Does Anyone Recycle Their Chips?

[Joe Pitz]

Hello all,

What do you do with all of the chips you generate? Do you recycle them? Do you have to separate the chips by type of material?

Just wondering what is the prudent thing to do?

I started keeping my aluminum chips.

Thanks

Joe

 

[Grumpy Gator]

Yes I do. I made a aluminum tray to fit the chip pan on my lathe and sort them into 5 gallon buckets. Turned one full of brass chips in to the local scrap guy and got $87.00 . It took two years to fill that bucket but I think it was worth it.
***Just Saying**********Gator********************

 

[Joe Pitz]

Thanks Gator, sounds like a good idea. I always have left over plastic 5 gallon buckets from my swimming pool chlorine.

I will start bucket for each material.

Thanks

Joe

 

[JPower6210]

And then of course there is always the home foundry idea- I am building a furnace and planning on reclaiming all that swarf for stock- It's the "economical" thing to do

 

[Franko]

I keep my aluminum chips. I don't don't make enough steel chips to be worth the trouble.

I gave them to a friend who'd put them in his kiln when he was firing pottery and smelt them into billets. He doesn't do that anymore, so they are starting to overly accumulate.

 

[Tony Wells]

Most scrap yards won't mess with small quantities of ordinary steel chips. They turn to valueless rust before they accumulate enough to make load to the foundry. Volume generators of carbon and alloy steels often have railcar sized loads that are saleable immediately. By contrast, 5 gallon buckets of copper, brass and aluminum, plus some of the more exotic materials such as Ti, and various stainless grades are worth saving if you're patient and keep them scrupulously clean. That's very keen to getting the most money for your scrap. Most yards grade your scrap by the worst sample they look at. For instance, 1 soldered fitting in a bucket of pristine copper will downgrade the entire lot.

 

[MozamPete]

I keep a separate bag I put in the shop vac when I'm cleaning up Aluminium only chips from the lathe or mill. Steel chip just go out with the household rubbish.

 

[MozamPete]

I keep a separate bag I put in the shop vac when I'm cleaning up Aluminium only chips from the lathe or mill. Steel chip just go out with the household rubbish.

 

[Billh50]

I not only recycle my aluminum and brass but also broken and used carbide. The last time I recycled carbide it was over $10 a pound and the weight adds up fast as carbide is heavy.

 

[vertcnc]

I have a 35 garbage can full of alum chips, just wondering about coolant residue. I think some of the large commercial shops spin the chips to remove coolant.