Make friends at the scrapyard

[Jugornot]

I've seen a bunch of people on here looking for smithing tools. I thought I'd point out the benefits of having a connection at the local scrapyard. Actually, I hit a pretty big score and wanted to show it off ( the wife wasn't impressed). I happen to be a crane operator at a scrap yard and unload all the steel that comes in. Most of this stuff showed up in a weeks time, which is pretty unusual. 

 

I've been a lurker around here for a while and thought it was about time to actually post something. I'm in the process of setting up a smithy with the aim of eventually smacking out some blades. The pipe in the back of the picture is going to be part of my forge. I already have a decent #150 wright, besides the hornless one on the tailgate. I've already picked up a half dozen tongs or so.

[DSW]

Nice score.

[LastRonin]

Wanna be my friend?
Wish I lived closer... I am having a dizzy of a time getting my hands on a post vise at anywhere near a reasonable price.

[ianinsa]

Fantastic score

[onetreeforge]

imagine all the stuff witch gets scraped, or I hope it gets saved

[Frosty]

Why didn't I think of that? Instead of making a friend at the scrap yard, get a job there!

 

Do the guys in the local blacksmith organization know what you do for a living? Brother you are going to have a LOT of friends! Keep rescuing the good iron, we'll all salute you.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Joel OF]

Blimey, wanna come work at my local yard? One of the yards I use got busted a while back for stealing cars to order and bribing a policeman to look the other way. Every time I go to scrap yards I lock my phone and wallet in the glove box.

 

I've always wanted a plumber friend, an electrician friend and a mechanic friend, I should probably add a scrap yard friend to that list but I don't really want to know the types of guys that work at my local yards haha.

[John McPherson]

They just passed a state law requiring scrapyards to hold cars for 3 business days to allow legitimate owners to establish ID. They had to, because so many vehicles were being snatched from the curb and shredded immediately. It has gotten so bad that a car on the shoulder of the interstate would disappear before the legit AAA tow truck showed up.

 

Our college trades programs have had to put metal supplies inside of locked cages, inside the locked courtyard, under the security camera.

[njanvilman]

One weeks haul...impressive.  It is mind blowing to thing of all of the good tools that get scrapped at all of the yards in this country. 

 

One local yard here in NJ has provided the owner enough stuff for him to start his own museum.  He says everything in it came over the scales.  His workers know to put anything aside that looks interesting.  He gets the last say whether it gets saved or shreaded.

[Pete Buchanan]

hey  is that some sort of burner on the right side of the bed of the truck???

[Michael]

Good finds!  Its all about Pattern Recognition, once you have an idea what you're looking for, all sorts of shapes jump out at you from what looks like a pile of rusty junk.

[ThorsHammer82]

I think I'm going to have to go down to the local metal recycle center....

 

I'm quickly running out of room for all my tools though. I may have to move some of them out of my shop and back to my garage.

[Dave Parker]

Nice score, it took a long time to get my vise's and anvils.  Last Ronin check your messages. 

[Jugornot]

hey  is that some sort of burner on the right side of the bed of the truck???

No, it's just a nice T I snagged to make an air inlet for my forge.