What do you do with the wood chips and sawdust?

So far I’ve just tossed it. There are so many clever people here, though, that I’ll bet some great ideas surface.

-- Maplewood, MN

We recycle ours. Saw dust will rob the nitrogen from the surrounding soil, so we use urea pellets. A layer of saw dust, a layer of pellets. If you have a large compost pile mix the the dust/chips in with it. This will help break it down quicker. Just a little at a time. Hope this helps.

-- Andy Stark

A true Lumberjock uses sawdust to season his food. Who needs salt and pepper? Just use maple and walnut!

-- JP, Shelbyville, KY

Relic -

Urea pellets? Where do you get those?

I throw them in a “compost” pile but I know it’s not a very good one since the only green matter that goes in the pile is when I wait too long to mow the grass and I have to rake.

If I’ve been working with plywood though, I just pitch the dust (glue contamination).

We talked about it some here:

http://lumberjocks.com/topics/290

-- Paul, Texas

If you have any red cedar chips to mix with it, dosen’t take much and it will keep the critters like, flea’s, ticks and any other cooties out. I’ve seen red cedar shaving’s sold at a different variety of stores. One more thing, it will make ole rover smell more on the agreeable side. Semper Fi !

-- www.flickr.com/photos/egamarine/

We use a product from the local feed store called “urea ice melter”. You could use a high nitrogen based fertilizer as well. Remember the more you turn your compost the faster in breaks down.

-- Andy Stark

I just thought, if composting is a solution for you or your thinking about it, our sister site http://gardentenders.com/ might be helpful.

-- Andy Stark

I put just a tad in the garden every year with a load of manure

I put some on top of landscaping fabric under some of the large trees

but the bulk of it I lay down on a trail I am constantly expanding that goes through 14 acresof wetland forest.

cheers

-- http://www.furnituremann.ca/

i burn most of mine in my wood furnace.

-- I buy tools so i can make more money,so ican buy more tools so I can work more, to make more money, so I can buy more tool, so I can work more

I’ve heard of pressing the dust into wood pellets for a wood stove. I wish I had a stove and then a press for this… Currently, what I don’t breath or spread out to the rest of the house I collect on the floor and shop vac or sweep into a bin that goes straight out to the compost pile. Then my dog sleeps in it and brings it back into the house for us. One of those circle of life kind of things.

-- Happy Ripping!!!

I have a garden area that I put about 2-3” of shaving and sawdust on and then rototill in. When I get around to actually planting a garden there I’ll take into account the nitrogen problem.

My pile after planing some Goncalo-Alves, Holly and Mineral Popular

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

I mix mine with the lawn clippings and compost it behind the shop. I till it in occasionally and add composted cow manure to aid the nitrogen deficit. After it breaks down we use it as a top dressing around plants in the garden and add it to potting soil for Pam’s floral display pots.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

I currently have a forced air propane heater in my shop, and I thought about getting rid of that for a wood (or pellet) stove. You can see the heater I have in my workshop pics. That would be an excellent idea for recycling (or at least getting rid of it)...

Anyone interested in buying a fairly new forced air propane heater? :)

-- Jamie, Kentucky

Mine goes in my dad’s garden, along with the grass clippings and such. So far it has not hurt any of the plants, and he loves it so it works out great.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

Garden and compost piles are great, just remember or be aware that walnut can be very toxic to other plants. Not sure what is in it or why but it will kill some plants especially tomatoes.

-- Joey, Magee, Ms http://woodnwaresms.com

There’s always this “fire starter” topic that was discussed on lumberocks earlier…

-- Rob (A) Waxahachie,TX

I use some of my hardwood shavings in my side fire box meat smoker for added flavor. The rest I till into the garden or use them as ground cover for less hardy plants during the winter months. The wood flour from my sanders I put in small ziplock sandwich bags, label them as to wood type and save for project repairs or repairs to wood structures around the house. And lastly if my dog accidentally pees on my shop floor, I just sprinkle some sawdust over it, let it dry, sweep it up, and toss it out with the garbage.

