The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1886-02-18
Fortunes in scrap-Iron.

''You'd never think it WIS much of q
trick to sort out scrap metal" said 81
dealer in old iron. as he stood in the
middle of yard heaped up with piles of
rusty scraps of every description, with
out any apparent order or method
''As matter of fact, though, there is
quite knack in it. 1t requires good
deal of experience if you don't want
to get taken in, as the profits of the
business all lie in mans ability to tell
at glance what is good material and
what is not. The greenhorn will go
and buy wagon-load of stuff in a
lump, and when it is sorted over he will
find he has paid probably double what
the lot is worth"
''How are the scraps assorted?" asked
the reporter.
''Well, you see here is separate pile
for the best scrap. 1t is nearly all in
smah pieces-bolts, nuts, screws, pieces
of horseshoe, nails, and such as that, all
of the best quality of malleable iron.
1t commands the highest price, except
for that of the whole horseshoes, of any
iron that is bought by u.s. We pay
from 60 to 80 cents a hundred for it.
Horseshoes are worth from 81 to 81. 20 a
hundred pounds. We pile the small
pieces together so that the scraps can be
shoveled out into barrels or sacks,
while the large pieces, such as broken
shafting, boiler iron. and metal of that
sort, are stacked up separately. There
are the steel and cast-iron piles over
there, you see, and here are the borings
and turnings from the machine-shops." :"
''Of what use are those scraps of tinp''
asked the reporter, pointing towards a
huge heap of cut and twisted pieces of
the shining metal.
80, that goes to the smelting-works.
You see it mainly consists of the clip
pings and fragments of timed iron and
worn-out tin vessels. These are some
times dipped in hydrochloric acid to
dissolve the tin coating from the iron.
The muriate of tin so formed is of COM
mercial value for dyeing purposes.
Hanging up on the walls all about
were cog-wheels, oranks, and other
pieces of machinery, while in one
corner was collection of pick-axes,
axes, and pitchforks.
Everything that we find of value in
the masses of scraps that come in here
every day by the wagon-load, remarked
the dealer, ''or that can be used in the
shape it is received in. is preserved
from the scrap heaps and sold separate
ly. There are people who if they want
lot of pick-aXes, Tor instance, never
think of going to a hardware store for
them, but come direct to the scrap iron
dealer, where they can generally find
serviceable articles of the secondhand
class. Nearly all of these cranks and
cogwheels will come into use in their
present shape some day.
''Scrap iron," continued the dealer,
consists of any kind of iron that will
serve the purposes of remelting. but more
especially that of the malleable quality
We work in all the old ship iron that
can be made serviceable, and there is
one firm in the city that makes special
ty of that branch of the business. They
have broken up several old vessels dur
ing the past year and taken out tons of
good scrap-iron. They are now tearing
the Mohongo to pieces over in Oakland,
and selling her plates and sheeting to
the nail manufacturers. There is a
good deal of money in that kind of
trade if one understands it"
OF late years the scrap-iror business
has increased to such an extent as to
make it an important feature of water
front trade. Several good-sized for
tunes have been made in the business.
Large lots of vacant land are covered
with heaps of the rusty metal, for which
there is always brisk demand during
the busy season at the iron-works The
smaller scraps make the best kind of
shafting and pipe material, as the fibers
OF the finished product are so twisted
and intertwined as almost to defy an at
tempt at breaking, while for ordinary
use it will last for years.-San Francis