Disposing of Wood Turning Shavings / Chainsaw Chips ?

[Marty Tippin]

(Robo Hippy's chainsaw video reminded me of something I've been meaning to ask for a while...)

I find that roughing out a 12" x 5" bowl will generate about a wheelbarrow full of shavings, and that breaking down a log into 2 bowl blanks (removing the pith section) will generate almost another wheelbarrow full of shavings. (I currently break down logs in my workshop)

So what to do with all this stuff?

I live on 3 acres and have a fire pit, so we've been having a *lot* of bonfires from the shavings lately, but winter is coming and that might become more difficult. I'm also finding that if it rains on the shavings before I get around to burning them, I may as well not bother - though I've been using some liquid accelerant lately to get things going...

I also have a line of trees on the edge of the property and could probably dump a lot of shavings there, but I feel like I can generate waste a lot faster than it will decompose.

What do the rest of you do with your shavings?

[David Delo]

My chips go in the weekly trash pickup with everything else. I use 42 gallon contractor bags and if I start with a round blank, I can get 4 eight to 12 inch bowls stuffed into them. But if the blank is rectangular shaped I've really got to compress hard to get 3 bowls worth in them. Usually never have more than 2 bags worth in any 1 week with the time I have to devote to turning. I've been telling my better half lately that I could do more stuff if I had a coring system, so I wouldn't have to stop because I've reached the 2 extra bag limit for the week.

[Robert Henrickson]

Most of my shavings go into the cart designated for the weekly pickup of yard trash, which gets recycled (composted?) by the county government.

[Tim Passmore]

I bag mine and take them back to the people that own the woods where I get much of my wood supply. They are spreading the shavings on their walking paths throughout the woods------we're both happy!

[Bob Hamilton]

I have a access to a municipal composting site where I can take my shavings and chips.

Bob

[John Conklin]

We live on 5 wooded acres, so I just take them out and dump them in a low spot.

[Shawn Pachlhofer]

find someone with horses - they'll usually take shavings. But - just like plants - walnut shavings are bad for horses to stand on.

we have someone in my club that his son-in-law keeps a few horses. Dave provides me with bags - I provide him with shavings.

I usually wait until I have 3 bags full then deliver.

[Gary Baler]

Marty,

I produce about ten 50 gallon bags of shavings a week. I am currently harvesting down aspen from a property west of Pikes Peak. The owner of the property picks up the shavings and all my cut offs. The shavings are composted for a green house and the cut offs are burned for firewood. Aspen is a small part of what I work with, so she actually gets more wood back than I harvest.

[Don McClure]

Do not put them in your garden or flower beds as they will take all the available nitrogen up as they decompose. They can be composted,or burned or used as "litter" for animals avoiding walnut shavings.

[Robert Willing]

I give all of my shavings, chips, dust to a chicken farm. I put them into 100lb bags which had corn in them from feeding wild life around my property (41 acres). I use to return them to nature in the woods but the chicken farm said they would take them for bedding. I also clean out my shop/garage with a leaf blower it all goes back to nature.

[Rick Gibson]

I have a town owned compost site at the edge of town where I can dump them. Some go into my garden and flower beds and a few friends stop by occasionally and take a couple bags before I have a chance to dump them. I dump between rows in the garden and some research has shown they only use up the nitrogen from the top inch or so from the soil so a little higher nitrogen fertilizer in the flower beds takes care of that.

[Bill Boehme]

Depending on the species of wood. If it is a type that termites and ants avoid, the we put it in the shrub beds to help control weeds. It cuts down on the amount of hardwood mulch that we need to buy. Other species of wood gets sent to the dump where it is composted.

[Thomas Canfield]

I have one friend that spreads my chips/shavings around his fruit trees for mulch, and another that has used some in his chicken pen to be later removed and composted along with some chicken manure.

[Joe Bradshaw]

I dump mine out back of my shop. When the pile gets too high, I spread them with my tractor. I live outside of town, so I am not concerned about nosey neighbors.
Joe

[Jerry Rhoads]

Paths through my small woods area, a low spot, and honey uses hem for mulch. We quit taking the paper, so might have to make fire starters out of them.
At one of the places (local Farmers Market) that I demonstrate. there are a couple of different couple who stop buy to scoop them up for me. I just kick them over for them so they are not in the way when they pack them (and they bring their own bags.
It sure helps me when it is clean up time.

Jerry