I use the shavings from my planer for our pet chickens. I use mostly spruce and poplar.

You may want to look around your local are to see if there are any chicken owners who may be greatful for the bedding.

-- The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them

#1. Don’t get rid of the propane heater. You already have it installed.

#2. You can add wood or pellet heat. Use the propane on a minimum setting to keep the shop from freezing in case you don’t have wood or you go away for a few days.

I use some saw dust in compost but not black walnut or pine. They have toxicity and acidic issues that are hostile to other plants and animals when breathed in.

I bag and throw most of it away. I occasionally go through my old cans of paint, finish, and stain to throw away. By law in Montana you can’t throw those as a liquid in the landfill. But you can if they are dry. I pour the liquids into a bucket of saw dust until it is absorbed nicely and let it dry. Then I dispose of it.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Since I work mostly with pine, the sawdust goes to a compost pile, usually with table scraps that will be used in gardening in a year or so. Sometimes, the sawdust goes into the trash if I’ve picked up non-organic material from the floor or if it’s mixed with plywood or treated lumber dust. Recently, my wife and daughter used some planer residue to make fire starters for our use. One consideration is to put it in a bag and ask if the local girl scout or boy scout or another youth organization in your area would use it for fire starters or other purposes.

Dave Nagy

-- Dave

I leave mine near a low rent trailer park so they can use it as fuel to cook meth… Not really.. I bag it and give it to a friend that uses it for fuel in his wood burning stove.

-- making sawdust....

Mine goes to my daughter. She has two horses and uses it for bedding then recycles it again in her garden.

-- Bruce from Central New York

It makes a great mulch but Black Walnut, dust or shavings will kill plants.

-- Robert, mountainwoodcarving@netzero.net

Composting is the best way to get rid of sawdust but it takes a long tiime for it fully breakdown to good organic material, as long as 5 years. Composting is dependant on air and moisture, if the center of your compost pile is dry or cold get out the pitch fork and mix it up. A mixture of green and brown (grass and leaves) along with table scraps (not meat) and a little sawdust (50% or less) makes great organic material. Ditto on the walnut toxicity.

-- DocK, WV

Eleven useful ways (and one not-so-useful way) to recycle sawdust:

1. Mulching out weeds in the backyard.
2. Give it away for pet cages like hamsters and rabbits.
3. Make fire starters (use an old egg carton – the paper kind, fill each section with sawdust, melt wax, pour wax into each section, (be careful with the hot wax),then rip one off when you need it.
4. Soak up dripping fluids and spills in a garage.
5. Put into compost piles. Sawdust balances the green stuff like grass trimmings. You can bag it in 40 gal trash bags and give it to gardeners. (BUT: walnut sawdust can be to your plants because walnuts and other members of the same family (butternut, hickory, etc.) produce a toxin in their leaves, roots and bark that’s designed to kill off other vegetation around them. The toxin is called “juglone” and it’s basically a way for walnuts to ensure they have less competition for light, nutrients, etc. The theory is that if you put fresh walnut shavings in your garden some of the toxin can leach down into your soil and kill your plants. However, not all plants are susceptible to it and theoretically the wood itself does not contain nearly as much of the toxin as the other parts of the tree.)
6. A person with livestock might want to take it off your hands (BUT:The dust from a hobby shop is not the same as shavings from an industrial mill. The hobby shop saw dust is fine enough to harm the animals. Wood shavings are better to use with livestock because they are larger.)
7. Hank Phillips uses oak sawdust in the smoker when he runs out of wood chips. He moistens a few heaping handfuls with some beer, and throws a clump or two in when it needed it.
8. The ‘Furniture Guys’ use wood shavings to rub down furniture when cleaning the finish with Napha. They like it better than steel wool because it removes the finish without scratching the wood underneath.
9. Mark Page: “I have a high composition of clay in the soil here, that’s why it’s Clay county here in Missouri. Sawdust first goes into the flower beds and garden. Any left gets sprinkled into the lawn. Another note that I follow and I guess it is right, is that sawdust takes nitrogen out of the soil to decompose, so you have to supplement with nitrogen fertilizer.”
10. Raku pottery uses sawdust in their process. This includes filling a steel garbage can with sawdust and newspaper. Then you take the pottery out of the kiln and put it into the sawdust while it is still red hot, where it quickly lights a fire. The sawdust creates a unique finish for the pottery.
11. John Bailey: “I save my bandsaw dust to use as epoxy filler. Dust from the random orbital sander is good also.”

