Saving scrap finds from detecting

[oxbowbarefoot]

How many people save the little pieces of scrap copper, lead, brass, etc... that they find from detecting? How much do you save up before brining it to the scrap yard? Do you clean any if it off first, or even give it a little rinse? I have a decent pile started of copper, brass and lead, but not enough to bring to a scrap yard yet. How about the rusty iron objects, like old fence poles, junk axe heads, and other odds and ends? Any value in that stuff?

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[Jason in Enid]

I started saving it this year. It's amazing how much there is when you don't trash it. Even if I only get a few dollars at the end of the year, it's a few dollars more than before, and I am already digging it up. It's a no brainer as long as you have a local scrap buyer.

[worldtalker]

J,I got a mess of it myself I have to cash in ,quess the best way is to take a file and see if it's brass or copper,save a lot of time at the scrap yard,they can see for themselves what's what.First time doing it too! Someone got a better Idea, I'm ALL ears!! God Bless Chris

[K Zack]

I just turned in some scrap from last year, $ 138.00.
You do not have to Clean it as per say, make sure all the dirt and roots and stuff like that is out of it.
Like Chris is saying use a file or a small grinder to see if it is brass or copper, I also have to sort out the Aluminum Cans from the other Aluminum.
Cans I am sure they are not worth the time to clean the dirt out of, I had 2, 5 gallon pales full of cans, pop tops and parts of cans and it came out to $ 2.00 per pail full, but I have already started refilling my pales. When my pales are full I take them in.
Iron is worth taking in, tin? I will through it in pales, when I get 5 or 6 pales full I hit the Local Junk yard and dump them in 1 of there junk cars.
It all helps in the long run.

[pumice]

Just the copper/brass here.......I've got several pounds to turn in, but it did take me a few years to collect it. Don't do the iron scrap...too much of a hassle.....

[NYScrap]

As my name would suggest I am a scrapper first... and a detector somewhere around fifth. With that said, there is definitely value in a lot of the trash we find. Every time I pull a tab or a hunk of cast or a can out of the ground I console myself with knowing that it is a couple tenths of a cent. I have even pulled out some bigger pieces of trash that have been a couple of bucks (an old copper grounding wire for one). Most people don't realize how much value metal has... if you are willing to save it up for a little while.

A small example of this would be the horse barn my wife rides at. We had a friend that wanted a horse shoe to hang for luck in his house. It took her a while to get one, but when she finally did she was telling me how they try to reuse them if they can, but once they are beat they save them up... and eventually throw them out. She said that had thrown out somewhere around 20... at 1lb a piece (or more) that's like throwing a $10 in the trash. Needless to say she is going to take them in the future for me to scrap (with permission of course).

So... save what you can and scrap it. As someone else said, every cent counts.

[Hot zone]

I melt the lead and mold bullets for my antique Martini Henry and Snyder Enfield Rifles. Quite a savings considering the only pre-loaded ammo costs $150 for 20 rounds and once formed the brass is reusable, the primers are cheap and black powder substitute is readily available. Tin and silver solder can be added to harden lead. The Oregon bottle bill provides $.05 on whole aluminum cans, however without having personally paid a deposit I wouldn't feel right crossing the bridge from Washington to cash them in, so let the recycler have those.

[NYScrap]

Hot Zone, do you think there would be a market for lead in most areas? Because I have a fair amount I have collected over time, but am hesitant to sell to the scrap yard because they give the worst prices for everything (it is last resort to go scrapping after all). I would love to find someone that makes their own bullets in my area to move this stuff on... (NY state).

[Hot zone]

Hot Zone, do you think there would be a market for lead in most areas? Because I have a fair amount I have collected over time, but am hesitant to sell to the scrap yard because they give the worst prices for everything (it is last resort to go scrapping after all). I would love to find someone that makes their own bullets in my area to move this stuff on... (NY state).

Salmon fishing is big out here on the Columbia river and it's tributaries. Fishing weights are also molded. The new postal shipping method allows u to ship anywhere at a flat rate if it fits in the box. I had about 75 lbs of hard Linotype lead shipped to me that way. Any lead works for fishing but most shooters are finicky about the hardness. Myself I just add some Linotype to each batch to prevent barrel leading. Your lead would be worth more if the hardness was known. Lee makes an inexpensive brinell tester for lead only. I may have to get one from Midway if I do much reloading for higher velocity guns.

[CASPER-2]

used to save with a few guys looong time ago - we would have a bin for copper - for brass - and for lead
turn in at the end of the year and split it - helps pay for batteries
I hunt water mainly now - so i get tons of lead sinkers - you can get more for them as sinkers than for the lead
find yourself some fisherman that want them for less than they pay for them at store
I used to melt some for blackpowder shooting too and used to melt and make my own sinkers also
if you can find some cheap sinker molds and you find enough lead - ever think of making you own sinkers to sell
might be worth it - check out Bass pro what they get for saltwater sinkers - some of the larger ones go for $3 a pop and more
lead is about .80 a pound I think - so do the math