How To Scrap A Laptop

 In this post i'll make a guide on how to scrap a laptop.

 Laptops nowadays can do anything a desktop computer can, some can perform even better, they were created to be a portable computer and are now outselling desktops. New and better laptops are being created every year now, meaning people are upgrading and selling their old laptops or throwing them away, so go and hunt for some broken or used laptops! Of course you can find them on eBay, craigslist, and some sites sell them in bulk for a low price, if your lucky you can find some thrown away around your area on garbage day, i've found a few broken laptops this way.

 Laptops has almost everything a desktop has, except it doesn't have any PCI boards or power supply box. It uses a battery to supply its power. Also, older laptops tend to have more metal than newer laptops. Remember, always check if any components on the laptop work! It will always be worth more selling it as is, than selling it as scrap. Here are the components that will fetch you the most money and whats in them. For a more in-depth explanation check Computer E-Scrap

• RAM - Gold Connectors
• Heat Sink - Usually Copper or Aluminum sometimes Brass
• Hard Drive - Aluminum, Steel, Palladium, High Grade Board. Some laptops have internal hard drives.
• Disk Drive - High Grade Board
• AC Adapter - Has a Small Transformer
• CPU - Has Gold
• Motherboard  - Has Gold
• Battery Connector - Has Gold
• Mini PCI Wireless Card - Has gold rings
• Antennas - Tips of these wires have gold
• Laptop LCD - Has Copper or Aluminum sheeting

 Now your next step is to take apart the laptop. Some laptops are easy to take apart, some are pretty complicated, in this guide i'll tell you the easy and quick way to open your laptop up by just unscrewing and ripping it apart by force, but if you want to do it the neat way and don't wanna damage the laptop check out this great site, it explains how to take apart specific laptop models in detail. http://www.insidemylaptop.com.

 To take apart your laptop start by taking out the covers on the bottom, once you do that it should look like something the picture to the right. The CPU should be under the Heat Sink, and the rest the picture should explain. Now taking out everything.

• RAM  - loosen the plastic tabs and pull it out
• Heat Sink - take out the screws and pull it out
• CPU - some laptops have levers to pull and it pops out, and some you have to unscrew 1/4 of the way for it to pop out
• Mini PCI Wireless Card - take out the antennas and loosen the plastic tabs and pull it out. Throw this in with your high grade boards pile.
• Hard Drive - It should come out just by taking it out and then pulling it out. If that makes sense? But you'll know what I mean.     
• Disk Drive - There should be a tab that you can push, and the tab should pop out when pushed, then you pull the tab and the disk drive should come out too
• Motherboard - To take this out, you have to take out the rest of the screws on the bottom of the laptop, and then just rip out the whole cover by force, it should be easy, now just take out the rest of the screws and wires connecting it to the LCD and take out the motherboard.
• Antennas - You can just rip these out easily and cut off the gold tips, I usually throw these in with my gold fingers pile.
• Battery Connector - This is the piece on the motherboard that connected the battery, you can cut this out. I throw this in with my gold fingers pile. 
• AC Adapter - This is Kind of Like the power supply in desktops for Laptops, you can throw this into pile #6 and further scrap it.
• LCD - Now I don't think the LCD has any value unless it works, correct me if i'm wrong, but it does have some antennas and copper or aluminum sheeting that you can take out. It should look like something like the bottom picture when you take everything out connected to it.   

 Now that you've taken everything out you should sort it out for selling. Check out the computer E-scrap guide to see how sort and sell these items for the most money. Now go and have fun scrapping your laptop!

How To Scrap A Computer Desktop

 Welcome back everyone, in this post i'll make a guide on the best way to scrap a computer desktop for the most money.

 Computer desktops can be found everywhere, you can check your house for some, check on craigslist, business closings, school auctions, eBay, and some sites sell used computers in bulk for a low price. Keep in mind when you scrap computers try to get a high volume of each components before selling it on eBay. This will attract more buyers and will definitely get you a higher offer for it. 5 pounds or more for gold bearing components is good and 10 pounds plus is good for the non gold bearing components. You can sell the gold fingers by the pound because they go for a lot.

 Also, be sure that everything in the computer doesn't work, because it's better to sell the working components as is, for it will be worth more than selling it as scrap. Inside the computer there are a lot of different types of metal. For example, gold, silver, palladium, copper, aluminum, and all types of wire with copper in them. The computer has many different components also. Click this link for a more in depth explanation of some of them.

