A hatchet is better for splitting motors. A wood splitter works great too.

Thank you, Drake! Scrappers from southeast Asia use machetes scrapping sometimes, I have to credit them for the machete idea

I'm so pleased you found the motor clip, that's what I've been doing the last year quick and no money spent on electricity or disks

I would consider finding a chisle for the pressure relief valves instead of the screwdriver. I'm going to try that :)

Dude this was so much fun, and I really appreciate your honesty with the analysis of each hack.

For motors I use a hammer/screwdriver in the middle to split it enough to stick a nail or screw on one side, do the other side and then sawzall through the gap. I works well for me and I've been using the same 12" blade for a long time now so no extra costs.

I used a hand planer for stripping wire. Thick blade, easy on the carpal tunnel and safer than knives, blades or cheap potato peelers. Aside from that I always wanted to try the machete idea. Good to see someone with an honest answer and not trying to grab for content.

Temperature has a lot to do with how easily the insulation can be cut off. if you crank up your woodstove those potato peelers should work a lot better on the softer insulation

This is a cool way for creators to shout out other creators . This is a family each trying to help out the other! Awesome video!

there is a solution to using the machete. Once you get down to the top of the blade, turn it over, support both ends and hammer on the transformer or whatever you are splitting.

Scraping on a budget ideas 👍

The Princess Auto machete had my butthole puckered. Grab a non mulching lawn mower blade. The steeper bevel will help protect your edge, and you will have a thicker spine on the back to hit against. Most of them will be free if you pick up mowers regularly and when they are beyond saving, they can be turned in as prepared steel. The brass pieces, I’d say you found the best process. Second idea would be getting a set of locking pliers and then smacking the insert out. Wire stripping. If it’s stranded, turn it in as insulated and save your money for a $60 stripper from the Jungle site or the electronic auction site. If it’s solid 14/12/10 gauge, a peeler looks decent, but Thub’s kitchen knife idea might be the best.

A+ Thub. This is why i subbed many years ago, you try new things and report how it goes 😊 I did a bunch of wall outlets i had piled up the other day. I wanted the brass. Spent 3 hours for a pound and a half of nice brass. Looks great in the jar but at $1 an hour i had to question my sanity 🤔

Hey Thub I think it would help out if you mounted your vice to a more stable surface like your work bench. It would really make some tasks easier for you.

11:00 newer romex has a secondary clear plastic layer that's a pain in the ass. This trick works great on the outside rubber layer though

I was reading on Reddit and saw a guy mention that he doesn’t strip his Romex and instead he soaks it in water for a few days, let’s the paper get wet and the inside fill up with water and then he sells it when gets a few garbage bags full like that and the water weight makes up almost to the point $wise as stripping it…criminal, but thought was interesting and if anything I couldn’t knock the ingenuity…🤣 Ever heard of anyone doing this Thub?

Thanks for doing these.

Fun video - love it!

A hatchet for splitting motor's works well or a SDS drill plus wide chisel works plus a big vice helps

Really enjoyed the video Thub. More of these please.

It is from a "disc" a common farm implement.

I better option would be a hydraulic press with a Vicsonvee-type wedge.

The best way to clean the brass is to cut it in half with an angle grinder. Brass is soft and will usually cut easily.

Canadian Treasure hunter uses a small sledge to hit the machete.

The thin steel in the video is a old blade from a disk that is used for farming can allso be found on platers and plows .

cold weather probably made pealing the wires more difficult

I'm going to use some of these for sure!!!

Great idea for a vid. Interesting!

Love your channel and this vid - with one exception, cleaning pressure relief valves with no eye protection. Hopefully it was an oversight, but as a reminder - you are working with a spring loaded piece, and just one unlucky day that spring will fly where it shouldn’t. With over 40 yrs in the biz I learned that scrappers all get hurt sometime, somehow, yes - me included. All you can do is reduce exposure to risks and don’t tempt fate but rather stay one step ahead of it through safe practices. I only mention this in the hope that I might help someone avoid losing an eye. Thank you, and keep up the great videos!

Them water release valves i watched a guy scrapper D ( RIP my friend ) lock them in a vise upside down and pound down on the copper stem. On the wire peeler ( hi BK ✌️ ) you have to use a certain brand of veggie peeler.

