Creative Uses For Saw Dust, Shavings, And Left Over Wood Bits?

[bob123]

I am simply bagging them up and throwing them away. I would like to think there is some better use for this stuff. Anyone have any creative solutions?

[demonx]

All my saw dust goes in the chook shed.

[Prostheta]

http://bit.ly/HWqNYb

[bob123]

http://bit.ly/HWqNYb

Yeah, I've already done that.

Heres a list of suggestions (from your results), you tell me how many of them are viable please. I don't know about you, but I have a LOT of sawdust, and I'm not going to be making fake snow, feeding plants, making home made pincushions, or making facials. Thanks for the "input" -.- (p.s. Im also not making particle board or MDF...) It's also illegal to burn wood without a permit and special circumstances, so thats out too.

1. Mix it with white paint to make fake snow.

2. Use it for traction on slippery roads.

3. Soak up spills in the shop or garage.

4. Feed your plants with it, except if it’s walnut sawdust.

5. Make fire starters.

6. Fill holes and defects in wood.

7. Use it to pack a path.

8. Use walnut sawdust to kill weeds.

9. Lighten the heft of mixed cement.

10. Use it as a floor cleaner.

11. Use it as animal bedding, except for walnut.

12. Put it in a meat smoker for some interesting results

13. Use it as fuel. Click on this link to see how to build and use a sawdust stove.

14. Stuff homemade pincushions with it, or....

15. Stuff a dog’s bed with it.

16. Mix it with mud for a facial.

17. Absorb used turpentine and mineral spirits with it. (In many cities you can throw these away if they are dry. Otherwise, in liquid form, they have to go to a recycling center.)

Searls, Im assuming you have a wooden stove heater? I may need to invest in one of those then.

Edited July 13, 2013 by bob123

[demonx]

I have a big house heater in the shed. Gets very warm. I use small stuff as kindling to get it started before throwing on logs. At the moment I'm burning structural timber from some internal house walls I pulled out as part of a massive gut and rebuild I'm doing. All skirting, architrave and wall timber I cut on site so it was space friendly and then moved it to my workshop to burn in the heater. It still took up about a car space stacked nearly chest high

[sdshirtman]

Bag it up and sell it as hamster bedding. That stuff fetches like $15 per bag. You'll make a fortune.

[bob123]

Bag it up and sell it as hamster bedding. That stuff fetches like $15 per bag. You'll make a fortune.

ahahaha the thought has crossed my mind! I don't think tropical hardwoods and walnut are too kind on hamsters lungs though!

My only concern with using a heater is its summer time, and very hot and humid, so burning it for heat isn't really feasible. I could store it , but I would amass such a large quantity of it haha

[curtisa]

Prolly not such a good idea to throw a handfull of fine sawdust into an open fire. Fine airborne particles can be quite volatile when exposed to open flame.

Maybe save aromatic wood shavings for potpourri uses?

Saving sawdust from various timbers when sanding may be useful if you need to mix up sawdust with glue to create colour-toned wood filler?

[bob123]

Prolly not such a good idea to throw a handfull of fine sawdust into an open fire. Fine airborne particles can be quite volatile when exposed to open flame.

Maybe save aromatic wood shavings for potpourri uses?

Saving sawdust from various timbers when sanding may be useful if you need to mix up sawdust with glue to create colour-toned wood filler?

My concern is theres just SO MUCH of it. I really hate wasting. I save some dust for this kind of purpose, but I literally have many trash bags full of it at any given time. I've thought about burying it or decaying it and using it as compost though. I was just hoping someone here had a neat idea they used their chips and dust for is all.

Edited July 14, 2013 by bob123

[RestorationAD]

I am not sure about the sawdust for anything other than soaking up oil on the shop floor.

Most of the saw dust I make is caustic or even poisonous. Burning dust is a bad idea. Laying in the dust is a bad idea.

I can not imagine using Wenge dust for anything that does not involve and ex-wife.

Now if you had the time keeping it all separate you can use it for color fill with CA and some darker species like padauk make good dies for lighter colored woods when soaked in alcohol.

Still health risks are too serious for me to even bother doing anything other than disposing of it.

[Workingman]

Compost pile