad for taking stuff in if your yard is close by but would be useful if you got alot of stuff to go pick up.

Are we there yet?
Are we there yet?
Are we there yet?
Are we there yet?
Are we there yet?
Are we there yet?
Are we there yet?
;?)

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-any good fuel saving tips??

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Quote:

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Change the nut behind the wheel

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tried to answer them in order but they weren't numbered

oh, no Siamese twins !!! Ronald and Donald !!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hypoman

Dude, you really sold that for tin? Thats sucks! How did you fid out it was a mistake?

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reading threads in here.

I recently got about 10 computers. where would i look for a buyer?

My friend told me to take the steel sides off appliances like washers/dryers/ovens... what kind of steel is this and what is it worth?

The steel sides are tin it sells for around .10 a lb whats inside is worth a lot more the alum drums .65 lb and insulated wire 1.10 lb on washers and dryers and there are brass fittings 1.65 lb on ovens. PM Easyrecycle about your computers or check out his thread in the Buyers and Sellers section.

just a tip,keep the vice because its good for crushing cans if you don't wanna buy a can crusher.

PEACE!