Firt Haul off this weekend

Hi everyone:
Need to ask some of you veterans a quick question. I have my first haul this weekend its 5 office cubicles and they are metal. I might also get a file cabinet or two. My question is what type of metal are these typically made of?
I read Metal File cabinets are made of steel is that correct? Would it be safe to say the Office Cubicles are Steel also? How do I find out for sure what they are made of so I get payed correctly at the yard.
Any help would be greatly appreciated and yes I'm new to all this still been reading in archives lots to read here and great info. Thanks

first tool is a magnet, if it sticks, its steel. you will probably get light iron prices for the thin office cubes.

Yes I will do the magnet test. So if it light iron so just basic scrap yard metal. Oh well I was hoping it would be something worth a little bit. The weight should help with that though correct?

scrapping metal is a business based on volume, not value. its pennies/lb. if you are looking for a big return on your load, you may look into gold or other precious metals. the people who make a living scrapping metal have contracts/accounts and a steady supply of scrap. they hit the streets hard and work their butts off to make an honest buck.

its good that you can turn in a load and make a few bucks! just dont be shocked when a single load comes out to be less than you were hoping for. Good luck, and let us know how it works out!

Okee I wasn't planning on making a killing on this. I allready have a Full time Job was just looking to make a few bucks here and there. Stumble onto this idea and seems pretty easy and no one to answer to at all but myslef.
So basically if it sticks to the Magnet its just basic Metal and I'm only get pennies for it by the pound? I have read and realized the $ is in copper,Alum, and erecyling and seems to be what I'm going to after. Yeah I'll take basic metal in the mean time till I get things going.
As always thanks for all the info and help. Yes I will let you know how my first big haul goes this weekend. Thank You

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Originally Posted by dllszilllascrapper

... So basically if it sticks to the Magnet its just basic Metal and I'm only get pennies for it by the pound? ...

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Not necessarily. (Assuming that by " basic metal", you mean "light iron"). It could be Cast Iron, #1 Iron or Stainless Steel. Still "pennies per pound" but different amounts.

Since most steel pays around .10 a pound I think of it as dimes on the dollar. Not as much as the other stuff you mentioned but pretty easy to find and not much processing or tear down involved. Great way to get your feet wet and get to know the yard you are going to be dealing with.

In a way you are incorrect about the best money being in the non-ferrous items, especially with their prices falling rapidly. My best pay days were loads of just steel and by far! Came across a diesel mechanics shop In Nebraska once with a pickup box trailer full of old semi parts. It didn't look like much but after it was all cleaned up we hauled in over 7 tons of steel. Started the day at 9 am and was done by noon. Between the 2 of us we made $110 an hour. Very very rarely will you ever have those days with copper and aluminum. Hope this helps you out a little, and don't disregard that steel!

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Started the day at 9 am and was done by noon. Between the 2 of us we made $110 an hour.

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Doesn't usually happen with steel either, you just got lucky.
Those cubicle's could also be chipboard with carpet covering and steel around the edges.

Some of them cubes have alluminum sides too. Rare but they are out there.

You might consider trying to sell them if they are in good shape. They would be great for making a hunted house.
Mechanic makes a good point. You will have a lot of trash to contend with.
And I agree with Part Time, I have seen aluminum cubicles.

resale value > scrap value

I just got a bunch of aluminum framed cubicles in a storage auction that I plan on scraping. They weren't in very good condition and I've already taken them apart. The inside was all corrugated cardboard so it was fairly simple to do. Now I'm trying to find a place to buy the cardboard too.

Any cubicles i get are sold to the local paintball park.They use them to build different scenarios for their games and they pay a lot more than scrap value.

I hauled off a bunch of cubicles a few months back; ended up being like 1.5 tons between the desks and the cubicles themselves. The foam covering was easily taken off and discarded, leaving just a steel frame. On the corners where two or more cubicle sections merged, however, there was a thick aluminum beam, probably about 5 lbs a piece.

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Originally Posted by cobre collector

Started the day at 9 am and was done by noon. Between the 2 of us we made $110 an hour.

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Originally Posted by Mechanic688

Doesn't usually happen with steel either, you just got lucky.
Those cubicle's could also be chipboard with carpet covering and steel around the edges.

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I agree the above scenario doesn't usually happen with steel, but I do make more money with steel than anything else. And it's easier and quicker than copper, alum., etc. Just a couple of weeks back it took me 2 hours to put together a load of light iron and it paid me $112. The very next day I worked some copper, brass, and aluminum that took me 7 hours to put together and it paid out at $118. I'll take steel any day.

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Originally Posted by fordsix

Any cubicles i get are sold to the local paintball park.They use them to build different scenarios for their games and they pay a lot more than scrap value.

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That is actually a very good idea, I'll have to do that next time I stumble across some. Thanks for the tip!