Used inserts
Turning, milling, and threading inserts — worn, chipped, or coated. The workhorse of every carbide bucket.
USED CARBIDE BUYER — CHICAGO, BUYING NATIONWIDE
We Buy Used Carbide
Worn, broken, and production-used carbide is worth real money. I pay $18 to $27 per pound for clean used solids, publish the price instead of hiding it, and pay in 24 to 48 hours on verified loads. Based in Chicago, buying nationwide.
USED CARBIDE, REAL MONEY
Worn out as a tool. Worth full money as metal.
Every shop has it: drawers of dull inserts, coffee cans of broken end mills, a bucket of drills that will never cut again. That is used carbide, and buyers like Me pay for it by the pound because the tungsten inside never wears out.
I pay $18 to $27 per pound for clean used solids — published, firm, and the same range whether the tools look tired or tidy. Text a photo, get your number, and turn dead tooling back into money.
WHAT I BUY USED
Used carbide I buy, every week.
Worn & broken end mills
Dull, chipped, and snapped solid carbide end mills of every diameter and flute count.
Used drills & reamers
Solid carbide drills, reamers, and taps that have finished their last hole.
Carbide dies & wear parts
Drawing dies, heading dies, bushings, nozzles, and wear parts from production floors.
Rods, blanks & rounds
Carbide rod stock, blanks, and preforms — cut, broken, or surplus.
Sludge & swarf
Grinding sludge and swarf priced on contained tungsten. See the sludge page.
HOW IT LEAVES YOUR SHOP
Three ways used carbide turns into money.
01
Chicago pickup
Same-day pickup in Chicago, paid on the spot. Send photos in the morning and the bucket can be gone by dark.
02
Mail it in
Prepaid USPS label for lots of 40 lb and up, paid in 24 to 48 hours on verified receipt. How mail-in works.
03
Freight for big loads
At 500 lb and up I arrange and pay the freight, wire 50% at pickup scan, and settle within 24 hours of verified weight. The big-load page.
THE PUBLISHED PRICE
What used carbide pays.
| Material | My price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Clean used solids | $18–$27/lb | Inserts, end mills, drills — firm |
| Mixed / unsorted | $18/lb baseline | Sorting the clean solids out moves it up the range |
| Brazed tooling | Custom quote | Priced on the carbide tip, above board offers |
| Sludge & swarf | Custom quote | Priced on contained tungsten — see the sludge page |
Used pays like new-looking scrap because scrap value lives in the metal, not the edge. Grade, cleanliness, and sorting decide where a lot lands inside the range.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Questions, answered straight.
Does used carbide pay less than new-looking carbide?
No. Scrap value lives in the metal itself, not in a sharp edge. Worn, chipped, and dull carbide carries the same tungsten as shiny carbide, so clean used solids pay the same published $18 to $27 per pound. Grade, cleanliness, and sorting decide where your lot lands inside the range.
My end mills are broken in half. Do you still buy them?
Yes. Broken end mills, snapped drills, and chipped inserts are exactly what scrap carbide is. Send a photo of the pile and I will confirm your number before you ship or I pick up.
How much used carbide do I need to sell?
There is no minimum. A coffee can of inserts mails in fine, and a drum gets freight arranged. Small lots ship, big lots get picked up or freighted, and Chicago lots can be picked up the same day.
How fast do I get paid for used carbide?
Shipped loads are paid in 24 to 48 hours on verified receipt. Chicago pickups are paid on the spot. Loads of 500 lb and up follow the big-load ladder: 50% wired at carrier pickup, balance within 24 hours of verified weight.
What if steel got mixed into my carbide bucket?
Send it anyway. I grade at the scale, pay full carbide money on the carbide, and price the steel portion as steel in the same deal. The two-minute sort in my steel-in-your-bucket guide shows how to keep the piles separate before you weigh.
GET YOUR NUMBER
Turn your used carbide into money this week.
Text a photo of the bucket, drawer, or drum and I will give you a firm number at the published $18–$27/lb range. Chicago pickup is same-day; everywhere else ships or freights in.
RELATED
Keep going.
Sell carbide inserts
Used inserts bought by the pound at $18–$27/lb.
Inserts page →Sell end mills & drills
Broken and used solid carbide cutting tools, bought nationwide.
End mills page →Carbide buyers
Who buys scrap carbide? The full answer in one place.
Buyer pillar →Steel in your carbide bucket
Keep steel from dragging your used carbide price down.
Read the guide →