•  Case - outside of the desktop that protects the components, usually made of steel.
•  Motherboard - The main board that holds most of the gold bearing components
•  Hard Drive - Has Aluminum, Steel, Palladium, and a High Grade Board. Your computers memory.
•  Disk Drive -  The DVD and CD player, has a high grade board.
•  Power Supply - The big box that has a lot of wires sticking out of it. Has Copper
•  CPU - On the motherboard usually under a heatsink. Has gold
•  RAM - The data for your CPU that plugs into the motherboard. Has gold
•  PCI Boards - Has Gold Connectors that connects to the motherboard. Has Gold
•  Heat Sink - Usually made of Aluminum or Copper 

  The first thing to do to get access to all these wonderful items is to take out the case, which should be easy, all you should need to do is take out some screws. Now once you take out the case we can start from here. You should be able to see the motherboard now and see all these wires and components and see something like the picture to the right. The next step should be taking out all the wires so it will be easier to work with. The PCI slots should be under where the graphic card is, this is where the PCI boards will be. And the RAM will be to the right of the heat sink or under it.

•  
• RAM - try taking out the ram first it should be really simple its secured by plastic tabs, loosen them and just pull out the RAM. (Look at Top Left Picture) 
• Heatsink - The Heatsink is covering the CPU, it should have fasteners or screws holding it down, take out the screws or apply pressure to the fasteners to pull it out. (Look At Top Right Picture)
• CPU - The CPU should be under the heatsink, to take out the CPU there should be a lever, just pull it and the CPU should pop out. (Look at Top Middle Picture)
• PCI Boards - The PCI Boards should be really simple too, just pull it out, you might need to take out some screws
• Motherboard - Once you've took out the components connected to the motherboard, you should take out, of course, the motherboard next. All you should need to do is take out the screws that connects it to the case and it should pop right out. 
• Hard Drive - This is pretty simple to take out, just unscrew it.
• Disk Drive - Just unscrew it too and it should pop out.
• Power Supply - Unscrew and it should come right out.

 Now that you've taken everything out you should sort it out for selling. Check out the computer E-scrap guide to see how sort and sell these items for the most money. Now go and have fun scrapping your computers!

Fun Fact

Statue Of Liberty

 The Statue Of Liberty located in New York City, a symbol of our countries independence was a gift from the French to us after the Civil War. It was accepted by the president on October 28, 1886, which makes her 124 years old!

 Did you know that the Statue Of Liberty is made out of copper and steel. It's green because of the rust of the copper which makes it green. It weighs about 405,000 Pounds and 305 feet from the base to the tip of the torch, and has about 60,00 pounds of copper and 250,000 pounds of steel. Which means the scrap value of the Statue Of Liberty for copper is about $240,000 and for the steel is about $125,000 for a total of about $365,000 of scrap value! Imagine scrapping the much copper and steel..that is a lot of money, but nothing compared to the sentimental value of it.

 Well, just thought that you'd like to know. :-) Happy Scrapping!

Computer E-Scrap!

 Welcome back! In this post i'll explain what Computer E-scrap is and the best way to sell it.

 First of all, E-scrap is just another word for electronic waste. E-Scrap consists of computers, laptops, televisions, cellphones and any other electronics . But in my opinion, the most expensive E-Scrap are in computer desktops, laptops, and cellphones. Now if you have access to a lot of these items you are sitting on a gold mine, literally! That is because computers, laptops, and cellphones have a lot of gold content in them. Now to get the most out of your E-Scrap, you'll need eBay, you will get the best prices if you sell your E-Scrap on eBay in bulk, you can sell your E-Scrap to scrap yards, but eBay buyers will definitely pay you way more.  Here's what's inside them with the most value.

High Grade Boards

•  These are the motherboards in desktops and laptops, they are worth money because of their gold content. They have PCI boards which are the gold fingered cards that is plugged into motherboards. You can sell these mixed with the PCI Boards for a lot of money. 20 Pounds of it can get you around 100$! 

PCI Boards

• These are the gold fingered cards plugged into the motherboard, you can cut off the gold fingers and sell it separately to maximize your profits and throw the rest in with the motherboards.  

