Scrap Yard Morons

[scb]

Hey Mike they're your words. Saying you don't talk to people like that to their face but do it behind their back doesn't really improve your standing in my book.

[MikeS]

We don't know you at all Mike. That is true. What we do know is the way your original post came across. Describing the customers of the yard as "crack addicts" and the employees as "morons" certainly doesn't come across well.

Ok, let me ask this, if a LEO who's had lots of experience with dealing with crack addicts describes somebody as a crack addict, does that come across any better? From businesses I've been in I've had lots of exposure to crack addicts, and drug addicts of all kinds, including alcoholics as well, enough so that I can spot one a mile away. If a person looks like a crack addict, acts like a crack addict, smells like a crack addict, there's a good chance they're a crack addict! So, should I describe the crack addict as "that nice clean cut scrap yard customer, that purchased a shopping cart from Winn Dixie to carry around all the scrap brass they just happened to have", or "The crack addict with the stolen shopping cart full of stolen brass"? Which would be more correct? Considering that Winn Dixie doesn't sell their shopping carts, and if the person had all that scrap brass that they got thru legitimate ways, I doubt they would be happy to sell it to the scrap yards for the amount they pay.

And as I said before, the scrap yards around here don't SELL lead to the general public, only buy it, so bringing a pizza, or six pack, would do very little if anything, other than maybe get the employee in trouble with their boss, so I don't see where it would help get them to 'like' me (if I even cared about that).

scb: Commenting about somebody that remains nameless, and an unknown to anyone on this forum is hardly talking about them behind their backs. If I told you that you're a nice guy in a public message here, then in a PM to btroj said I thought you were a moron, THAT would be talking behind your back. Not that I'm particularly worried about my standing in your book!

As somebody else pointed out to me, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized they were right, somebody doesn't get a minimum wage job at a dirty job such as working at a scrap yard because they're intelligent, and highly skilled, so I suppose it's normal for them to be less intelligent & less skilled than many other people.

But I still take issue with the fact that if a forum member here that was known to be a LEO made a remark about somebody being a crack addict, nobody would have a problem with it. But because I made the remark, without a LEO background, but one that's dealt with crack addicts every bit as much as LEOs do, I'm being judgmental in calling somebody one?

[justingrosche]

I recently made a trip to a local scrap yard to turn in some scrap brass,and in the 15 minutes I was there, the guy driving the fork lift backed into a truck, and tipped over a bin nearly crushing a woman that was turning in pop cans. I can't say whether he was a crackhead or not but he certainly had deminished brain function.

[cajun shooter]

Mike S, This forum was and is based on such things as being nice to others, treating your fellow members as you want them to treat you and post to give help not negative words.
I can and have spotted many an "addict" as a former Narcotics Division Agent for over 6 years . To be able to say what drug some one is high on is able to be done by blood and urine test. Not even a Doctor may look and say, This one is on crack, This one is on heroin and so on. The "crack addict" is a TV term that has stuck with us because of the news and other TV programs. The term is used around metal salvage yards to describe any person that has meager clothing and body odor and appears to be unwashed. For the most part they are down on their luck and trying to make enough to buy food. Just because a person is with out a steady job and a home makes him no less of a human than the next man. A pat on the shoulder and the offer of a meal goes a lot further. I don't give them money in case they are fighting another type of addiction like alcohol.

[t_dickinson]

Are we not getting just a little too PC and sensitive? The OP's statement may have been better put. So what? Is it worth dissecting every word and dragging this useless thread out forever?

It kills me that someone will ask a common question and get "Use the search" but a point-of-view topic like this can exist until there are no more holier than thou replies to be made. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Lots of rocks flying here.

I say things the wrong way and so do all of you. Let it go for crying out loud.

The other day, the OP was the first to offer 26 lbs of FREE lead to a 16 year old boy who was about to give up casting because he could not find materials. What a creap huh? Do I agree with ALL of his opinions and the way he conveys them? No, but actions speak louder than words with me. He got pissed, ranted and tried to move on. Why don't we all do the same?

