scrap metal

[59imp]

ok i'm a pack rat always bringing home bits and pieces of scrap metal. i always end up with little piles all over the place.

so, how do you guys store odd shape and sizes of metal and stuff????

 

[93blazer4dr]

before i get time to store it. it seems like i use it up and am always needing more haha.

 

[Sam_Fear]

Ya never know when your gonna need that chunk of bent metal. It all seems to get used eventually.

I've even taken to looking to see what is in the scrapper guys trucks as they drive by looking to see if there's any scrap in my garage. Sometimes they have some good stuff! One day I yelled down a guy because I spotted a chunk of kinda rusted metal that was just what I needed - gave 'em a buck for it - he acted like I was a little nuts.

EDIT: I just picked up some new "tool boxes". My wife called me and told me there were 2 metal file cabinets down the street. I went and they're were 4 heavy duty fireproof metal 5 drawer cabinets. Went back a bit later and grabbed 2 more. After a few hours work they are now tool/storage drawers. I'm not a pack rat, but I have some kinda sickness.

 

[rex1927]

Read this before running to sell to scrapper

I have learned one good lesson in the old car hobby,Keep Everything,and if someone offers me anything I grab it.I even get the covers off washing machines,etc when I can.They make good patch panels.
Grab all the metal and parts,old cars,etc, you can.They are being destroyed very fast.
I will not sell anything for scrap.
The money you get for it will quickly be spent and you will be worse off because now your stuff will be gone.
Not long from now ,the way it is being hauled off , the well is going to run dry and that will be it.
There were only so many cars made.
There will be an end to it.
And when vintage parts and project cars dry up thats the end of the hobby.
I wish everyone would think about that before running to the scrapper for a quick buck.
What do you want worse,a few quick bucks,or a very nice and respectable hobby we can pass on to our kids?
I had rather see kids in the garage fixing rusty cars than roaming the streets .

 

[Sam_Fear]

To kinda answer your question: Since I live in the city, I gotta keep the property clean. So pretty much everything has to stay inside the garage. I have one wall that is devoted to scrap. Smaller stuff in buckets. Long stuff in a tight pile with sheet behind it. And a big wooden box for the odd stuff (coil springs, etc.). Most of it gets used fairly quick, if not in the project, then for temp stuff.

 

[cantwell.colton]

i usually throw it on the ground - but i dont accumulate a whole lot of scrap at the house since i have access to a lot of metal all the time and try and only take just about what im going to need to get the job done - usually end up with not quite enough and have to go grab another stick or sheet -

what you need are some of the smaller wooden pallets you can put it on to get it off the ground - take a soap stone or paintmarker or whatever and write what it is to make finding it a lot easier ie. 5/16 x 11in x 3in or whatever and just arrange it on the pallets in whatever make sense to you -- using a little to make a pipe/tube rack is also super simple and cleans up your area nicely - also - maybe a wooden box (for the small small pieces)

also if you put a little lime or sand under the pallets it tends to help keep the grass from trying to hard to get through --- (dont know how much you care about your grass)

 

[59imp]

thanks guys, i like the bucket idea for the small bits....

 

[cantwell.colton]

thanks guys, i like the bucket idea for the small bits....

the labeling helps out a lot even if its just the thickness- and you can put the pipe rack on the side of the house (if you live in the city) ya know that itty bitty area between the wall and fence thats really only good for a dog run OR PIPE RACK lol

 

[Sam_Fear]

The outdoor thing doesn't work as well around here. The high humidity and high dew points are evil for raw steel. It's like putting your metal rack next to a sprinkler that turns on every night. Even covered, sometimes condensation from quick temperature changes get it.

Besides that, my wife shut down the outdoor metal storage in between the fence and garage...I think it was the because of the bees and opossums that took up residence....

