How do y'all handle scrap wood?

[JohnT]

So I was working in the garage last night ripping a bunch of 1X2 for a project, and my trash can wound up looking like this:

So my question is, what do you all do with your strips of wood that are too narrow/fragile/short/whatever to be of any use to you? Do you have some nifty way to store this stuff, or does everybody's trash can sport an awesome 'fro like mine until trash day when it causes a huge pain by ripping through the bag? Or, do you not even trash this stuff, but instead have some place to take it to be recycled into mulch and the like?

[Guest]

If it is unusable hardwood I burn it my fireplace or use it for my smoker.  If it is usable I store it until I have no more space, then I burn it. Softwood goes in the garbage can or with the yard waste. 

 

I think you need a bigger trash can.  A 5 gallon bucket might even be better. 

[dwacker]

I don't have a trash can in my shop for that very reason. It goes into a pile next to the saw and some time before the end of the day goes into the burn pit as does sand paper and anything else that will burn or melt.

[Christoph]

Small pieces of solid wood go into the fire pit... bigger pieces await the opportunity to  be used in future projects .... my problems are the leftovers from plywood that I can't use anymore. Because the containing all sorts of glue and probably other chemicals I don't necessarily want to burn them. Thus after a while they end up in the garbage.

[mds2]

Here are some other ideas:

 

[sdesocio]

Ha - I think we have the basic setup - a bathroom garbage bag.

[rodger.]

That stuff makes great kindling.

[TRBaker]

Stuff like that I usually cut up into paint stirring sticks, until I have enough for last for years, then throw the rest in the burn pile. Larger pieces get cut into shims and wedges ( I usually keep a 5 gal. bucket of each). When the buckets are full, the rest goes in the fire. I got tired of hoarding useless stacks of drops that never get used. The price per square foot for storage far outweighed their worth.

[Eric.]

That looks like ash or pine in your bucket...trash or burn.  If those were ebony scraps...neatly stack in a box and save forever.  Everything in between...depends.  The nicer the wood the more consideration it gets.  I've gotten to the point where I really only save exotic and figured scraps.  Everything else less than a couple bf or so is just waste that consumes shop space.

[Cochese]

Plywood is the tricky bit. Technically, my garbage company doesn't take 'construction material.' However if I were to take it to their commercial partner that charges $20 a load, it would go in the same dumping site.

So I have to cut it up into little pieces and black trash bag it in the regular bins every once in awhile. Not being able to burn it hurts.

[Rapid Roger]

I just had a silly idea.

It would take some time and a lot of glue but, how about laminating them together and make a larger board?

It might make for an interesting table top for a small end table or something or the ultimate in an end grain  cutting board. 

Needless to say, the more varieties of wood used, the more unusual the effect would be.

There was a post from a young student (in europe I believe) that did something like that and made a beautiful table out of scraps much to the amazement to his instructor and fellow students!   

 

Rog 

[dwacker]

Plywood is the tricky bit. Technically, my garbage company doesn't take 'construction material.' However if I were to take it to their commercial partner that charges $20 a load, it would go in the same dumping site.

So I have to cut it up into little pieces and black trash bag it in the regular bins every once in awhile. Not being able to burn it hurts.

 

I burn everything plywood and all. Hell If I had the Op's scrap bin full I'd burn it bin and all. I wish there was an easy way to burn saw dust.

[Spencer_J]

I burn everything plywood and all. Hell If I had the Op's scrap bin full I'd burn it bin and all. I wish there was an easy way to burn saw dust.

my grandpa takes a coffee can, soaks the sawdust with diesel or kerosene and uses that to burn phonebooks... he's almost 89 and been using wood heat since day 1. works great for him. i'd love to be able to burn sawdust. 

 

i would burn the OPs bin too. i have a grey 32 gallon rubbermaid on wheels. all cutoffs go in there and it gets burned when it's full. sometimes if i go fishing in my bin for smaller pieces, the bin doesn't get full for a while. soft wood hard wood plywood doesn't matter. it all takes up valuable space.

[jHop]

I do a couple of the things mentioned.

 

First, if I can find a pair of cutoffs that are the same size, length, thickness, and all, I use them as risers on the bench.  Not only can I pair them with a strip of UHMW plastic to make an "on-demand" shooting board, I can sand all around without the sand clogging the edges or corners.  (I've stored a pair of MDF for the thicker stock, and prefer plywood for the smaller stock.)

 

I also use some as stir sticks, and some as glue spreaders.  (Particularly useful when I don't want to walk around the bench to get that last corner.)

 

I use them as spacers and story sticks.  (Careful with this last one: you'll end up hoarding them even more.)

 

I use some as clamping aids, so I don't overclamp into the work.

