Tom’s Top Picks: Best Tools for Scrapping

Posted on by Tom Buechel

If you are looking to start scrapping metal for some extra money or even a full-time job, we have some important tools and accessories you should look into getting for yourself before you begin.

Tom, the founder of iScrap App is a scrap yard owner and has been in the business for years. We sat down with him to chat about some of his favorite and most important tools to have on hand when scrapping.

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Tom’s Top Tools & Accessories

Let’s be honest, other than finding scrap, is there really anything that gets you much more excited then buying (or finding) tools to use on your scrap?!?! I cannot believe that the answer is anything but hell yea! 

Buying tools is more addicting than new technology or anything else, especially when they help you not only make money but many your life easier. From Hammer Drills to Cutting Pliers, there are so many things that you can go and buy and use that it almost is too easy.

Tops Tools For Scrap Metal Recycling

  • Tac Force Knives– I have gone through a lot of knives, but none have been as useful and reliable (and give me the best bang for my buck!) then this knife. 
    • Different color options (for those into scrap style, haha).
    • Small screwdriver built in as well.
  • Fine Bristled Broom– We use a few different brooms for a few different jobs. But the one from FlexSweep has been our favorite for interior concrete jobs. 
  • Exterior Hard Bristle Broom– When we are doing outside jobs or clean up the bristles on the Super Sweep brooms have been really good. Plus they are orange so it makes it easy to find when you are outside working.
  • Water Hose– We used to use those traditional green hoses, but they broke, cracked, and got thrown away…a lot. We found this Teknor hose that has been with us for a few years (looks ugly…but works great.). 
  • Cable Cutters– These are one of the top three pieces of equipment that we use. From cutting copper cable, copper pipes, aluminum, and insulated wire, with a lot of different sizes we do not leave home without them. The people at Hit Tools get an A+ on these. 
  • Air Compressor– We bought a 5 piece set so we could have different options to clean/fill tires and tools up. Easy, quick, cheap, reliable set of tools. 
  • DeWalt Hammer Drill– I cannot tell you how much I love this drill. It is the best. Period, end of sentence. While not a hammer drill only, it is an awesome tool that has helped while taking apart water meters, electronics, and whatever else I need it for. The battery on this DeWalt drill has lasted me 2-3 weeks sometimes, and that is when I use it 3-5 hours a day. 
  • Diable Saw Zal Blades– We cringe if we are out at job sites and do not have a Diablo blade and have to buy another one, because to make it simple, nothing beats Diablo blades. Period.  
  • Cutting Pliers– We seem to never have enough of these- yet often times don’t have them super handy the second that we need them. We tend to stick with the Stanley ones because they have held up well and seem to cut all types of wire/copper/even steel when we need them to. 

Suggested Tools By Scrappers:

  • Tinsnips – Perfect for cutting wires and other cords from different applications like computers, electric motors, and power supplies. They are a small and cost-effective tool to make things a bit easier.
  • Sawzall – It may seem like a costly tool, but it can pay for itself after a few loads of ACR‘s. Scrapping radiators is a common thing and being able to clean them up for more money at the scale can pay off quickly.
  • Medical Scissors – Besides the obvious reason of emergencies, these scissors can come in handy to cut loose wires especially for computers!
  • Hammer – Do we need to say anything more?

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