when smashing stuff

I apologize if this isn't the right sub-forum for this, but I thought it may be since it's kind of tool related.

I have a ton of wound copper wire on TV ceramics or plastic; about 6 of them. Rather than cut through it all, I've come to realize that just smashing the ceramics with a hammer and ripping it out is faster.

For those of you do this, how do you prevent the ceramics or plastic from exploding all over your garage? I was thinking of smashing it inside of a utility tote, but with it getting cold, I know it's going to just break on me as well.

One of our members has a photo of him smashing them inside a 5 gallon plastice bucket with some thing heavy with a handle(might have been a sledge hammer). Anyway just plunge the "smasher" and no ceramic shards should jump out. Mike

I do it inside a steel 30 gallon drum. I throw about 3-5 of them in at a time and go to town on them then pour it into a 5 gallon bucket I cut in half high wise and set it on my work bench to sort through the mess

Others have suggested, and it's what I do now. using a burlap sack or tarp folded over (I do this) to prevent pieces from flying around. Also makes it real easy to dump into a bin as shred after picking out all the goodies.

That's actually a great idea. My dad gave me a few burlap sacks the other day. I'll toss them all in and smack them on the barn floor a few times. Caveman smash!

I just wrap them in an old towel and bash them with a hammer on my vice.

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Originally Posted by AdmiralAluminum

Others have suggested, and it's what I do now. using a burlap sack or tarp folded over (I do this) to prevent pieces from flying around. Also makes it real easy to dump into a bin as shred after picking out all the goodies.

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I use shop towels.

If you have the volume.... old cement mixer and some big rocks.

Are you talking about the yokes??? If so the ceramic is actually metal...see if a magnet sticks to it.

I use a burlap sack or a heavy duty trash bag will work too. and a large hammer of course

actually im doing this right now as we speak. i am clearing out my container full of yolks. cement ground. old towell an 3lb short handle sledge works great. you dont have to smash to much it will all break apart but not turn the round ferrite to dust.

I do what TRG does.

Hammer

Hard surface

Pillow case/towel/something for smashing in

Pluck out your copper, dump the ferrite into your container/storage, clean up left over mess.

Works quite well.

Sirscrapalot - Simplicity in most cases beats out complex.

Old t shirts also are good for this . I usually use a towel but if you do use a storage tub and crack the bottom . You could always use the tote as a outdoor storage for anything . Rain won't accumulate with the crack in the bottom . Good for steel bits or soda cans

I use a pair of Copper wire cutters, they are very similar to Garden loppers, they have two curled 'beak' like jaws that over lap.
I posted a pic of then yesterday. 'Marvel' brand though.
Two chops and the wire falls off almost. The Ferrite does crack a bit, but that makes it easyer to slip the Copper wire off.
Once that's done, I can dust off the ferrite dust, then pick out all the loose Copper wire and what's left is the Copper wire that's stuck together with any varnish that was on the wire.
I can then cut around that varnish with tinsnips to get the clean wire off.
The patch of varnish with one layer of wire gets put into the 'plastic coated Copper wire' bin.

I don't end up with ferrite crumbs in the wire and almost no varnish either.

Wait, is that ferrite actually worth something? I've been tossing it. :l

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Originally Posted by malignity

Wait, is that ferrite actually worth something? I've been tossing it. :l

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Originally Posted by malignity

Wait, is that ferrite actually worth something? I've been tossing it. :l

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All metal is money!

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Originally Posted by malignity

Wait, is that ferrite actually worth something? I've been tossing it. :l

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Put a magnet to it, it'll stick. Goes in the shred pile. My yard guy told me if I had a few hundred pounds of Ferrite that it would pay a little better than plain old shred.

I thought it was ceramic. No idea it was magnetic. It must be metal flakes mixed with ceramic or something? Just wondering why it's so brittle. I can pick it out of the garbage (and will do so) since that stuff is heavy. I probably have 30lbs in there. Almost $3! lol.

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Originally Posted by malignity

I thought it was ceramic. No idea it was magnetic. It must be metal flakes mixed with ceramic or something? Just wondering why it's so brittle. I can pick it out of the garbage (and will do so) since that stuff is heavy. I probably have 30lbs in there. Almost $3! lol.

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This is according to Wiki;

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A ferrite is a type of ceramic compound composed of iron oxide (Fe2O3) combined chemically with one or more additional metallic elements.[1] They are ferrimagnetic, meaning they can be magnetized or attracted to a magnet, and are electrically nonconductive, one of the few substances that combine these properties.

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I thought they were ceramic for a long time.
It was only after finding SMF that I found out. Just one of the great things I have lernt here.

But, don't smash the stuff around cars... If it does what ceramic does to safey glass windows.
One speck hitting the glass will smash it.
I was told ceramic does this, so I tried it out with a peice of broken sparkplug insulation.
Just a tiny bit, threw it like I would a coin, at the window of a scrapped car.

It went thru the glass like it was not even there, to see such a tiny thing do that to glass was suprising.

Try it out for yourself on a old scrap car, expect the window to craze then 'pop' out.
It also hardly makes any sound either.

And that ferrite sparks a lot when you hit it with something metal.
I wonder what it looks like when it goes thru the shredder?
I have been putting mine into a old microwave casing. Probably makes a shower of sparks....
Which could start a fire..... Considering theres fluff in shred.

So, 'shred' or ' heavy metal insize' ?

Even if it did start a fire, there's probably not enough fuel source to actually cause anything substantial.

I wish I had a way to store steel easier. Right now I have a 50 gallon tote full of it, and it's so heavy I can't even lift it. Mostly computer shells or server shells. Didn't think of that before I started filling it. If I had a Tonneau cover or something, I'd just toss it into my truck and let it accumulate until full and cash it in, but after losing a full basketball hoop out the back, I'm leery of leaving stuff back there without some sort of cover.

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Originally Posted by KzScrapper

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This made me laugh.!!

i just do it on a wood block or the work bench but then again im in the shed so i really dont have to worry about stuff like that much because i can just pick it up

Wrap it in an old towel