rapid pin removal..

[AuMINIMayhem]

any methods or tools that would assist me in removing the pins from the plastic housings of electrical connectors?.. cost (within reason) is not too much of a problem as I have quite the load of pins to remove and can afford to absorb that cost.. thanks 8)

the connectors are very similar to this one (pictures I found on ebay. I could just sell them like this guy is, it'd probably be more profitable for sure, but I rather enjoy the reclaiming/refining process 8) )

 

[watlarry]

if it were me i would run one conncector in ap to see if the plastic was acid resistant. if it was i would run the whole bunch in ap when the copper was desolved siphon off the ap rince and and add ac.

 

[patnor1011]

I did it... Oh god, I try to pull out everyone out. When you have 5-10 of them it is OK. When you start talking about pounds of them you cant do it otherwise you will go to invalidity pension with your hands very soon...
Why not to try Knipex. I am happy to cut all pins just where they are out of plastic with very small effort and it is time saving too. With Knipex precision snips its just relax not work. I know I am loosing small part of pin still stuck inside plastic but I am saving my hands and time too...

 

[kelly]

I just ran a batch of mixed connectors in AP, plastic and all. Worked great.
K

 

[Juan Manuel Arcos Frank]

AuMINIMayhem:

Unfortunately there is not an easy way to process that kind of pins with plastic.You have got to brake the plastic box and then process the metal pins with AR ,AP/Clorox or nitric acid.Check if metal pins may be attracted by a magnet..brake one pin and place a magnet...if it attracts the pin then the task is easy,get a plastic mill,brake all those plastic boxes and then attract the pins with a magnet.

If the magnet can not attract the pins then the process will be hard because you need to remove the pins one by one with those nice Knipex.If you have more than 100 lb then hire some mexican workers,give then a couple of dollars,they will do the job lovely and they will be very grateful with you.

Regards

Manuel

 

[goldsilverpro]

You could probably easily separate the broken plastic from the non-magnetic pins by panning, assuming you have broken the plastic well enough to separate it from the pins - some plastics tend to be gummy and don't like to separate well from the pins. You could also use a heavy liquid or, probably, a controlled blast of air.

You might get a fair separation by putting the crushed material in a container, covering with water, and, with your hands, lifting the material up and dropping it. I would think that the pins would mostly be on the bottom. You might try this dry by shaking the container up and down. Wet or dry, the container should be fairly narrow and the column of the material fairly high.

Just thinking out loud. I'm sure there are many other ways. Plucking the pins, one by one, would probably be at the absolute bottom of my list. Second from the bottom would be crushing the plastic and picking out the pins. In my life, avoidance of labor has been the mother of invention.

Pretty doesn't count in this business. Who cares if everything gets mangled? Who cares if a little of the plastic still remains with the pins - most acids will still work just as well, as long as the plastic isn't nylon? Also, a few plastics and other organic materials don't fair too well in concentrated sulfuric.

 

[AuMINIMayhem]

HA HA!.. thanks Manuel, but I'll pass on the taking advantage of the disadvantaged (for now).. LOL!

Ok.. pins are, not magnetic, more than likely copper with nickel plating.. the plastic is very tough and resistant to quite a bit of acids, etc..

soooooo... I'm taking it to a new level.. I have a very large band saw at the shope I work at. I'm going to bring them in on the weekends and just run them through with the stainless cutter blade and bisect them (yes, bisect, not "dissect"..at least I hope not.. :mrgreen: )

tried a few today, the band saw makes VERY short work of them (I was averaging 1-2 connectors/ min by hand and 20-25 by saw).. the plastic?.. IT FLOATS!!! "Sweet.."

so.. I cut them in half, dropped them in a bucket of dihydrogen monoxide http://www.dhmo.org/( ) the small impact with the DHMO knocked the pins loose ane the connector housing floated to the top.. "YIPEEE!!!"..

just thought I'd do a follow-up, maybe help anyone else out who may find themselves in this predicament one day..

Thanks guys! 8)

 

[AuMINIMayhem]

Pretty doesn't count in this business. .

anyone who doesn't agree with me that you are "the man" come see me.. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Thanks, GSP.

the floatation method is working beautifully! (not to mention, I get rid of about 90% of the "non-plated" portion of the pins in the process I'm using with the bandsaw.)

before anyone asks.. yes, I have all ten... so far 8) :twisted:

 

[goldsilverpro]

the floatation method is working beautifully! (not to mention, I get rid of about 90% of the "non-plated" portion of the pins in the process I'm using with the bandsaw.)

Good to see you back. How ya doin'? Until a week ago, you weren't around for about 3 months.

I almost bit on that dhmo thing again. I almost said that, if dhmo, with an S.G. of 1.00, will float them off, why not use water?

You're lucky. A lot of plastics have an S.G. higher then water.

 

[AuMINIMayhem]

LMAO!! yeah.. I totally got our ES&H (Environmental Safety & Health) guy here at work with that, he was passing around fliers and emails and stuff talking about the dangers of DHMO.. it was funny as heck when the senior chemist got ahold of him and told him dihydrogen monoxide (DHMO) is water.. I was cryin' I was laughing so hard! :twisted: :twisted:

I'm doin' good, man.. I've just been busier than a one legged man in an a$$-kicking contest with work and the home situation, so I rarely get the chance to come on here, I usually just lurk. Still collecting stuff, I've got a ton of stuff I need to process, I can't wait to do a melt soon (I want a new kiln first).. I'm waiting til I can pour my first Troy ounce before I go and buy one though.. right now I have one of those paragon kilns, but I think I may buy one of those little deals that holds a crucible, might be easier, it's too hot reaching in the kiln with tongs (even with gloves) with the setup I currently have.. *sigh*

right now I have one of these...
View attachment 1

I'd like to buy one of these eventually...



waddya think.. are these any more convenient to use than a torch or a kiln?..

 

[goldsilverpro]

Please don't buy one of those Handi-Melt type furnaces in the second photo. Don't waste your money. They're expensive and, in Harold's and My estimation, virtually worthless. I hate them. It will just collect dust, as mine did. The crucibles are expensive and burn out fast. If you flux in them, you'll burn them out really fast. Also, just like melting dishes, you'll need a different crucible for pure Au, dirty Au, Ag, etc. They are designed for alloying karat gold, but a torch and a dish are as good or better. Were I you, I would spend the money to build a gas crucible furnace.

Or, buy some 30" tongs for about $50

 

[AuMINIMayhem]

dually noted.. thanks. :mrgreen:

I just have a helluva time with torch work.. never can seem to get my torches hot enough and then I wind up cracking the crucibles or metling dishes.. I'm a mess when it comes to the torches..LOL!..

That first kiln I have, works great, btw.. it just takes a while to get up to melt temperature (which is fine for me since I'm of the "set it and forget it" type..) I set it, walk away and come back a little later and "voila"! ready to pour.

I don't flux and all that as much you guys do.. I'm more in the reclaiming mode than most of the members on here.. it's just not worth the time or money for me to get the gold I'm reclaiming as pure as that. With little effort I'm getting in the 20k range, which is fine for reclaiming pruposes.. I get enough, I'll sell it and let someone who has the set-up to be able to refine it profitably (key word) for themselves.. 8) I know too many people that have gotten into this and showed me 4and 5 gram buttons that cost them $200-300 in supplies/chemicals/mistakes.. indeed they were rather proud of their haul, I think everyone's first button or two costs way more than the "melt price", but I've found a karat range that I can get to easily and without sinking a ton of cash (or time.. which is also money, people forget this part) into it. 8)