12 replies to this topic

[Canuck]

The outfit I work for is on a cleaning spree, selling, scraping and otherwise disposing of unused / unusable stuff. One of the items caught in the crossfire is a substantial hunk of a specialized stainless material - AG17, also known as Staballoy (not to be confused with the depleted uranium that goes by the same name).

Staballoy machines very nicely, is exceedinly tolerant of harsh environments, specifically oil field down-hole applications - highly corrosion resistant. It has a .2% Yield strength of 140 ksi, UTS of 150 ksi, 18% elongation with 40% reduction and a hardness of 321 HB.

The specific piece I am left with is 33 feet long and 8" in diameter. I can't sell it to anyone that has a typical (IE oilfield) use for it but I can sell it. If I can't find a taker, it must be scrapped and destroyed with pictures showing the material destruction as proof that it won't end up in anyone else's hands.

The size is a tremendous issue - 33 feet doesn't lend itself to easy transport or indoor storage, and it's current location does not have a saw so it will have to moved as-is. This means whomever is going to acquire it should have some compelling yet non-oilfield use for it. I'm looking for possible ideas to pitch to smaller machine shops and the like that may entice them into action. The price is exceedingly flexible as it's only value is it's scrap value which hovers somewhere in the $.30 to $0.40 per pound range. I have proposed an absurdly large flagpole, billet cylinders for those machines with separate cases and cylinders, hubs, crank wheels for engines with multi-piece cranks (ala H-D), English wheel wheels...

If it wouldn't get me divorced and take up so much space, I'd take it home until I figured out what to do with it, but such is the hoarder in me.

[Tony Matthews]

I really, really hope you find a good home for it. My experience is that it is only after you have disposed of something of value but no apparent interest that someone says "Oh, if ONLY I'd known!"

[rory57]

Try a shipyard, sounds like it would make someone a nice propellor shaft!

[Canuck]

Alas - we are land-locked here. Nearest significant body of water and resultant industry is 1000 km away. I don't have any contacts like that.

[Magoo]

Is Craig's List or anything like it active in the area?

[Canuck]

Yes but. There are so many issues involved in who gets it, marketing it openly is a non-starter. Frankly, I don't grasp it - if we're making the product, ship the material to one of our shops. If we're not, then so what if our competitors in other areas acquire it? Meh. Giganticorp-think. I didn't realise that Dilbert was far less fantasy / fiction and far more of a mild caricature of working in a large corporate environment. It has more reality portrayed than one might think.

[Kelpiecross]

"Certificate of Destruction" - how would you destroy a lump of steel as big as this?

Couldn't it just be sold? Must be worth a couple of thousand?

[NeilR]

can you wrap it in brown paper and post it to me?

[Magoo]

can you wrap it in brown paper and post it to me?

5700 lbs postage from Canada to Australia. How many stamps would you have to lick, I wonder.

Too bad you guys don't work for global automaker. You could just use the company shipping code.

[gruntguru]

Couldn't it just be sold? Must be worth a couple of thousand?

Scrap value = approx $2k

[Canuck]

The problem here is the restrictions on who we're permitted to sell it to. In essence, if you have a use for this material which is specifically designed for use in well drilling operations with exposure to harsh chemicals, then I can't sell it to you. If on the other hand, it works as a suitable alternative to other stainless material for your application, then it's a pretty good deal at scrap prices. It's size prevents all but the most serious people from looking at it as the cost of handling isn't going to be cheap, which puts us back into the market of people who have a specific need for this material.

It's the perfect paradox. If you have the money and the facilities to accommodate / move / unload something this large, you aren't likely to casually use it as a substitute or throw it on the rack "for another day".

I have no idea how they plan to destroy it - curious about that myself.

[blkirk]

I've almost got a use for it. I build machines for making pipelines, so I don't think that will pose a conflict. My trouble is that it isn't big enough. I've got some machine spindles that are 9.5" in diameter and about 48" long. Current practice is to make them out of 1018 and send them out for Cr plating. If we could just make them out of stainless, that would be great. Too bad your piece of stock is too small.

[Canuck]

Doh!

Drill it, section it, clamp it around a mandrel, weld it, turn it to the desired OD. It would be interrupted turning on the OD but that's nothing a skilled lathe operator can't handle.