Re: [TCML] What's up with Copper Prices?

[Harvey Norris <harvich@xxxxxxxxx>]

--- On Tue, 12/9/08, David Speck <Dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> From: David Speck <Dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: [TCML] What's up with Copper Prices?
> To: "Tesla Coil Mailing List" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: Tuesday, December 9, 2008, 7:32 PM
> Greg,
> 
> As I see it, part of the problem is that the copper items
> for sale now was fabricated when prices for new copper
> and/or scrap were sky high.  It will take a while before all
> the expensive copper products get out of the supply channel,
> and they start making products with cheaper raw materials
> again.  I suppose if the manufacturers get hungry enough,
> they might drop prices to increase sales, and eat some of
> the losses, just as they make windfall profits when the
> values of their items in inventory rise rapidly. 
> I've seen similar trends when the price of crude oil
> goes down -- it takes quite a while before gasoline prices
> at the pump fall proportionally. 
> Best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season!
> 
> Dave
On 11/21/08 I spoke with Karen Walls of Essex Group in response to internet add for 25% discount for first time buyers from Superior Essex Wire. She quoted the spot market price at $2.15/lb, which she said determines the price for their wire spools on a daily basis, which after the additional associated manufacturing costs and the type of insulation provided came to 4.56 /lb. I told here I wanted four 80 lb spools of 23 gauge wire, as this was the standard size when I purchased spools some 20 years ago.  The shipping cost was of course horrendous, so it being almost a 500 mile round trip journey to Ft Wayne Indiana facility from my Ohio residence,I decided to pick up the wire myself. When I arrived my wire was on five spools of ~69 lb apiece, a total of 346 lb.s, about 26 lb.s more then I ordered, but this being made as a credit card purchase I noted that the first withdrawal was  100 dollars over what she quoted me, and then another 44 dollar withdrawal
 that came to the quoted figure of 4.56 /lb.
This was $1580.00 total for 346 lb. My rewinder has complained about eye irritation, presumably from the HVY FORMVAR insulation perhaps flaking off in microscopic quantities and becoming airborne, but I have never heard of this before.  Have any other coilers noticed any kind of eye irritations from rewinding insulated copper wire?  We were rewinding this at a high speed onto 12 lb coils for further uses, but the rewinder has also noticed the same effect to a lesser degree when making single layer TC secondaries, which we can supply up to 6 inch diameter.

Sincerely Harvey D Norris
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