 

[brchopper]

the scrap yard started my obsession

I started hauling in scrap metal because people didnt want it and they would just throw it in the trash. I always get more money than I thought I would and then I have money to spend on the old stuff. If I saved all the metal I get I would just have piles of metal and nothing to show for it. I feel I have to be selective on what I keep or I would view myself as a junk collector and not the project creator I hope to become. I dont think theres anything wrong with hauling in scrap metal if we cant think of a use for it in the somewhat near future. I do wish I had the time to stand outside the fence at the scrap yard and inspect everyones trailor before they entered but dont we all. my shops full and every time I want to work on something I have to move something out of the way, and I dont even have that much cool stuff. Whats the coolest piece saved from going to the scrap yard? mine was a '30's chevy frame sitting on top a farmers pile of scrap he was getting ready to haul in. I still had to pay 150 to get it but I sure think its cool.

 

[jfg455]

Hahaha! you are all hoarders! I keep a milk crate next to the cut off saw for odds and ends of stuff. most all of the plate that comes off the CNC plasma gets put into the corner. once it is swiss cheese looking it goes into the outside pile ready to be recyled when steel prices are high. Or into a junk car body until it is full and then same thing. [

 

[donsrods]

I've kinda sorted ours by it's shape. I keep long pieces, like tubing, standing in a corner in a thick plastic 55 gallon drum. Then I have milk crates with shorter pieces, sorted by round, square, angle iron, and cut off flat pieces. Finally, we have a two shelf metal rack where we keep flat pieces and cut offs that we use the most. But it is a bear to keep it all organized and it is time for me to do it all over again. It is too convenient to just toss stuff when you are working on something, so it becomes a mess pretty fast.

BTW, are steel prices up or down now? I have a bunch of engine blocks and junk to haul to the scrap yard.

Don

 

[jfg455]

cast iron was way up here at the start of the week

 

[grinch]

This may help out as well.......
Old bread rack from a grocery store with plastic Coke cartons for sorting out small pieces.

 

[Torch]

hillbilly metal rack

It's amazing what you can stuff between wall studs if your garage isn't insulated.

I just cut up what was left of a complete 67-72 f100 4x4 chassis.
I bought it for $100 off the junk iron man too it was prolly worth $40 to him at the time. last year when iron was $30 a ton...
he was asking $300 for it
I pointed and said "I'd give you double iron price on that but no more call me if you change your mind" I guess he didn't find a buyer

So for $100 out of that I have a frame for my ratrod project'
a spare dana 44 front axle balljoint to balljoint for my 76 4x4 pickup
I torched off the drum brake spindles and saved the lockouts.
It had an old style 9" rear 61" or 62" wheel to wheel I saved that.
I sold the transfercase and tranny for $75 and saved the 4x4 oilpan motor mounts and oil pickup from the 390 that was rusted stuck and got $78 for the iron since it is up to $175 a ton right now.

I did pretty good on it
but

The 390 had a 2 barrel intake and a clutch.
I was hesitant to junk the intake.
I have a carb to fit it but I'm not going to use it I'm planning an aluminum intake for my 90 when I put it together.
The flywheel was deeply cracked at the friction surface...looked unsafe
I did save the bellhousing.
I was going to pull the aluminum timing cover but couldn't find my damper puller and got lazy.

So I made something off it.
And I recycled alot of good stuff back into a project.
Yet I am haunted by:
That timing cover and balancer I didn't pull
I could have torched the rods and gotten the crank out

and the hydraulic steering ram and valve from the 67-72 power steering.
I had them on craigslist for over a year and in other states too and no-one even was interested but I'm like " I can't use em for nothing that I can think of but they're still good"
They are sitting on my flatbed right now waiting for a trip over the scales.
I'm not going to get much from them
I want to put them back in the garage but I know they will take away space from other things better saved

I went over my front axles and cut off the tie rods and steering linkages.
the ends were worn bad but I ended up with several nice 3' to 4' long 1" steel bars for something later if I need them.

