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Thread: sawdust - uses?

  1. #1

    sawdust - uses?

    does anyone have any good uses for sawdust?

    i've used it for:
    * mulching out weeds in the backyard
    * given it away for rabbit cages
    * made firestarters (melt wax, mix w. sawdust in egg cartons, use one to start fire, works really really well)

    anything it shouldn't be used for?
    *Walnut is BAD for horses, and will kill flowers/bushes if used for mulch

    I don't like throwing stuff away, and like everyone here, i'm sure, i make tons of this stuff. ok, maybe not tons. but a lot.

  2. #2
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    Soak up dripping fluids in a garage?

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Eric DeSilva View Post
    Soak up dripping fluids in a garage?
    Eric stole my answer.
    "Live like no one else, so later, you can LIVE LIKE NO ONE ELSE!"
    - Dave Ramsey

  4. #4
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    It can also go into compost piles. It balances the green stuff like grass trimmings. I bag it in 40 gal trash bags and give it to gardeners.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by julie Graf View Post
    does anyone have any good uses for sawdust?


    * made firestarters (melt wax, mix w. sawdust in egg cartons, use one to start fire, works really really well)
    Could you give the recipe for this. Any certain type of wax? Amount of wax, things like that.

    Sounds like a neat idea for the fireplace and camping trips.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Aaron Beaver View Post
    Could you give the recipe for this. Any certain type of wax? Amount of wax, things like that.

    Sounds like a neat idea for the fireplace and camping trips.
    As an old ex-scout leader, just use Gulf parafin available at most grocery stores. Just make sure that it is WOOD sawdust and not MDF dust. Also works with lint from the drier.

  7. #7
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    Someone with livestock might be willing to take it off your hands. I know back home in Vermont the old time farmers complain about not being able to get shavings-sawdust from mills anymore. All that stuff is used to make pellets for stoves now, where as it used to be free bedding for the calves etc etc etc.
    Just an off the wall thought....

    Greg

  8. #8
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    I'm not so sure about the Walnut being bad for plants.

    I have used it in my veggie garden for years, and have HUGE tomatoes !! I empty my dust collection bag into a compost pile 2 times a year or so, and you should taste my tomatoes . . .. but it'll cost ya
    MARK

  9. #9
    I've actually used oak sawdust in the smoker when I ran out of wood chips and was too, uh, busy to go get more. I moistened a few heaping handfuls with some beer, and threw a clump or two in when it needed it. Pretty good results.

  10. #10
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    One of the ways I get rid of my shavings is to give it to a buddy who has a butcher shop and they use it in the smoker. (no ply or mdf)

    As for the bedding for animals, we live on an acerage with horses, and the shavings are to fine for my wife to use in the stalls. I will spread them out in the pastures in the summer.

  11. #11
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    The 'Furniture Guys' used shavings to rub down furniture when cleaning the finish with Napha. IIRC, they liked it better than steel wool because it would remove the finish without scratching the wood underneath.
    I think they also used it to wipe off stains, but it has been years since I saw their shows.

  12. #12
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    Do the tomatoes taste like walnuts?
    Bill
    On the other hand, I still have five fingers.

  13. #13
    interesting! i was told differently, and have never used it around plants i like/want to keep... i guess it's not true!

  14. #14
    aaron, this is what i've used too - parafin.
    no specific recipe, just grab 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...

  15. #15
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    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, which I do anyways, so can't prove or disprove that statement.
    Been around power equipment all my life and can still count to twenty one nakey

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