Your Friendly Guide to All Things Copper
Pipes, wire, gutters, mining, history, and where copper hides in your home — the metal behind everything we buy.
VISIT HUB →FRIENDLY GUIDES • LIBRARY INDEX • 7 MIN READ • UPDATED OCTOBER 2026
FRIENDLY GUIDES
I am Sonny, and these are my guides. Five free libraries on the stuff I handle every week — copper, electrical, wire, HVAC, and plumbing — written the way a journeyman teaches: plain words, real numbers, no fluff.
5 Guide HubsBeginner to MasterFree Forever
THE SHORT VERSION
TL;DR
- Five hubs: copper, becoming an electrician, electrical wire, HVAC, and plumbing — each with learning paths for Beginner, Working Pro, Veteran, and Master.
- Everything is free, no sign-up, no paywall. Written by Sonny, a Chicago buyer who handles this material every week.
- New this month: the full copper hub plus five new copper guides — pipe types, gutters, mining, history, and the home copper audit.
- Every guide ends with "What to do with the cutoffs": what leftover material is worth and one number to call.
- New this month: The Copper Note, Sonny's monthly column — what copper did, one new guide, one thing learned buying scrap.
THE FIVE HUBS
Pick your subject.
Each hub is a complete starting point for its subject: a friendly overview, sequenced learning paths, every guide in the topic, and the tools worth bookmarking.
WORD OF MOUTH
What sellers say.
I had a large lot of copper wire from a commercial job and called Ironcrest Industrial Surplus. Sonny showed up the same day with his scale, sorted and weighed it all in front of me, and paid on the spot. Honest weights, better price than the yard I used before. If you've got copper wire to sell in the Chicago area, call this guy first.
Had a really good experience with Ironcrest. I had a bunch of copper wire and cable I needed to get rid of and Sonny made the whole thing easy. Communication was good, the price was fair, and everything went exactly how he said it would. No hassle and no messing around with the price when it came time to pick everything up. I'd definitely call Ironcrest again if I have more copper or electrical material to sell.
FRESH OFF THE PRESS
What's new in the guides.
The library grows every month. Newest first.
- The Copper Note: Issue 1. Read it →
The Bucket Is the Second Paycheck — Sonny's new monthly column, published on the site. - Your Friendly Guide to All Things Copper. Visit the hub →
The full copper pillar: four learning paths, topic clusters, tools, and the FAQ. - Copper Pipe Types K L M, Decoded. Read it →
Green, blue, red, yellow: the stripes, the wall thicknesses, and where each type belongs. - Copper Gutters Guide. Read it →
Fifty to one hundred years of gutters: patina, soldered seams, honest pros and cons. - How Copper Is Mined. Read it →
Open pit to 99.99 percent pure cathode, in plain language with a labeled diagram. - The History of Copper. Read it →
Ten thousand years of the metal that built civilization, in ten minutes. - Where Copper Hides in Your Home. Read it →
The room-by-room copper audit: wire, pipe, gutters, flashing, line sets, motors.
NO PAYWALL, EVER
Why this guide is free.
No sign-up, no paywall, no email required to read a single word. I buy scrap metal for a living — these guides are how I give back to the trades and the curious. And yeah, if you ever have copper to sell, I hope you call me first. — Sonny
QUESTIONS, ANSWERED
About the guides.
What are the Friendly Guides?
They are free, plain-language learning libraries on copper, becoming an electrician, electrical wire, HVAC, and plumbing — written for beginners, working pros, veterans, and masters. Each hub organizes its guides into learning paths so you can read in order from your level.
Are the Friendly Guides really free?
Yes. Every guide is free to read with no sign-up and no paywall. The guides are supported by our scrap-buying business: we buy copper wire, copper pipe, brass, and carbide from the same crews and homeowners these guides are written for.
Who writes the Friendly Guides?
Sonny Johns, owner of Ironcrest Industrial Surplus in Chicago. He buys copper, brass, and carbide for a living, handles the material every week, and writes the guides he wishes existed — in the voice of a journeyman who likes teaching.
Do the guides replace trade school or a license?
No. The guides explain how work is actually done, but nothing here replaces training, apprenticeship, or a license. Electrical service and panel work, gas piping, and refrigerant handling are framed as licensed-pro work throughout, with references to the NEC, EPA Section 608, and the IPC or UPC.
What is The Copper Note?
It is Sonny's monthly column on this site: what copper did, one featured guide, and one thing he learned buying scrap. New issues are published in the Friendly Guides library — no signup, just read.
I found a mistake in a guide. What should I do?
Tell us. Call or text 312-880-8174 with the correction and we will fix it and credit you. Readers who catch errors make the whole library better.
THE SIGNATURE ENDING
What to do with the cutoffs.
- Every guide in this library touches material that comes back out of the job as scrap: wire, pipe, brass, carbide
- On most crews the bucket gets split — the leftovers are worth more than the dump run they were headed for
- Keep it clean and separated, and never take what is not yours — the legitimate pipeline is remodels, repipes, and teardowns
- Ironcrest buys copper wire, copper pipe, brass, and carbide from working crews and homeowners
- One direct contact for all of it: Sonny at 312-880-8174
ONE DIRECT CONTACT
Talk to Sonny, not a department
Every quote, pickup, and payment runs through one person who answers the phone: Sonny Johns at 312-880-8174. No portals, no ticket queues, no waiting on a committee.
- PHOTO QUOTES — Send photos of the material and get a real number back.
- TRADE FRIENDLY — Built for crews: wire, pipe, brass, and carbide, by the bucket or by the truckload.
- US ONLY — Your material never leaves the United States.