00:00Did you know you can get a couple thousand bucks for an old, worn-out drill bit?
00:03And no, they don't just scrap it.
00:05These are the kinds of drill bits used for oil wells and deep mines.
00:09They even drilled the Kola Super Deep borehole over 12 kilometers deep with one of these.
00:14It turns out, the only way to get through super hard rock is with the teeth on the bit,
00:18which are made from an extremely tough alloy called tungsten carbide.
00:22It cuts through steel and stone like butter.
00:24But once those teeth get dull, the bit gets retired.
00:27So how do you turn it into a couple thousand dollars?
00:30Middlemen buy them cheap, but they don't melt them down.
00:33Instead, they heat the bit up to about 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit with a gas torch or induction furnace.
00:40The solder melts, and the carbide teeth pop right off the base.
00:44Then they're cleaned, ground down, and turned into new drill bits, milling cutters, and tips.
00:50In the end, a single restored bit can sell for up to $2,000 U.
00:54In the USA and Germany, there are entire factories dedicated to recovering carbide from old tools.
01:00So do you know how to make money off old metal?
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