 

These also make great drill backers, so you don't blow out the back of the hole.  Since they are already disposable, you have no worries about keeping them for as long as possible.

 

I give them to my step-father in law, who tosses them into his outdoor burn pile.

 

I've turned them into other projects, although nothing I want to photograph.  The last successful one was a wind-mosaic thingy that lasted two weeks.  It might have lasted longer if the winds hadn't picked up and I had hung it further away from the porch column.  They can also become prototypes for Mission furniture models, so you can see what the piece will look like. with actual wood.

 

I've given them to the neighborhood kids (including my own), who turn them into mock swords... and take care of the disposal problem for me.

 

Cut small chunks off and use them as glue blocks, nail blocks, or the blocks to secure table tops to apron frames.

 

Mostly, though, I toss them into the compactor we have at the complex.  As long as I don't dump a plastic tub's worth in one sitting, nobody complains.  (I'd sneak a handful at a time into your garbage.  Sure, the scraps stick around a while, but nobody's really going to complain about five in the trash.)

 

The last suggestion I have is to check with some local businesses or theaters - they may need or want some shims and small stage prop (support, not decoration) sticks.

[Rick A McQuay]

Small pieces of nice hardwood go into a stack of plastic drawers, each labeled. Most people would probably throw them out but I use them for inlays, small decorative pieces, testing finishes, spinning tops, or even in jigs. Long thin pieces go into a bucket, when the bucket gets full I pull some out and burn them. Scrap pieces of pine or cheap hardwoods go into a burn bucket. Pieces thumb size or smaller go into the trash.

[rodger.]

If advertised of kijiji free, or craigslist I guess in the states, people will come and pick up every scrap that you have. Some people use them for kindling, while others use them for a zillion other purposes. Point is, lots of people are actively looking for scrap wood.

If you have a lot of shavings, people with rodents for pets will come and get it for bedding. Please don't send this stuff to the landfill if you can repurpose it. Just do a "curb alert", and people will come and get it.

[Miles11we]

Whatever I can. A lot gets burned. Any sizable pieces I try to use. I've also been laminating different things to turn on the lathe. I try to keep everything out of the trash but sometimes thats unavoidable.

[JohnT]

Thanks for all the feedback. I can't burn it, since I live in the city and had to give up my burn barrel. I can't toss it in the fireplace either since ours is gas. I like the idea of gluing it all up into one board, but it wouldn't work for this stuff since it's all the rounded edges that I cut off to get straight edges. I will try the craigslist curb alert suggested by franklin. I just hate the idea of this stuff filling up the landfill when it could be used at the very least for mulch.

[Zack Snowy]

I just had a silly idea.

It would take some time and a lot of glue but, how about laminating them together and make a larger board?

It might make for an interesting table top for a small end table or something or the ultimate in an end grain  cutting board. 

Needless to say, the more varieties of wood used, the more unusual the effect would be.

There was a post from a young student (in europe I believe) that did something like that and made a beautiful table out of scraps much to the amazement to his instructor and fellow students!   

 

Rog

 

Because the strips are thin, you could always make something curved.

[Guest]

Thanks for all the feedback. I can't burn it, since I live in the city and had to give up my burn barrel. I can't toss it in the fireplace either since ours is gas. I like the idea of gluing it all up into one board, but it wouldn't work for this stuff since it's all the rounded edges that I cut off to get straight edges. I will try the craigslist curb alert suggested by franklin. I just hate the idea of this stuff filling up the landfill when it could be used at the very least for mulch.

does your city take yard waste? my old town did, i would put domestic scraps and sawdust in with the yard waste. i assume it was going to a chipper or compost pile so why not?

[jHop]

There's another idea... compost or break into mulch.  Do a planter box with pine chips for a flower thingy.  (finals week.  Words not on place where I need them.)

[Trip]

==> compost or break into mulch.

 

exactly what I do...  When I've got a "milling day" going, I do two 55gal drums in a day...

 

After Hurricane Sandy, I needed to plant over fifty new trees... I use the tailings around the trees... Works great...

[jmoorecraftworks]

Has a doctor ever said you need more fiber?

[Andrew Pritchard]

My winter shop has a chimney and I had considered putting a little woodburner in there, but the shop is so small, and the burner takes up so much room I opted not to do it. Yet.

 

I'm in the middle of a shop re-organization which will free up a lot of space and I might re-visit that option then. If it happens, scraps will go in the wood burner to keep me and my glue and finish warm.

[Guest]

Has a doctor ever said you need more fiber?

you might be on to something.  

 

http://foodbabe.com/2013/10/07/are-you-eating-this-substance-that-lines-food-industry-pockets/