 Gold Fingers

• This is the gold protruding out the PCI Boards which can be cut and sold separately these sell for A LOT! I've seen one pound of these go for 50$ PLUS.

RAM

• Ram is the data for your CPU, it has gold plated connectors, check to see if it works for it can sell for 15$ for just 2 pieces, if not you can sell it in bulk, a pound can go for 10$-15$. 

CPU

• Also known as the Central Processing Unit, it is usually always under some type of heat sink, gold is inside the cpu, on the fingers, and sometimes on the top. These can be worth a lot if you have it in bulk, but it all depends on what kind of CPU's you got. For example, a pound of Pentium 4 CPU's can get you around 20$, but 5 Pentium Pro's can get you around 100$! 

Hard Drives

• Every laptop or desktop should have a hard drive, it has 2 strong neodymium magnets in them, it has a stainless steel top, and a small high grade board, and a very small amount of platinum in the hard drive platter. You can take out the high grade boards and throw it in with your motherboards and PCI boards or you can sell it as is for about 50 cents a pound and they usually weigh around 1.5 pounds each. 

Heat Sinks

• The heat sinks are usually always above the CPU covering it, it comes in all shapes and sizes. it's usually made of high grade copper or high grade aluminum sometimes brass.

Sorting
 When you sort your computer E-Scrap you should put it into 6 main piles, and this is how you should sell it by each pile category. Here should be your main piles .

• 1.) CPU Pile - Throw all your CPU here
• 2.) RAM Pile - Throw all your RAM here
• 3.) High Grade Boards - Throw your PCI boards, motherboards, and the high grade boards inside your hard and disk drives here
• 4.) Gold Fingers - Cut off the gold fingers from the PCI boards and make a gold fingers pile
• 5.) Drives Pile - Throw your disk and hard drives into another pile. You can take out the high grade boards inside them to throw into pile number 3, or just sell them as is.
• 6.) Other - You can throw your heat sinks, power supply, transformers and the steel case into this pile, throw your heatsink with your copper or aluminum collection depending what your heatsink was made of, and you can further scrap your power supply for copper or just sell it as is.

Selling

 Once you've sorted out your E-scrap you can sell it. You can sell your piles of E-Scrap to a scrapyard, but I strongly recommend selling it on eBay because you will, no doubt, get way more money for it. The only item you should sell to a scrapyard is pile #6. I always check how much pounds of each pile category sells for on eBay before I list it, because it will give me a good idea of a Buy It Now price, but I recommend putting it as an auction for you will probably attract more buyers when you set the auction price low, therefore getting better prices. Now if you want you can mix these piles if you a low volume in each pile, i've seen people on eBay do this and get a decent price for it.

 Summary

 Well this was my little definition of computer E-Scrap, remember selling your computer E-Scrap in bulk will usually get you way more money, and check if it works because of course it will sell more if it works. And your best tool for selling E-Scrap will be eBay! eBay will always get you the best prices guaranteed. I hope this post helped you. Goodbye and Happy Scrapping!

How To Scrap Chapter

 Hello everyone! Now that I have explained all the basics of the scrap metal business I am now going to start posting guides on how to scrap different kinds of items. For example, I'll create a guide on how to scrap a refrigerator, a microwave, computers, escrap, and so on.. keep coming back for more updates. Goodbye and Happy Scrapping!

Metal Tests

 This post is basically Identifying metals, part 2. I will explain different types of tests which will further help you identify metals to help you sort out scrap metal. You can pick which techniques and tricks will help you the best.

Magnet Test


 This is a simple way to quickly sort out non ferrous and ferrous metals, you'll need a magnet. It's pretty easy, non ferrous metals don't stick to a magnet like copper, brass, and aluminum. Ferrous metals stick to a magnet like tin, iron, and steel.


Color Test

 Some metals can be easily identified by just looking at what color they are. Like Zinc, Aluminum, Tin, and Lead are whitish, then you can further categorize them. Here are 2 good examples, Brass and Copper.

 Brass

• Yellow-ish Gold-ish, if high in zinc, otherwise reddish

Copper

• Reddish Brown 

File Test

 Another way is the file test, its used to identify carbon content of steel with the use of any workshop file.

