How do I sell a big, heavy, sheet of copper?

[Andy Griffith]

Here a strange one.

I have a 40"x50" copper sheet. It's bent a little in the top corner when they pulled it out of the ground.
It is .375" thick!
I think it weighs about 40-50 lbs, but not quite sure.

Copper is @ $2.70 per pound...so..a scrap metal guy would want to pay around half that. Not on my watch- I will bury it first!

It's a bit thick, so...it wouldn't be practical to modify it for use in the *ahem* ethanol industry.
Where else to sell it then, arts and crafts people? Welding shop? Custom knife makers? Eh...

What to do, what to do...

 

[cass]

Put it on Craigs list with a high price. Couldn't hurt.

 

[Crazy K38]

sell it to bullet makers for jacketing, they would pay premium

 

[m1gunner]

Stick it on ebay with a no ship/pickup only option.

 

[Andy Griffith]

Well, I just did some checking...

Copper Plate Alloy C11000 ASTM-B152, .250 thickness

A 24"x36" plate .250" thick is $459.00!
They don't list anything 3/8" thick.

I suppose mine is worth a bit more perhaps?

 

[Smithhound]

You sure you didn't just open up a death trap by removing the cover to an old cistern?
I remember a few weeks back reading on Fox where some woman crawled up under her house to rescue some puppies and dropped into an abandoned well some 75', she got rescued but how creepy would that have been?
You live in GA, could it have been buried there since the Civil War? Copper plate was used for boilers etc, there was a 'copper rolling mill' here in Cleveland TN that was blown up around 1864 by the Union Army when it was found to be manufacturing 'torpedoes', what we today would call 'mines'. It could have some historical significance, check with your county library.
RD

 

[Goodtime Charlie]

What was it used for originally?

 

[Andy Griffith]

Nothing to worry about gentlemen!

I didn't open a death trap, open the gates of Hades, or did something that would allow some miscreant soul to fall to an untimely demise, so don't fret and get your underwear in a wad.

It came from a demolished house in the county- my father helped tear it down 35+ years ago. He said it was a grounding plate for lightning rods. He was going to use it for something, but I never asked him what. It is oxidized and greenish black, but not a pit on it anywhere.

Maybe this is de-ja-voo, but it almost seems I asked about this same thing last year or something...I never got around to doing anything about it then either.

I just need to get it cleaned up (how? a light sandblast?) and take pictures of it and slap in online somewhere, eh?

 

[sar4937]

They would use an acid wash to clean it. The oxidized finish is protecting it at this stage.

 

[jkc]

You could hammer it into a giant version of the copper ashtrays kids used to make in summer camp "crafts" programs!

You have something of a problem in that you don't know what alloy it is, and neither will anyone who needs a specialized piece of plate of those dimensions. I'd take the scrap value and call that good, unless you have some use for it. The odds of finding a buyer for something that unusual are probably pretty slim.

 

[Andy Griffith]

They would use an acid wash to clean it. The oxidized finish is protecting it at this stage.

So, all I need is a food service gallon of ketchup?

 

[84CJ]

Most company's require material spec from the mill than made it. Scrap is about your only choice for a piece that thick. Don't clean it that green is actually protecting (as sar said)it and takes a very long time to get it that way. Craig's list might be the best advice I've seen. And some one may prefer to have the greenish tint.

 

[charlie sherrill]

If you live in a bad neighborhood you could always wire it for 220 and use it as a welcome mat. Maybe the scrap yard is a better idea.

 

[V-35]

charlie sherrill;If you live in a bad neighborhood you could always wire it for 220 and use it as a welcome mat. Maybe the scrap yard is a better idea.

Only a very great mind (working in tough neighborhoods) could think of this one !!!

Art

 

[Andy Griffith]

If you live in a bad neighborhood you could always wire it for 220 and use it as a welcome mat. Maybe the scrap yard is a better idea.

Charlie, I'd put money that if I lived in a bad neighborhood, it'd been gone a long time ago, but not by me.
If it worked on RV's, I'd be all over it!

Sorry, I saw where you came to the gun show in Columbus.
I still haven't forgotten your 100% sugar RC's I promised you. I have a case of them in cold storage with your name on them- I just couldn't get my "ducks in a row" to bring them to you.

 

[ACP230]

If you have a college with an art department, or a nest of sculptors, in your area maybe one of them would be interested.

 

[Bob R]

If you live in a bad neighborhood you could always wire it for 220 and use it as a welcome mat.

Or if you have a bum who happens to enjoy whizzing on the back of your construction shack every morning, burying it a little bit and wiring to 110 will break him of that habit right quick.

It didn't even kill him like some were afraid it would.

The idea of artists is a good one, they may even prefer the patina.

bob

 

[Bruce51]

If you have a college with an art department, or a nest of sculptors, in your area maybe one of them would be interested.

Great idea. Find someone who will turn your scrap into a piece of art. They might pay a good price. If you have someone local then give them a call. You already know what it's worth. Some artists get big bucks for one of a kind creations. They have to buy material somewhere.

Bruce

 

[35Rem]

American express card for the statue of liberty?

 

[nostraDONus]

Cmon Andy, you always did better than that. Maybe Teddy Roosevelt used it to mark his position on San Juan Hill, or Black Jack Pershing parked Barney's motorcycle and side car on it. Opie was even a better horse trader than that.