Great Job thub!

I think the potato peeler was inspired!

Nice I should try

Thanks for another great video!

For stripping wire, just make a tool... try drilling a hole in a wood board or aluminum bar just big enough for the thickness of your wire, make the piece maybe 5-10 inches deep ... then make a small opening at the top, just enough to be able to press a safety razor blade down on the cable (make a sort of lever that grabs the razor by its edges so you can replace them as they get dull and you can press down on the level as you pull the wire. So basically lift lever, insert wire until it comes out the other hole, press lever down for razor to get into insulation, pull on the wire. The tiny piece of wire that still has insulation can be manually processed.

When it comes to brass valves that are a hassle i just crack them in half but squeezing them in my vice maybe it's bigger or heavier than an average vice but it does the trick. For small wire i had a 2x6 with a bunch of different size holes (for each size wire) and a sharp screw going perpendicular through the hole. Thread the wire through and tighten down the screw to pierce the insulation then pull the wire through. Cheap and easy just replace the screws when they get dull

You are amazing dude!

Nice

M8 that was a good video , but when it comes to wire stripping , I'll use your proven method The Strip Meister . It is an expensive way to strip tons of copper wire , without getting tired by stripping by hand . The machete method I tried and it works like a charm on small transformers and small electric motors ,an axe head works on the bigger stuff. You're a good man Thub . Keep up the good work. God bless y'all.

you need a vice nut in the jaw before it lets go. Good review. Guess we will see that machite in the PA return bin . Hope you get to 1k thumbs up with this one

Cool! The potatopealer thing could be good for me if I get into microscrapping! Thanks Thub!

I have been doin the brass relief valve that way for years, I use a pointed end instead of a flat screw driver. the first one in your video is called a coulter disc from a plow .I have a video of this type ,but put a handle on mine call it the Motor Hatchet!!

Best stripper hands down is a break flare clamp and any razor blade you get a multi sized adjustable stripping plate hand held and you can always find them in the cheapy bin at your local auto parts store

Beautiful video!

Nice to see content from a good local guy. Thanks man.

Awesome video!!!!

Great video

Chop saws work good for most everything

Great video.... @ 7:10 There are heavy gloves out there intended for this sort of thing.... I don't have the Hands Of Hercules, but, proper gloves help A LOT....

i had a fireman ax head that i used to cut them open that worked great but someone walked off with it a while back. haven't found a decent replacement yet. i did try a stone chisel the other day and that might have worked if I had a bigger hammer but my big hammer walked too. for pressure relief valves i just asked at the yard how they wanted them clean for the best price seeing I have over 400 to do. and he showed me that they take a screwdriver and insert it in the side hole pointing up against the top and hit it with a hammer and the top supposedly pops off. another scrapper guy listening in at the yard showed me the way you just did it but then the yard guy said it was easier to do it the other way and knock it up with one punch versus hammering down and prying. I haven't tried it yet though but that is how they clean them, they should know. i like watching how they clean different things. lets me know if they can hire guys to clean things in the background then it pays me to take it apart too then. if they don't take it apart then maybe it isn't worth stripping farther. for cutting copper pipes i have a few bigger bolt cutters floating around my shop besides a couple of smaller ones.

It only works well if it works for you. We like your style no matter how you do it.

As I always call my subscribers ScrapHounds I had no idea there was a channel with the same name 😂

I used a hatchet instead of machete and that worked well. Love your videos.

when hitting the machete on both sides and jarring your hand, remove machete and rotate motor, replace machete and hit at the top again. If you can find an old machete it would probably be better steel than cheap new ones. A clever would work well too. Cheers Panda, appriciate ya

