[OP]
Member
For last several yrs I have always empty the bag, and set it out for the trash man to carry it away.I was thinking surely there has got to be a better usage for the dust other than the landfill.I do have low spots in the yard that I could use it for that or maybe the few flower beds in the yard but what about carpenter ants??Will this attract them having something as fine as dust???
What do you guys do with yours,if there is something that the dust can be use for???Just wondering----Carroll
Member
You can compost it but it needs to be thoroughly composted to be of use in your garden. Sawdust is a nitrogen grabber not giver when it is not composted and that is a step back for the roses and radishes.
Member
Know any potters? They use dust and shavings to give their work texture and different colors.
We used to till it in to loosen up our clay soil, but my biologist BIL discouraged that use. He claims that it takes more nitrogen out of the soil to break down the cellulose than it gives back. We went to straw and manure. It works.
Some saw dust (Walnut?) is actually harmful to plants.
For those reasons, we don't even use it as ground cover for the winter.
My DC is vented outside. Our winds carry most of it away. What collects in the separator, I burn. No potters close to me.
Gene
Life is too short for cheap tools
GH
Member
I burn mine.
Glad its my shop I am responsible for - I only have to make me happy.
Contributor
FWIW - SWMBO runs her own business doing gardening [not heavy landscaping] - design, install, maintenance, consulting, etc. Very well-educated on everything there is to know on the topic........It is as much as my life would be worth to even suggest sawdust as mulch on flower beds - too many different things in there, and some are deadly [as Gene pointed out]. Also - same deal on ground-up hardwood pallets, etc - verboten. Not starting an argument, just passing along this expert's position.
Mine goes out with the trash.
When I started woodworking, I didn't know squat. I have progressed in 30 years - now I do know squat.
Member
yup...my wife is also a "master" gardener...i burn mine.Originally Posted by Kent A Bathurst
Member
Right now I have a lot of oak, some pine and very little poplar. I give it to a fellow @ work. He uses it for animal bedding. (right word?)
Guest
Dumpster. I feel bad for the garbage guy when he dumps it on a breezy day.
Member
a guy comes to collect mine ,apparently he turns it into charcoal brickettes for the barbie though i have no idea of the process ,i am happy that it is being used for something useful and in the process saving other timber from being cut for the same purpose.every little helps
Contributor
A guy comes to the local woodworking school to pick up the dust. He uses it for bedding for horses, I believe.
Moderator
We compost the output from my cyclone with the exception of when I'm running walnut. It's not a good idea to put raw chips and sawdust in gardens, however, because it will be detrimental to the nitrogen content of the soil for your plantings. Once composted, it's rich, usable stuff. I do use it raw sometimes on our herb garden pathways, however.
--
The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Member
This link will give you the dope on walnut toxicity: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1148.html. Alot of what we read on WWkg Forums about walnut toxicity is at best half true.
Member
You could vent it outside and put an after-burner on the pipe!
BTW, that was a joke. Do not try this at home. It's a really bad idea!
Keith
Contributor
I'm giving serious consideration to mixing milk and vinegar and sawdust together to use as a casting material for things like ZCI's.
I'll let you know how that turns out once I get the time to make a plaster of Paris cast of my TS insert.
Member
We have a green garbage collection truck on garbage day and they take sawdust and any form of compostable material.
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