Steel Type             | Carbon Content          | Reaction Of File

-------------------------------------------------------------

Mild                      | less than 0.15%          | Bites against metal easily

Medium Carbon    | 0.15% - 0.25%          | Bites with Pressure

High Alloy             | 0.26% - 0.35%          | Bites only with Force

Tool                      | 0.36% - 0.45%          | Bites with difficulty

Hardened Tool      | over 0.45%                | Slides over metal

Chipping Test

 Another way to identify an unknown metal is to use a chisel and chip away small pieces of the metal. I found an image which explains the test, rather than writing it all out. (Source)

Spark Test

 Another way to identify metals is the spark test, you'll need a type of grinder to create a spark, like an angle grinder or bench grinder, I would recommend a bench grinder for it produces better sparks. I've found a picture from a book which explains in details of the spark test (source). Take note of the color and characteristics of the sparks for it will help you identify the metal.

 Take Note of the characteristics of the sparks, the color, the length, and the appearance of the sparks will help you to quickly identify metals.

 Summary
 Well I hope this helps you in sorting out your metals to get the best prices for them, once you master these tricks you'll be a master scrapper in no time! ^_^ Hope you enjoyed this post!

Identifying Types Of Metal

 Welcome! In this post you'll find out how you can identify different types of the most common metals so you can easily sort them out. I hope that my blog is helping you out to make scrapping easier.

 First up, there is one very important item you'll be needing.. a magnet! You can find magnets everywhere, there in speakers, microwaves, and in most electronics which you can pull it and use. You can easily identify the common metals just by their characteristics. Now, my guide on how to identify different metals.

 Aluminum

•  Very light
•  Doesn't stick to a magnet
•  Doesn't rust 
•  If chipped, leaves a saw edge

Iron And Steel

• Heavy
• Sticks to magnet
• Rusts
• Strong
• Common

Brass/Bronze

•  Yellow-ish if high in zinc, otherwise reddish
•  Doesn't stick to magnet
•  Doorknobs are usually brass/bronze

Copper

• Doesn't stick to magnet
• Reddish Brown
• Oxidizes into green
• Found in wires and electronics
• Copper #1 = Clean Copper
• Copper #2 = Painted Copper
• Light Copper or Copper #3 = Copper Sheeting

Tungsten Carbide

• VERY HEAVY, two tablespoons can weigh over a pound
• Expensive! A pound goes for about 7$
• Super strong
• Makes short, dim, dark red sparks
• Usually found in end mills, saw tips, and tool inserts.

Lead

•  Very Malleable and Soft
•  Very Toxic
•  Heavy about 150% denser than iron
•  Non-Magnetic

  These are some of the common metals that can be easily identify through these tricks, identifying other more complex metals would require more tests, which will be explained in a different post. Good luck sorting out your scrap metal, I hope this helped!

Selling Scrap Metal

 Welcome back! In this post i'll teach you how to sell your scrap metal to maximize your profits.

Selling


 So by now you should probably have collected a lot of scrap metal, the next step is to sell it. Sounds easy right? Well it is, but there are some tricks on how to get the most money out of your scrap metal.

 The first thing you need to do is sort your scrap metal. Separate your metals into ferrous and non-ferrous piles, ferrous is latin for iron, which basically means iron and non iron scrap piles. Some examples ferrous metals are steel and iron, and some non ferrous metals are copper and aluminum. An easy way to sort these out faster is to get a magnet, whatever doesn't stick is non-ferrous and whatever sticks is ferrous.

 Once you've separated your metals, sort them out even more by sub-categorizing them. For example, put all the copper into one pile and all the steel into one pile and so on. By doing this you maximize your profits even further. It might be hard at first, but once you start doing it more you'll have more experience and start sorting it way quicker, it will be like common sense.

 Now you've got everything all organized, it's time to sell it! Before selling your scrap, you should call your local or give them a visit and ask them questions, the more questions the better. Ask them which metals they take, how much they buy each metals for, and what are their standards and procedures are.

 So now your 100% prepared and ready to make some money, take note when you go sell scrap at the scrapyard they might or might not ask for identification. Some states by law, require this to look out for metal theft. Next, they will weigh your scrap metal and probably give you a ticket which says what type of metals you brought in and the quantity, and you bring it to the payout window and get paid! And remember no taxes taken out your pay!

