Scrap Bin

[fabjunkie]

What are you guys doing with your scraps and skeletons? I just started with the table and this stuff is piling up on me. I'm thinking about a 4'x3' open top bin so I can stack half sheet skeletons on end and fill the rest of it with smalls. I thought about making it tilt for emptying it at the scrap yard and looked at dumping hoppers, but I'm not sure if this is necessary. I'll move it around with pallet jack or forklift so no need for casters.

Something like this without the frame and casters.


What are you using?

[motoguy]

I'm just going to buy a pickup truck bed trailer. I'll throw my scrap steel in it until it's full, then haul it to the local recycler. Right now I don't do enough AL or stainless to be an issue.

2375009_01_78_chevy_truck_bed_trailer_640.jpg

[fabjunkie]

I like the truck bed trailer idea if you you can score one cheap enough. I've had two that I've built before for nothing. They'd be perfect now.

Come on guys, unless you guys are just throwing it outside you have to have something.

[shiner2001]

This was me yesterday. I don't know what scrap brings, but I bet it's hardly worth loading up and taking in right now. I just keep a couple of 55 gallon drums outside the shop and move them when they're full. After each sheet, I cut up the skeleton with a hand torch and ditch all the small pieces. I try to keep pieces large enough to be useful, but I'm overflowing with "good scrap" now, so I'm throwing away more than I used to.

[motoguy]

This was me yesterday. I don't know what scrap brings, but I bet it's hardly worth loading up and taking in right now.

Yeah, my last trailer load only brought $40 or so. I really just need somewhere convenient to put all the scrap, and being able to easily haul it all off when full is a bonus. Plus, I get some consumable money out of it. lol

[tnbndr]

Around here scrappies make a living out of cruising neighborhoods and hauling scrap for $$$$. I approached one guy and asked if he'd like me to text him when I have some scrap metal. Gave me his cell number and now I put my scrap out by the mailbox, shoot him a text and within an hour it's gone.
It is not usually a lot as I don't let it build up as I don't have room and I don't want neighbors complaining but he doesn't mind as he combines it with his other hauls.

[KIDTech]

Big poly totes with the built in pallet works great if you have a skidsteer/forklift or even a crane you can pick it up and set in the bed of a truck or on a trailer.

[steel 35]

I use two plastic drums inside when they get full transferred to this till I need it for something else, The bride Couldn't understand why I was spending all that money on a trailer while I was building it, now she loves this thing, She did (all) of the rock work. Note the plastic tub and the rust?

[Stout]

I just load the used up sheets on the trailer. When I need to use the trailer, the scrap yard is pretty much on the way to anywhere from here. I used to stack them on the ground and then load the trailer when I had enough material to make it worthwhile. But they don't give any more for 500 lbs vs 5000 lbs so it really didn't matter anyway. The bigger problem with stacking and them moving them to the trailer was they always seem to get tangled and become almost impossible to move.

[sawdust1]

I consider myself really lucky. I have a welder friend who works mostly in aluminum, he has two huge bins one for steel and one for aluminum. I use lots of his offcuts from the bins and return the even smaller scraps. Any scrap that I generate from purchased sheets I can also put in his bins.
David

[fabjunkie]

I like the IBC tote idea, just cut the top off and there ya go. I actually just yesterday discovered a guy not far from here selling them. I do have a forklift so loading anything isn't an issue.

I'm really leaning towards a pick up trailer or just a small one like steel 35's. Just seems like the easiest way to go about it. I've been thinking of a hydraulic tilt pick up bed trailer for dirt/gravel duty anyway, so it could be a double duty unit. I was looking for something I could work with on Craigslist the other day and ended up with a set of seats for my old truck.

[motoguy]

I'm really leaning towards a pick up trailer or just a small one like steel 35's. Just seems like the easiest way to go about it. I've been thinking of a hydraulic tilt pick up bed trailer for dirt/gravel duty anyway, so it could be a double duty unit. I was looking for something I could work with on Craigslist the other day and ended up with a set of seats for my old truck.

I want a solid floor, so little pieces don't fall out. Solid sides and back, which can be opened. The ability to take whole 4x8 skeletons is good as well. A full size truck bed trailer appears to be the cheapest way to meet those criteria.

[Old Iron]

I have a 6 yard dumpster that the scrap yard set for me. When it gets full I call them and they bring me an empty, pick up the full one, charge me $25 and pay me the difference on the going rate that day, in cash.

[Dana gear]

We have two 4 yard all steel boxes that are about 4 feet tall all the small stuff goes in here.Full Skeleton sheets just get stacked on to a couple of long pallets that we move with the fork lifts. Aluminum has its own metal box. At times we generate a lot of scrap. That said my closest scrap yard about a two hour round trip away.
So for about the last 4 years I just give the stuff away there are two different guys who come when I call and clean everything out, they do a nice/clean job. When they are here there on my insurance.
I simply put an add in craig's list ,free scrap you haul. Here's the deal last time we hauled our own scrap, all the boxes, skeletons etc, strapped down on a lowboy trailer that took about 4 hours loading/hauling. At the scrap yard they had us back up to there magnet to unload, the real surprise was when my driver returned and was unloading the empty boxes he found that two of our new Michelin tires were gashed, apparently the magnet at the scrap yard has issues and kept dropping some of the scrap and some crashed up along side the trailer by the back axles.
Our haul on this deal was 455.00, after the replacement of the two tires ,fuel, drivers time etc I lost money.
The scrap yard drop off box works good and that's what did in the past however our local scraper went out of business. California laws finished him off.

[chevybythesea]

Scrap here really has very little value - so I donate all mine to the local high school welding program. They love it, use it for all sort of projects. I get a (very minor) tax write-off, and they get all sorts of gauges of metal. Win-win.

[Stout]

Anyone want to guess the weight?

[lockeyone]

1800 lbs

[see&see]

2950 lbs

[Stout]

I had guessed 5,000 lbs but it was a bit more. 5,520 lbs at $0.04 a pound.

[lockeyone]

Wow, I was looking at how the trailer/tires were squatting, didn't look that low. Must have some good tires and springs on it.

[tnttracy]

i used ibc totes (275ish gallon things) cut the top off. but the get beat up real quick and if the forklift guy at the scrap yard is having a bad day will tear them apart the first time he unloads them. mostly i pile sheet rems on pallets and smaller scraps in 50 gallon drums. for big projects i have the scrap yard deliver a dumpster that usually 7-10k in it by the time it gets picked up