I sure hope the mods see fit to end this sooner rather than later so we can get back to talking about LEAD AND LEAD ALLOYS


"James:

Send me a PM with your shipping info. I'm going to send you a 26lb brick of pure lead. It won't be right away, as I still have a few bricks I have to ship to folks that bought them from me, but I will get one out your way, just don't give up! You're young, if you stick with it, you'll have a hobby (shooting, boolit casting, etc.) that you can enjoy for the rest of your life! (or until you get married!)

Just remember, the lead I'm sending you is pure, so you'll have to mix it with some harder lead to shoot it in modern firearms. If you choose to get into muzzle loaders, then pure is exactly what you would need. "
__________________
- MikeS

[MikeS]

I can and have spotted many an "addict" as a former Narcotics Division Agent for over 6 years . To be able to say what drug some one is high on is able to be done by blood and urine test. Not even a Doctor may look and say, This one is on crack, This one is on heroin and so on. The "crack addict" is a TV term that has stuck with us because of the news and other TV programs.

I wasn't going to post in this thread anymore, but I do want to say one thing in answer to this. Yes, only a blood and/or urine test can say with 100% certainty exactly what drugs an addict is on, but I have to disagree with not being able to see a crack addict from a heroin addict. crack, or lets get more correct, freebase cocaine addicts, or users of speed are all using 'uppers' and will usually be buzzing along, sometimes so much so that they appear to be vibrating. Heroin addicts, or users of Oxycontin are using a 'downer' and will look like they're about to fall asleep, and will in fact 'nod off' sometimes while you're talking to them! Those are 2 very different actions. When I'm talking to somebody, and they're 'bouncing off the walls' shaking, etc. and they're a known drug user, I can be 90% sure they're on crack. The same as if I'm talking to somebody, and they fall asleep 5 times during the conversation, and again, they're a known drug user, I can be pretty sure what they're using. Just seeing the 'track marks' doesn't tell much other than that they are using drugs, because either cocaine, or heroin (or crushed up pills) can be shot into the veins. One time I got a phone call from a friend of mine, and he said to me "Don't ever send a cab for me again that's being driven by a crack addict" so I asked him why he thought the driver was a crack addict, to which he said "Because the driver kept hitting the pipe while driving down the road" When I called that driver into the office, and asked him why he was smoking crack while he was working, he said to me" I don't smoke crack, why, do you think I should?" all the while he could not keep still, and his finger tips had the typically charred look that crack addicts get from burning their fingers on the glass 'pipe' they use to smoke crack. I sent the driver home for the night, rather than firing him, as I happen to like him, and he's had some misfortune in his life which makes his drug use understandable. That doesn't make him less of a crack addict, only one that I understand.

The term is used around metal salvage yards to describe any person that has meager clothing and body odor and appears to be unwashed. For the most part they are down on their luck and trying to make enough to buy food. Just because a person is with out a steady job and a home makes him no less of a human than the next man. A pat on the shoulder and the offer of a meal goes a lot further. I don't give them money in case they are fighting another type of addiction like alcohol.

I don't know what terms are used around salvage yards, they're not places I hang out at. But I gotta say, if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, there's a good chance it's a duck! Back when hurricane Andrew devastated much of Miami, one of the guys that worked for us was volunteering down there, and when he was on his way home, he still had about a half a dozen of the boxed up 'meals' that FEMA was giving out to folks, and when he got off the highway, there was a person standing there with a 'Will work for food' sign, so feeling sorry for the guy, he reached back, and pulled out 2 of the meals to hand to him, when they guy told him "F%$k that ****, I want money". And as for giving one of those people a pat on the back, I would only do it if I was wearing rubber gloves, and had lots of sanitizer handy!

If I'm not being PC, well, I'm sorry. I've worked with many people that had either drug, or alcohol problems,(or both) enough so that I can see a person like that without having to do too much looking. Some of them I've felt sorry for, others not.

[Three44s]

Gentlemen and Gentle Ladies,

We don't need to battle one another here ............ the forces that are raising our tension levels are well known and are the same forces at work to remove the availablity of lead and it's alloys from us in the first place.

