6/26/2014

1

Modeling the Scrap

Industry

NMRA National

Cleveland July 2014

Tom Stewart

Outline

• Why model scrap? • History • Scrap Grades • Modeling Scrap • Rail cars • Vehicles • Scrap yards • Final Destination-Steel Furnaces • Resources

Why Model Scrap?

• Used in all eras since early 20th century

• Integral part of most steel mills

• Can be separate industry-large or small

• Interesting loads

6/26/2014

2

History

• Came into business w/ advent of open hearth steelmaking late 19th century

• Use for old, broken iron steel materials

• Home scrap use-mill mistakes & crops/shears

• EAFs use all scrap charge for specialty steel

• BOP continues use of scrap charge second half of 20th century

Grades of Scrap • There are many grades of scrap based both on size & content. The smaller

sized pieces and more pure scrap steel are typically worth more. • Common varieties of scrap are:

• Bundle - Scrap compressed into rectangular blocks Bushelling - small loose scrap from machine shops etc. Frag or shredded- cars & appliances. Plate & Structural - I-Beams, pipe, plate, RR cars, loaded loose

Heavy Melt - Broken ingot molds, crop ends, engine blocks, usually cast items.

• All scrap is graded and priced accordingly. #1 is the best quality. # 1 frag is made from clean scrap sheet steel, #2 is made from cars and appliances and anything that can get into the shredder.

• No. 1 scrap is mild steel with no coatings or alloying. It is usually used as a high quality dilutant when making relatively high quality steels from scrap. No. 2 and 3 are generally lower quality scrap with alloys and coatings. Many times, no. 1 has known chemistry composition, which the other grades don't. No. 1 is typically punchings, cuttings, and other prompt scrap from manufacturing operations.

6/26/2014

3

6/26/2014

4

Grades of Scrap

• The best is No. 1 bundles or No 1 loose, which are trim and punchings from brand new steel of known composition. This is generally the highest price scrap.

• The worst is probably old cars, which contain significant quantities of copper & other metals. This presents problems for producing high quality steel.

• Old structural steel commonly has lead paint leading to low prices per ton.

What is not Scrap • Materials not Accepted

• Propane tanks

• Gas tanks

• Aerosol cans

• Lead wheel weights

• Scrap bearing lead

• Lead pipe

• Chemical tanks w/ lead lining

• PCB containing devices capacitor, ballasts, microwave ovens

• Oil filters (unless completely drained and crushed

• Batteries

• Air bag canisters

• Mercury switches

• Lead battery cable ends

• Computers/electronics

• Transformers

• Nothing w/ Freon, liquid or sludge, chlorinated plastics

• Radioactive materials-radium dials, smoke detectors, military equip, fertilizer related equip

• Dirt, wood plastic, tires, cement/brick

Modeling Scrap

• Use the “real thing”

oMachine shop shavings

oGas/charcoal grills

oBits & pieces of real metal

• Metal pieces and electric train motors do NOT mix well

6/26/2014

5

Modeling Scrap Commercial Items

• Premade items-piles or gondola loads

• Usually resin or plaster

oChooch

oWalthers

oMr. Plaster

oOther small manufacturers

• Car loads often require cutting to fit

6/26/2014

6

Modeling Scrap Commercial Shapes

• Plastruct & Evergreen

oGood for structural beams & columns, angles

oCan be used for pipes & tubes

• Can be drilled, cut, bent, distorted and glued easily

• Can be expensive to procure a lot of it

Modeling Scrap Railroad cars & locomotives

• Old, cheap railroad cars (AHM/Tyco/Model Power)

• Gondolas, hoppers, box car ends

• Steam locomotives-old parts units, Revell kits

• Diesels-hoods, roofs, railings

• Trucks, wheels & underframes

6/26/2014

7

Modeling Scrap Common House hold items

• Bread wrappers

• Deli package sealers

• Credit cards

• Drink carton tabs & rings

• Plastic bottle caps (milk, soda, water)

• Pens, markers, pencils

• Straws

• Deodorant spiral rods

Modeling Scrap Household items

• Screen/mesh/badminton birdies

• Plastic cookie/candy holders

• Toy holders and wire

• Clothes hangers, paper clips, staples

• Metal strip on foil/plastic wrap boxes

• Aluminum foil

• Pencil shavings-simulate shredded steel

Modeling Scrap Modeling supplies

• Horn hook couplers

• Plastruct/Evergreen cut offs and punchings

• Sprues

• Railroad track rails

• Glue containers

• Other model parts-cars, ships, milt vehicles

6/26/2014

8

6/26/2014

9

Modeling Scrap Painting & Weathering

• Red Brown & dark gray

• Silver

• Other colors

• Overspray

• Dean’s Method

• Washes

• Chalks/powders

• Markers, pencil, colored pencil

6/26/2014

10

Railroad cars

• Over the road gondolas

• Thrall/bathtub gondolas, woodchip cars

• In the mill gondolas

• Crop cars

• Kitbashes

6/26/2014

11

6/26/2014

12

6/26/2014

13

6/26/2014

14

6/26/2014

15

6/26/2014

16

Vehicles

• Dump trucks

• Dumpster trucks

• Quarry trucks

• Cranes-tracked & wheeled – claw/grabber & magnet

• Front end loaders-buckets and forks

6/26/2014

17

6/26/2014

18

6/26/2014

19

6/26/2014

20

Other Containers

• Dumpsters

• Lego boxes

• Cargo boxes

• Wire bins

• Walther coke containers

6/26/2014

21

6/26/2014

22

Scrapyards

• Big or small, in the mill or separate industry

• Shear

• Shredder/baler

• Conveyor

• Scale

• Office building

• Cranes

• Scrap piles

6/26/2014

23

6/26/2014

24

6/26/2014

25

6/26/2014

26

Final Destination-Steel Furnace

• Open Hearth

• Basic Oxygen

• Electric Arc

6/26/2014

27

6/26/2014

28

6/26/2014

29

6/26/2014

30

Resources

• Group tours (RRIMSIG)

• Local visits to mills or scrapyards

• Bing Maps/Google Earth

• Other Internet searches