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Sell carbide dies and wear parts
We buy carbide dies scrap of every kind, from worn wire drawing nibs to cracked heading dies, plus the rings, nozzles, bushings, rolls and valve parts that wear out in production. Get a price through the quote form.
Carbide wear parts scrap we take
Most wear parts never cut anything. They draw, press, seal, spray or roll until a bore opens up or a face pits.
- Dies: wire, tube and bar drawing dies, cold heading and forming dies, compacting dies and their punches.
- Rings and seals: seal rings, mechanical seal faces, roll rings and wear rings.
- Nozzles: blast, spray, water jet and drill-bit nozzles.
- Bushings and sleeves: pump sleeves, guide bushings and liners.
- Rolls: flat and grooved mill rolls, feed rolls and pinch rolls.
- Valve parts: balls, seats, stems, chokes and trim from pumps and oilfield valves.
- Everything else: plungers, chuck jaws, guides and slitter knives.
Drawing dies were the first job cemented carbide was made for: the German work of 1923 started with a die for lamp wire in the OSRAM workshops. In its 2010 newsletter, the tungsten industry association ITIA wrote that "Billions of kilometers of steel and copper wire are annually drawn through cemented carbide dies."
Sources: ITIA: Cemented carbides, a success story (newsletter excerpt, June 2010).
How to tell a die or wear part is carbide
Weight gives it away first. A US government profile lists tungsten carbide at 15.6 grams per cubic centimeter and two grades with 3.7% and 6% cobalt came in at 15.17 and 14.91, while NIST lists pure iron at 7.874: roughly twice the weight for the same size.
More cobalt binder makes a grade lighter: an Oak Ridge study used 13.1 g/cm3 for a part with about 19% cobalt. ITIA pairs a 20% cobalt grade with cold forming tools, so some heading dies may be that tougher, lighter kind.
ITIA adds that nickel and nickel-chromium binders are also considered for wear parts where corrosion is a factor. Our magnet guide covers where the magnet test helps and where it misleads.
When in doubt, weigh it beside a steel part of the same size and tell us both weights.
Sources: NTP Report on Carcinogens profile: cobalt-tungsten carbide; OSTI: cemented tungsten carbide grade densities (2023 manuscript); OSTI: Oak Ridge WC-Co study (2019 manuscript); NIST: X-ray mass attenuation coefficients, Table 1 (element densities); ITIA: Cemented carbides, a success story (newsletter excerpt, June 2010).
Dies and parts still set in steel cases
ITIA notes that large wear parts for mining and construction, oil and gas well drilling and metal forming are "commonly composed of two materials: cemented carbide and steel." Pressed-in carbide can later be freed by heat treatment; brazed parts need the solder removed first.
Leave that to the recycler. A saw or grinder that reaches the carbide makes dust that carries cobalt, and NIOSH recommends keeping exposure at or below 0.05 mg/m3 (as cobalt) for cemented carbide with more than 2% cobalt. Send cased dies whole, bag them apart from loose carbide, and say on the form that they are cased.
Sources: ITIA: Recycling of tungsten, part 1 (newsletter excerpt, May 2018); NTP Report on Carcinogens profile: cobalt-tungsten carbide.
Sorting and cleaning a lot of wear parts
USGS says the zinc reclaiming route runs on hard scrap and does not purify it, so careful sorting and removal of oil, solder and coatings are essential.
- Pull out steel and high-speed steel. Punches, die holders, pins and backing plates may be tool steel; bag them on their own.
- Keep loose carbide, cased dies and brazed parts in three separate bags.
- Wipe off drawing soap, lubricant and coolant, and let wet parts dry before they go in a bag.
- Keep wear parts out of the grinding sludge and swarf; fines go in a container of their own (see grindings and sludge).
USGS calls solid parts hard scrap and sludge, powder and swarf soft scrap, and ITIA says most soft scrap goes the chemical route instead, so solids and fines should never share a bucket. The sorting guide goes further.
Sources: USGS Open-File Report 01-349: Tantalum recycling in the United States in 1998; USGS Open-File Report 2005-1028: Tungsten recycling in the United States in 2000; ITIA: Recycling of tungsten, part 2 (newsletter excerpt, August 2019).
Packing heavy dies, rolls and rings
A box of rolls is heavier than it looks, and ITIA describes carbide dies and pistons in the synthetic diamond industry that reach some hundred kilograms.
For parcels, plan around the USPS rules:
- No USPS mailpiece may weigh more than 70 pounds, and Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes share that 70-pound cap.
- Dense items such as machine parts weighing 20 to 45 pounds must go in a box of at least 200-pound test board, or an equivalent wood, metal or plastic container.
- The Domestic Mail Manual says "Mailers must adequately stabilize heavy items within the package," so brace the parts and tape every seam with 2-inch packaging tape.
- Anything over 70 pounds is nonmailable, so split a big lot into several smaller boxes.
Wrap each die or ring, set the heaviest pieces on the bottom and pack the gaps so nothing slides.
Bigger loads go by freight. FedEx says anything over 150 pounds ships as freight, prefers a pallet for less-than-truckload shipments, and asks that pieces over 150 pounds be banded to the pallet with metal or unbreakable plastic straps.
Sources: ITIA: Cemented carbides, a success story (newsletter excerpt, June 2010); USPS DMM 201: physical standards; USPS Flat Rate quick reference; USPS DMM 601: mailability and packaging; USPS: preparing packages; FedEx: freight shipping; FedEx Freight packaging guidelines (Rev. 5/20).
How to sell your carbide dies and wear parts
Send photos, a rough weight and what the parts are through the quote form, email them to help@carbidebuyerusa.com, or call (877) 838-9920. We quote each lot from what you send, and carbide prices move with the tungsten market.
Ship to us from anywhere in the US and we pay the shipping; the shipping page walks through it. In every city in California, Arizona and Nevada we also come to you and pick up, often the easier way to move a pallet of mill rolls.
We pay cash where state law allows. Arizona and Nevada set payment rules for larger scrap metal sales; our guide to the state rules gives the amounts, the metals each rule names and what each state asks of a seller.
Questions sellers ask
Do you buy scrap carbide dies that are still in their steel cases?
Yes. Send them whole in a bag of their own and note on the quote form that they are cased. Please do not cut or grind the cases off yourself.
Are cracked or chipped wear parts still worth selling?
Yes. A crack ends a part's working life, but the carbide left in it is still the material we buy. Bag broken pieces with the rest of that part type.
What should stay out of a bag of carbide wear parts scrap?
Steel holders, tool steel punches and grinding sludge each get their own bag. We buy high-speed steel and other alloys as well; just keep them out of the carbide bag.
Keep reading
Rods and blanks
Carbide rod, blanks, offcuts and broken pieces
Learn more
Brazed carbide and saw tips
Carbide-tipped saw blades, saw tips and brazed tools
Learn more
Is carbide magnetic?
The magnet test, and other ways to tell carbide from steel
Learn more
How to sort carbide scrap
Keep it clean and separated to get the most for it
Learn more
Ship your scrap
Ship from anywhere in the US; we pay the shipping
Learn moreGet a quote for your carbide
Tell us what form it is in, about how much it weighs, and send a few photos. Ship it to us from anywhere in the US and we pay the shipping, or we pick up in California, Arizona and Nevada.