What is the difference between stainless steel and aluminum?

Stainless steel and aluminum are almost indistinguishable... That is unless you know that some stainless steel sticks to a magnet.

Also, most stainless steel is non-magnetic, like aluminum. So how to tell the difference then?

The truth is the you can easily distinguish between stainless steel and aluminum by using the metal proporties. So for example if you have many cookware pots and need to know if they are aluminum or stainless, you could try a magnet. If they both are non magnetic, then try making one of them spark.

How To Do The Spark Test

The spark test is one of the most useful tools a person can weild when working in a shop environment. Weather you are welding, milling, analyzing, or scrapping many if not all of your decisions will depend on the exact type of material you are working with. That is why utilizing the spark test is important. 

The spark test is good for use on steel, tungston steel, carbide, chromium steel, stainless steel, nickel, nickel steel. The sparks that these metals shoot when ground with a bench grinder during the spark testing process, will be idiosyncratic to that material. I found a great review of the spark test here!

Spark testing is one of the primary ways to identify scrap ferrous metals. For more, check out more at scrap metal identification. 

The more metal you plan to come across, the more and more you will need to look into leasing a XRF analyzer gun. 

Some Scrap metal information

Do you have an excess of scrap materials, including metal? Do you like recycling? Do you enjoy having money?

Well then you will love recycling scrap metal. Scrap metal, believe it or not, is a hot commodity. Having any type of metal is like having money in your truck bed. 

Metals like copper and aluminum are valuable, but metals like steel and iron are easy to find in abundance. 

When you throw out a cell phone charger, you are throwing away money.

When you throw out a VCR, you are throwing away money. 

When you throw out an old scrap refrigerator, or old scrap car parts, YOU ARE THROWING AWAY MONEY!

Catalytic convertors and other car parts are all full of valuable metals. Catalytic convertors contain precious metals

When you are trying to identify metals when scrapping, I suggest checking out this Scrap Metal Identification page.

Good Luck Scrapping Everybody! 

Recycling Metal

What is Metal Recycling?


Metal recycling is one of the most common way for a business to make money from its waste. The more waste a entity generates, the more opportunity it has to cut costs by recycling its scrap metal.

The deal with scrap metal is the more metal you use, the more waste metal you will have at the end of every month; Weither it is cuttings, solids, shavings, punches, or any other types of scraps.

The most common way to make make money with these scraps, is to sell them to Scrap metal buyers, or more specifically, scrap metal yards.

Learn more about scrap metal recycling and prices at http://scrappingmetal.blogspot.com

Scrap metal yards will buy any and all scrap metals. I have sold from everything gold bearing electronic scrap to actual gold jewelry to my scrap yard. If you have a trust worthy yard, they will usually give the best prices.

Scrap metal is one of the biggest exports in the United States, so it shouldn't surprise you that everybody wants a little piece of the pie. Heck, you are reading this because you have some interest for some reason.

Scrap metal recycling will prove to be one of the most important parts of your business once you realize the money you make!