If we spin our wheels fighting each other ......... they have won ............ lets instead insure their defeat in 2012 while we still have a country to call home.


Three 44s

[468]

How 'bout dem Saints?!!!

Mike, send me that lead ingot and I'll tell everyone you're a nice guy.

[TrapperXX]

No dog in the fight and I usually will not comment in argumentative threads but I'd like to say this and it is not for the OP or anyone else in particular. It's just what I try and think like, since my life was was given to the Lord.
For me, when I see a drug addict, alcoholic, thief, homeless person, evil person, etc etc etc...I try and think,,
There but for the grace of God, go I. I was pretty lost at times in my life.
God loves all of us the same. He loves us so much that he provided a way for us to be forgiven, overcome what has us bound and live forever. I try an remember that Jesus hung out with and interacted with the sinners of his day.
That's my .03.

[snowman]

A little disappointed in this thread.

I spend a lot of time in the scrap yards. I know everyone that works there by name, and I know a lot of the guys that come in by name. I know which ones to trust, and which ones not to. I know that some have their demons, but wouldn't wager a bet as to what they are.

I used to be like you...the jittery ones were crackheads and the slow ones were on heroin. Then I figured out that the jittery ones were often actually suffering from adult adhd, and the slow ones were just that, slow. The ones I never wondered about were the ones using. You have to be pretty competent to be able to get enough scrap to the yard to support a habit, and you aren't that once you've been using for a while.

If you aren't going to spend time in the yard, it's best to just keep your mouth shut. You would have likely gotten the same result from a yard with an XR scanner, as they play dumb. I know the yards with a scanner, and I can get stuff scanned when it's worthwhile...but I don't waste their time either. You have to understand, to have a 50k tool that is used for one purpose, one has to know how to use it to make $$....and they don't do this by checking your lead for a few dollars.

Food never got me a thing in a scrap yard except thank you, and I wouldn't think of offering beer. I actually find that pretty unprofessional. What I do is help where I can. Once I learned my way around, I sort things or help out newbies coming in (by pointing them to the proper people, or helping with directions).

I will tell you that the people that work their bust their ***. Most people coming in are slow as to what the procedures are, and they put up with a lot of BS. Everybody is an expert, but ultimately they are judged by what their purchaser or their boss tells them, not by what the XR scanner says, not by what your engineering background or your business background says either.

[TangoDownPro]

Sounds like a lot of work for wheel weights... Simply because there's no way I could tolerate the kind of jack-a-loons who work at scrap yards. I'd just rather buy lead bricks off of eBay. Guess I'm lazy that way.

[383]

I have a small amount of scrap aluminum, steel, cast iron and brass I'd like to trade for lead, but don't know if it's even worth the hassle of hauling to the local scrap yard.

[bslim]

Went to a different scrap yard this morning to unload some scrap brass. While I was waiting I asked the girl if they buy lead. She said yes and what kind did I have? So I told her Wheel Weights. She commented that if the steel clips were still attatched, this would be dirty lead and they would pay me $.10/lb. So then I asked her if they sell lead. Yes, just go across to the other counter and they will help you out. So, at the other counter, Yes we sell lead, $1.25/lb. + taxes. No distinction between any types of lead, just if it's lead it's $1.25 / lb. No quite that desperate at any rate, but a nice mark up from one counter to the next one.

[lars1367]

Some places have ridiculous environmental laws restricting the sale of "contaminated" lead from scrapyards. A good yard should have an X-ray gun (at least I think that's what it is called). The ones I have dealt with will analyze it if you ask, otherwise it's just bought/sold as contaminated lead (lead alloy or lead with other stuff attached) for so much a lb. I'm lucky to have found a reputable dealer in my area, even if I am limited to how much I can purchase at a time.

[tengaugetx]

I bought 440lbs of wheel weights from a scrap yard just today at lunch. The people there actually seemed like pretty nice folks. They weighed the weights, poured them into different containers, weighed the empties and subtracted that from the total weight. I paid them $88 and they put the buckets in my truck. We all smiled and thanked each other before I drove off.