Sell Your Carbide Scrap in Merrillville, Indiana

If you want to sell carbide scrap in Merrillville, here is exactly what we buy — graded honestly, paid at top-of-market with no numbers hidden — my firm $18–$20-a-pound offer for clean inserts, end mills, and drills is published right on this site.

Tungsten carbide inserts

Worn indexable inserts from lathes and mills — the most common carbide scrap in any shop, from a coffee can to a full barrel.

End mills and drills

Solid carbide end mills, drills, and reamers from CNC shops — worn, chipped, or coated tooling still holds real tungsten value.

Brazed tooling

Carbide-tipped saw blades, brazed lathe bits, and construction bits — we separate the carbide from the steel and pay for what is actually there.

Grinding sludge and swarf

Fine carbide sludge from grinding and sharpening operations — we can test it and make an offer instead of letting it sit in a drum.

Tungsten heavy alloy

Rings, rods, blocks, and balance weights — dense tungsten alloy that grades on its own scale and pays well when handled right.

Merrillville is the commercial crossroads of Lake County. The US-30 strip and the I-65 interchange concentrate the distributors, mechanical contractors, equipment service companies, and machine shops that keep the county’s industry running. All of that work chews through carbide: inserts from the machine shops, brazed saw tips and construction bits from the contractors, wear parts from the service outfits. Most of it ends up in a bucket or a drum, forgotten, until somebody who knows what it is actually worth calls on it.

That is where we come in. We are about 60 miles, roughly an hour from our shop in Rolling Meadows, and we run scheduled pickup routes across Northwest Indiana — Merrillville sits right on the route. Send photos and Sonny will tell you when he can be there. No hauling your drums to a general yard and taking a blended price for premium material.

A general scrap yard prices carbide the way it prices everything else: it goes into a mixed load at a blended rate that averages your premium material down with the cheap stuff. Carbide deserves better. A handful of clean inserts tests out very differently from carbide-tipped saw teeth on a steel body, and a blended price pays you for the average — not for the tungsten you actually have.

Ironcrest is a carbide specialist. We test material — XRF and assay grading when it counts — so every category pays on its own grade. Clean wear parts grade at the top, coated or chipped tooling grades honestly where it belongs, and brazed tooling is separated so you get paid for the carbide, not the steel it is attached to. You watch the grading, you hear the number before anything moves, and you get paid for what you actually have. That is the whole difference: graded carbide from a specialist versus a yard’s average.

Ironcrest is owner-operated. When you call or text, you reach Sonny — the man who will be standing at your door or opening your mail-in box. No dispatchers, no call centers, no “let me check with my manager.” The person who quotes your material is the person who pays for it.

That matters with carbide, where grading is everything and trust is the whole business. Sonny built Ironcrest on showing up, testing honestly, and paying what he quoted. Text a photo of your pile to 312-880-8174 and you will hear back with today’s firm number — and you will recognize the voice on the other end when pickup day comes.

Do you buy carbide scrap in Merrillville?

Yes — from machine shops, mechanical contractors, and service companies across the Lake County commercial corridor. Inserts, end mills, drills, brazed tooling, and heavy alloy, in any quantity worth a pickup.

How do I get today’s number?

Text a photo of your material to 312-880-8174 and Sonny will tell you today’s firm number — same day, no games. I publish my price right on this page: a firm $18–$20 a pound for clean, sorted tungsten carbide inserts, end mills, and drills — way more than the $8–$15 national board average. You can read how carbide prices are set, and you will always get a firm number before anything moves.

Do you pick up in Merrillville?

We make scheduled pickup runs across Northwest Indiana. Send photos and Sonny will tell you when he can be there. If the lot is small or the timing does not line up, you can mail it in with a prepaid label — either way, text first and get today’s number.

How is carbide graded?

By grade and condition. Clean solid carbide tooling grades at the top of the market; coated, chipped, or brazed material is separated and graded on its own. We test with XRF and assay when it counts, and you get paid for what you actually have — never a blended yard rate.

How do I know my tooling is real carbide?

Real carbide is heavy for its size and cannot be filed — see our guide to spotting real tungsten carbide. If you are still unsure, text a photo to 312-880-8174 and Sonny will tell you straight whether it is worth a trip.

Ironcrest also buys carbide scrap in nearby Gary, Hobart, and Crown Point. See all service areas.