awesome video. But I love my Dewalt angle grinder

I have a few tips that I'm shocked I cannot find on KZfaq or anybody else doing that save me enormous time... I can strip wire almost as fast as a stripper does. I pin the wire to my Right leg With a hunting knife With my right hand. And pull the wire Through with my left hand It works similar to your Vegetable peeler, except you have a much better blade with a knife. Much much better being on a vice and trying to run yourself down the wire. I can strip Hundred lbs of bear bright in a few hours. And that With taking my time and I'm watching TV when I do it. My second tip is that you turn a skill saw blade backwards. It will cut aluminum copper and any soft metals without Trashing the blade... In my 3rd tip is that I use a Little pipe cutter That you spin around the copper pipe to get a clean end. I used that tool to Cut thick cable when it's in areas that I can't get a saw or a blade into. I use it just like you would on a copper Water line. You just keep tightening it and spinning it It won't go all the way through But it cuts 3⁄4 of the way through and you just wiggle the cable back and forth and the copper breaks off. This is save me from nightmares and headache galore. I don't check my Replies often but I'll try to check in in case I didn't explain something right I can clarify it if someone needs me to but the wire stripping one People need to learn. I can't believe People are using vegetable peelers to try to strip wire when this works so incredibly well I can do 60' of wire in 30 seconds! Just remember the wire goes 1 direction in the blade goes it at 90 ° angle And don't have the blade straight down into your leg have the blade flat on your leg with just a little pitched angle to get under the Jacket jacket. It works incredibly well because the knife doesn't dig into the copper for some reason it just glides on the top of it strips it off as fast as you can pull. The knife never moves. If you're moving the knife around you're doing it wrong. The knife pushes the wire into your leg causing a little track that it runs in almost. As you play with it you'll get the idea and see how incredibly easier it isis. I have a wire strip and don't even use it.

Love these!! I've used the knife for wire, thinking that the peeler might be a good substitute. Going to try splitting motors and transformers next. Great vid Thub, thanks

I enjoy your videos, I've been wanting to try the machete method, really soon, mostly on transformers.

With respect to the machete trick... a junky old axe head might would work fine. And you don't want it to be sharp necessarily, because it'll cut into the metal if it ever gets a bite. You ideally want it to cut at first, and then just push the halves apart. Also, if you have a welder, what I would do is a build a mini hydraulic press. Basically some box tube or bed rail in an H-frame or A-frame or square box with a car jack (scissor style). Weld your blade (whatever it is) to a plate that bolts to the bottom of the jack, and then use your impact gun or drill to raise and lower the scissor. Like a slow motion but super strong guillotine. Probably a half-day project, but a fun benchtop tool that you'd probably see a lot of use from. Tool/project videos for scrapping would probably get a lot of views. I know guys who have made firewood splitters using car jacks and a piece of big pipe they cut the belly out of and then chop sideways, can't be much different.

Great idea too so this, very interesting. ❤️💙

Great examples! In the end, find efficient ways to scrap with the simple tools, then take that money earned and buy better tools or power tools. Screwdriver => power drill Hacksaw => angle grinder or sawzall And so on.

Plz make more of these

Groovy

Yay more awesome

Nice video. Thx

i saw a guy cut the ends off of extension cords, boil the ends in water to make the rubber malleable so he could pull the brass bits out of them.

I’ve seen where they use a hatchet instead of the machete

There is a tool called a froe, its for splitting kindling and for making wood shingles. It is made to be hit with a sledge/maul/hammer/etc... and would be nicer on your hands & wrist than the machete. Might be a better candidate for motor splitting.

I tried the splitting trick after I saw this one with the head of an old square point shovel. It worked really well

That scraphound one is straight up money. I feel dumb now

Don’t hammer towards yourself bro, especially w/o ppe! Otherwise, great video. While not a scrapper, I do stop and angle grind pipes off water heaters-but I cast things, so it saves a big from having to buy copper or bronze ingots. I also snag wires from dyers and the like too. ✊🏻

Use a meat cleaver vs a machete. The cleaver is good quality steel and most people don't them regularly for their intended purpose =) I tried and it worked well. Awesome work man! Calgary for the win!

I know that it's out of category but I wonder how a log splitter would do? May have to modify the wedge or perhaps a hydraulic press?

Use a hook razor blade and a vise to strip bx and romex wire

A bench top press with a modified blade might split those easy, pumping the handle might be a bit slower/faster but still easier.

