How Much is a 1950s Lincoln SAE300 Welder Worth? (Scrap Value Revealed!) Tallied Up!

Is it worth scrapping a massive 1950s Lincoln SAE 300-amp welder? In this video, we find out exactly how much profit is hiding inside one of these vintage beasts! From heavy-duty copper welding leads to a massive DC electric motor, we are stripping down this absolute tank of a machine to turn old scrap metal into cold, hard cash. My main goal with this scrap run is to bank enough money to fund an upcoming family holiday, so every single pound of copper, brass, and steel counts! We start by assessing the heavy copper windings. I originally wanted to pull every ounce of copper out of the main unit, but without heavy-duty cutting torches, some of this solid steel is just too much of a fight for a standard angle grinder. After a quick call to my buddy "Nice Junk" (who tackled a giant generator exciter motor in one of his recent videos) and a consultation with my local scrap yard, I had to pivot my strategy. Instead of spending days fighting a 1.5-inch solid steel shaft and heavy welds, I decided to prep the main DC welder unit to sell as a complete "small electric motor." But there’s a trick to getting top dollar at the scrap yard! If I left the heavy steel angle-iron mounting skids attached, it risked being downgraded to cheap "large motor copper breakage" at just 15 cents a pound. By firing up the forklift, dangling the beast, and using a grinder to cut off the heavy steel skids, I kept the unit clean. This simple prep work secured the premium "small electric motor" rate of 41 cents a pound instead of the 15-cent breakage rate—a massive difference in our final payout! To maximize this scrap yard run, I also cleaned out the shop and loaded up the truck with some extra buckets of insulated copper wire, high-grade number 1 clean copper, and clean brass. We walk you through the scale weights for the copper leads, the brass, and the motor itself to show you exactly how the math breaks down. Stay tuned until the end of the video where I do a complete cost breakdown of my $50 auction purchase versus our final scrap yard ticket. You will be amazed at the return on investment on these old 1950s Lincoln DC machines. If you ever see one of these heavy old-school welders at a local farm auction, you’ll know exactly what to look for! Thank you so much to everyone for watching and supporting the channel. We just crossed a major milestone of over 800 subscribers! We are officially on the road to monetization, and I couldn't do it without this awesome community of scrap collectors, DIYers, and supporters. If you enjoyed this scrap breakdown, please hit that Like button, leave a Comment below with your thoughts on the teardown, and Subscribe to join us for the next scrap yard haul! Timestamps: 0:00 - Assessing the Lincoln SAE 300 Welder & Copper Windings 1:15 - The Grinder vs. Solid Steel: Shifting the Scrap Strategy 2:30 - Prepping the DC Motor (Cutting off the Steel Skids) 3:45 - Forklift Troubles & Loading up the Scrap Truck 5:00 - Weighing the Copper Welding Leads & Brass at the Yard 6:15 - The Final Scrap Value Tally & Profit Breakdown 8:30 - Scrap Yard Tips: AC vs. DC Motors 9:45 - Looking for Torches & 800 Subscriber Thank You!