and not so good, #12. “A number of years ago I went on a tour of Winnebago Industries in Forest City Iowa (in fact I went a few times while waiting for service on my RV). The tour included the cabinet shops where large amounts of Sawdust was produced most from MDF, particle board or plywood the same material any cabinet shop would produce. Their dust and scrap collection was impressive. Piles upon piles were left outside. It was explained that Pig Farmers would take all they could as Food for their pigs. I questioned the composition of the waste and was told that since the company was formed in the 50s, this was how they disposed of their sawdust.”

-- life can always be weaved into a song.

My dog lies in it while my grandson plows it and loads it into his Tonka trucks, and then the three of us end up tracking it thru the house…which gets the little woman screamin, and all that produces heat! I’ve also found out that if you give her a breath mint first, then you’ll have an air freshener too.

• No, she doesn’t read this. Why do you ask?

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

Why would you do anything with it? I suck it up and when the vacuum is full its time to throw it out and buy another one. Right??
As always good reading. I had never heard of the toxicity of walnut et al. Maybe that’s why my tomato plants do so poorly at times. I have heard of using walnut and or cedar in bedding for dogs to keep fleas and ticks away. Better start segregating my dust/chips.
I remember seeing something on “dirty jobs” where they cast bells with animal dung – maybe they’d like to try sawdust instead!
I try to save some dust/chips to use on spills and it works well and is more affordable than the clay materials ( kitty litter etc).

-- CaptnA - "When someone hurts you, write it in the sand so the winds of forgiveness will scatter the memory... "

I spread my shavings on paths up at my lake property, I don’t have to mow the paths.

I have a hard time getting grass to grow under my Black walnut tree. This article explains it.

-- Dick Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

I just spoke with a guy who grows mushrooms. He was very excited about my sawdust pile, especially the Alder. He said the shavings from the planer and jointer are better than the dust from the saws, but apparently mushrooms love the stuff! Who knew?

-- What exactly is "The Move" and who are you calling a "Quirky Jerk"? -- http://www.north40custom.com

I just let it collect on the floor in my garage shop, then when I get yelled at for the umpteenth time by my better half, I break out the yard blower and force it out onto the driveway and then under the trees in my front yard. Some of it goes around other plantings as mulch…. no need to waste a natural thing.

-- Even the best of men relish a little spice every now and then... HG Somers, circa 1905

From what I know, if you don’t burn it, use it as bedding for pets or in paths, etc…... it should be pitched. I’m one of the “greenest” guys you’ll find, but wood shavings can cause big problems in the compost pile or as garden mulch.

-- Make things with wood.

A lot of stables can use sawdust for stable bedding, but be sure not to contaminate your offerings with walnut dust and shavings ….... bad news for horses.

-- Earle Wright, Lenoir City, Tennessee

Yeah, the guy I talked to confirmed that it shouldn’t be used for regular garden compost – the sawdust robs nitrogen from the soil – but apparently that’s not a problem for the ‘shrooms.

-- What exactly is "The Move" and who are you calling a "Quirky Jerk"? -- http://www.north40custom.com

yes, fresh sawdust does require more N to break down. it still is a viable use just remember to add extra N when using it fresh. Blue berries like fresh mulch. our problem at the Gnarly Wood Shoppe is black walnut as we have been using quite a bit lately. keeps everything down as a mulch because of a growth inhibitor that it secretes.

-- cronk, oregon