I put my vise on a 4 in steel pipe 6 ft long post hole dig 3 ft deep a bag or two of premixed concrete so far mine is permanent

This may not fit the whole "scrapping efficiency" theme of this video, but I just recently found out that if you want to confirm what you have is Aluminum, Zinc (or heavy zinc die cast), or Magnesium is to put either Vinegar or Liquid stump killer (copper sulfate) on a bare piece. If it turns black, then it's zinc. If it fizzles, it'll be Magnesium. While I have never tried the vinegar method (don't have any magnesium on me), and I can personally vouch for the copper sulfate turning zinc black.

On the pressure release valves the part that is copper on the bottom has a steel bar in it that has to be removed after you take the plastic coating off just cut the end off it will fall out

I’m not sure I can post a picture but if you have a peeler that fits in your palm, it works great

I use an ax on smaller transformers. Works really well! Also use those wire cutters on the brass ends of water lines.

On the first one I’d just use an old ax with or without the handle Super cheap for the rusty old one at junk shop and great steel

Canadian Treasure Hunter uses a lopper in a vice for cutting copper pipe.

A hatchet or axe head would likely work better than the machete.

My potato pealer was absolutly great! 2£ and dont hundreds of kilos in copper

I use a harbor freight air compressor driver, would be interesting if you could convert a harvester blade into an attachable chisel.

Yooo I found some copper and aluminum people have thrown out In the woods near by and I come back to see you posted what are the odds ey

Instead of a machete, use a meat cleaver. Works like a charm.

Hey Thub. I have never tried the machete method but i found that an axe works well useing the same technique. Cheapest hatchet at Canadian tire, after sharpening it, it works pretty good.

so the blade didn't always cut it, the peeler wasn't really appealing, pressure is off the TPR valves, jaws in vise didn't grab me. all good to know!

I use a manual hack for removing rivetted frying pan handles (video on my channel), not a 100% foolproof, but works on easily 90% of the aluminium frying pans out there.

3 more tips. I already left 3 on this thread.1st I use vinegar on wire to get dirty wire to the bear bright price. It works good on Dark stained wire And for people who burn wire (I dont But I don't have this much of a problem with that as other people, because the wire is gonna be sold to the Philippines and they're gonna burn it there anyway in my opinion) Anyway, I use a construction bag Fill it with tightly spoiled wire and vinegar, then push all the air out. Take the copper out a few hours later and reuse the bag and vinegar over and over. I use a rare earth magnet to separate my MLC's monolithic capacitor. I don't collect them unless the board is from the 1990s or older. Any MLCS that stick to a rare earth magnet can be tossed in the garbage. Third- I put my cable spoiled up in the sink Or bathtub and soak it in hot water. And you can will strip cable twice the size of my thumb like butter with a good sharp knife.

For tubing, a corner edge of some thick steel, such as the peening flat on a vice, and a two pound hammer. Smack the tubing on the corner and make a “crease”, work your way down the tubing in sections, and then just break it by hand. Much faster than the cutters, and less work imo. I use that method sometimes, other times I use a small 3 1/2” circular saw with a metal blade. It’s the best for large amounts, very “assembly line” like.

Wanna see a timer I still say a grinder and a pry bar is fastest for the motors

I'm just going to suggest the obvious how about a hatchet instead of a wedge it already is a wedge you can either leave the handle on or take it off

Put a blade similar to that on the bottom of a hydraulic press and it should split them quick.

I use 2 axes and a hammer a flat head screwdriver and a Philips and a wire cutter, also a few knives 😂😂😂

Hydraulic cutter!

Holy caramba, the machete thing is repeatable. Scrapitall's machete is quite substantial. It looks like you got yours at a big box store. Oh, and did you try to cradle those motors inside of the circle of that plate? I learned one hack from the guy from Florida. His fillet knife wire stripper against the hip was easy to learn, and I can strip stranded wire as fast as I can pull it. If I start digging into the copper strands, I just rotate the wire and start a fresh cut.

14:20 i got my self a hand healed wire striper from amazon but after using it for 100 lbs of copper wire stripping i realized its much easier to use a sharp alpha knife and a leveled table. one day ill do KZfaq videos as well and i can show how i do it. Side note im in Canada and i buy my alpha blades at dollarama for 1.50$ for a pack of 10 blades

our new puppy shits a lot