I put a piece of 1x2 up on the wall and store my bar and pipe between the studs

I have ALOT of lumber put up in the garage and to get it out of the way...
I made 2' shelf brackets out of 2' 2x6 and 6' long studs.
The 2x6 screws to the studs level with the floor at the height you want the shelf.
And the 2x4 screws to the free end of the 2x6 and sits flat against where the wall meets the floor.
The kicker going to the floor makes the load on the stud all vertical while allowing you to park under the shelf as long as you don't catch it and kick the leg out from under it lol
I have a few thousand pounds of 1x8 and 2x8 salvaged from 20' air pipe crates stacked up on those 2' wide shelf brackets

I can store my axles and parts like this over the ac unit using some deck frames I cut down.



look at them closely they were 8' long and 5' tall.
they had metal joist hangers and i used 2x6 12" on center to bridge them, decked it out in plywood and had it in a storage unit.
I also had it in a 2 car garage by screwing one frame and the back joist to the wall.
what's it for?
for parking under a whole lotta junk.
You can double the usable footage of a garage using ideas like this

 

[Sam_Fear]

For everybody that just tosses stuff back like bolts and metal into the heap, keep a container or small area to toss it in instead. That way you're not trashing your organized stuff. Once a week or so, go through it and put it away. (I usually sort the stuff when I feel like having a beer)

 

[longroofracer]

5 gallon buckets work great for pieces of tubing and flat stock less than 3 ft long. Drill several holes in the bottom or around the bottom edge for drainage, in case you leave them outdoors. Milk crates are great for slightly larger pieces such as plate or channel you have cut short, and they stack if not overfilled. 30/55 gallon drums are good for longer pieces, and also drill near bottom for drainage. Holes near the top large enough to hook a chain through will allow you to lift them with an engine hoist when it comes time to move them. If you can find the stands with casters, they roll around easy too. Pallets are good for larger plate or long pieces.

Like already mentioned, sorting asap makes a huge difference. I put hardware I remove in a plastic coffee container with "Awesome Cleaner" available at local dollar stores. I leave it on a bench near the shed door, and when I go by empty handed, give them a shake or 2, when I am ready to sort them, dump them out, rinse with water and decide what to keep and what goes in a bucket or drum for actual recycling.

I understand some folks hating scrappers getting rid of useful iron, as it is a limited resource. Reality is, "You can't save it all". People have stuff listed on Craig's list for months and can't sell it for less than scrap prices, or someone wants to trade them 2 skinny chickens and a 3 legged dog next week for something worth $100s. If they find someone willing to actually cough up $50 cash, they rarely have a truck or trailer with them, and want to store it there until they can borrow a truck and find a second buddy willing to let them store it in his garage so they can hide it the wife/girlfriend. Scrapyard buys it on the spot, no questions asked about color, condition, mileage or warranty. Does it bother me that I see a cab for an early 40s International cab with the doors torched off go to scrap - Sure does! I don't have the resources to buy and save them all, I have to be selective in what I drag home or to storage.

LRR

 

[Willowbilly3]

I have an old travel trailer frame that gets the longer stuff. Then a small 2 level iton rack I picked up for cheap at an auction. The lower level has a piece of bar grating that a friend gave me and it has a lot of small pieces. I score those cutoffs from a local fab shop that lets me scrounge their junk trailer. I keep really small stuff in a couple buckets inside, stuff I can use for tabs, gussets ect.

 

[rex1927]

I just put metal anywhere there is room.Inside if possible,outside is ok too.I never throw anything away or turn down chance for a piece of metal or other things to do with car building.I learned that the hard way.A few years ago I gave away a whole pile of scrap metal and parts.I have needed some of the stuff I tossed out on every project since then.Now I never toss or sell any metal.I had rather keep it,because I always need it.[

 

[riverrat44]

I always save scrap. Inside or out. My other hobby is making yard art. My latest projects were 2 yard birds, and a model tractor with wagon. A fellow at the Springfield Mo swap meet last Aug. gave me 2 tilt columns, spindles, brake drums, backing plates etc for a 64 chevelle. The man next to us gave away a complete 48 chevy car chassis with 16in. stock wheels and tires, I'd have taken that also but my trailer was already full. Sunday is always the best day at a swap meet. Some guys would rather give stuff away than reload it. [cl