 Once you get that satisfaction of selling your first scrap metals and get your stacks of cash, I hope it motivates you to sell more scrap metal or have more respect towards scrapping! You don't have to stick to just scrapping metal, you can scrap bottles, cardboard, cans and much more, if you have plenty of access to these materials, might of well sell it right? You just need to find the right buyer, as you did for the scrap metals.

 All in all, I hope these steps helped you getting started in scrapping, to be successful you have to stay committed, whenever you see scrap metal don't drive past it, pick it up! Search for auctions for great deals on scrap, tell everyone you scrap so they can give you their scrap, once you've mastered this, your career in scrapping, or even if its a side job, will be a major success! Welcome to the scrapping community and happy scrapping everyone! :)

Collecting Scrap Metal

 Welcome back to my blog! In this post i'll give you some tips and simple techniques on how to collect scrap metal and start collecting some money :) .

Collecting 

 As you already know, you can make a decent amount of money selling scrap metal. Now you need to learn the game of scrapping metal. Collecting scrap metal might seem daunting at first but once you know the bobs and weaves it will be like second nature. First, we need to know when and where to locate and get scrap metal. There is an endless flow of scrap metal being thrown away everyday and its your job as a scrapper to keep your eyes peeled. For example, you can find scrap metal on the side of the road, in dumpsters, junkyards, or even auctions you just need to know its value so you can buy it and sell for more. You must collect everything if it is worth it, and if its free TAKE IT.

 Think about how much scrap metal you could get, no one wants scrap metal they think its trash, but their trash is your treasure! Just think of it like this, what if every garbage day someone throws away a dollar worth of scrap metal, what if you went through one street of 50 houses, that's already 50$ worth of scrap metal in one street! It's like picking up free money on the curb, this is how you should think as a scrapper.

 Once you find out the trash days in your city, every morning or afternoon before the trash is collected go around and go collect the precious scrap metal people are throwing away. Pick up anything that you think is worth it, from aluminum pots and pans to microwaves to bigger appliances like refrigerators or dishwashers. Don't be afraid to get out and grab the small pieces of scrap metals, I mean if you keep jumping out your car every trash day and grabbing these small pieces it will eventually add up to some big cash.

 Many scrappers drive around with trucks, but you could use a small car to collect too, just attach a trailer to the back so you can pick up more scrap and don't spend too much on gas for too much trips.

 Also, look around your house for some scrap, I bet you'll find some things you don't need like old computers or phones which can be scrapped for gold! I'll explain how to scrap these in another post.

 Now you know what to do so go out and start hunting for some scrap! Find out when your garbage day is in parts of your city, and find out the best times to go collect it. Happy Scrapping! :)

The Scrap Metal Business

 To start off, the business of scrapping metal is actually very lucrative, some people even make a living off this. Depending how good you are, you could be making 50$ a day, or 1000$ in an hour! Like they say, one person's trash is another person's treasure.

 You might be thinking to yourself, there is a lot of other things I could do to be making money, why scrap metal? That is a good question, but there are endless reasons of why you should scrap metal. One reason is your helping the environment by recycling scrap metal and your community by taking their scrap metals! What could better than making money and helping the environment and your community?

 Scrap metal has been the biggest export in North America for the past 5 through 10 years. It gained popularity because of the increased demands for based metals. Around the year 2000 you could sell copper for around 40 cents a pound, now copper goes for about $4.00 a pound, that's a  %1000 increase! And it's likely to go up again in these upcoming years.

 Now lets talk money. How many times have you walked past a piece of scrap metal in your life? What if you picked up every single scrap metal that you've come across before, and sold it. Think of how much money you would have made! Oh, and an extra perk, there's no taxes taken out of your paycheck. If you had a truck and worked full time you could be making $40,000 a year, and if you just need side cash working part time you could easily be making $10,000 a year,  that's about $170 a week added to your paycheck.

 The thought of scrapping metal might sound difficult at first, but really it is really simple. All there is to it is collecting scrap metal and selling it. The more metal you have the more money you get for it, sound easy enough? Some metals sell more than other metals, here are some of the common ones.

Some of the cheaper metals are steel and iron.
Some of the more expensive ones are aluminum and zinc.
And some of the really expensive ones are Copper, Nickel, and Tungsten.

 To sum it all up, scrapping metal is a very good and legit business if you get into it. You help the environment and make some money along with it. ^_^