What to do with leftover sawdust and chips?

We use everything except for black walnut. The chips are for animal bedding, We put the sawdust in the compost pile in the winter. During the warmer season, we put the sawdust on the garden beds with acid-loving plants such as blueberries.

-- I was walking down the street, something caught my eye, and dragged it 15 feet.

compost, except for walnut

-- My mother named me Hamilton, I have been trying to earn my nickname ever since.

Oak, beech, apple and other fruit woods, from lathe, planer & saw all for fish smoker.

-- ... Never Apologise For Being Right ...

didn’t realize you could compost it. why not walnut though?

BigYin- Even the finer sawdust from your table saw?

The majority of mine is dust from the table saw. I don’t use the lathe a lot, but I did finally buy a planer, which has been on my wish list for years so I could definitely save those chips.

-- It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. - Harry S. Truman

I burn it or throw it away…silly me

-- Shameless - Winner of two Stumpy Nubs Awards

You do not put Black Walnut in a compost heap nor use it as mulch because it contains a toxin that prevents the growth of other plants.

-- Jack T, John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life."

All but course chips from the planer go in my blackberry patch.

-- I cut it off 3 times and it's still too short!

I use it on my pathways and lay it thick around places I don’t want weeds to grow.

-- mtnwild (Jack), It's not what you see, it's how you see it.

Hanman

<bigyin->

yes, shavings underneath and sawdust on top
Mix brown sugar, honey, salt and lemon zest into a paste make enough
to cover both sides of filet, place on rack, and smoke till done

-- ... Never Apologise For Being Right ...

Black walnut is toxic to vegetables and also horses.

I have enough I just put it in the garbage tote. While I compost kitchen waste, too much wood will deplete nitrogen in your garden.

Some gets composted but I have noticed that it decomposes at a slower rate than other organic material. If you compost it you need to turn the pile regularly and break up the mat of stuff. It tends to clump and prevent air from reaching other areas of the pile. Some woods have an acid PH so depending on what your soil is doing that is a consideration. Perfect for around acid loving plants like blueberries.

I own almost 2 acres with a woodsy area at the back. My sawdust pile back there would easily fill the bed of a full-sized pickup.

Since I work with some exotics I don’t know how safe it is to use this sawdust for flower beds or anything else.

I am not about to separate my sawdust by type of wood. There is no practical way to do that.

-- Rich, Cedar Rapids, IA - I'm a woodworker. I don't create beauty, I reveal it.

Thanks for the input everyone. This is why I love this site.

-- It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. - Harry S. Truman

If your doing BBQ, low an slow, then there is a tool/toy out there that will use the saw dust and chips to smoke your ribs, brisket or whatever. Type in AMNS in your search bar. And as for cutoffs aka: scraps…....throw’m on your grill when doing a steak or anything else that is hot an fast.

I put my sawdust an shaving in walmart bags, tie’m up an toss in the wood stove….free btu,s

-- IF YOUR NOT MAKING DUST...YOU ARE COLLECTING IT! SOUTH CAROLINA.