Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 123 LastLast
Results 16 to 30 of 34

Thread: sawdust - uses?

  1. #16
    One of my wife's hobbies is pottery. The craft center that she goes to takes all I produce. Evidently there is a kind of pottery called Raku. What they do is fill a steel garbage can with sawdust and newspaper. Then they take the pottery out of the kiln and put it into the sawdust while it is still red hot. It is pretty cool when the put the 1500 degree pottery into the sawdust - talk about a quick way to light a fire! Somehow the interaction with the sawdust makes a neat finish for the pottery. So, if you have any pottery studios around you they might be interested in taking some sawdust off your hands.

    John

  2. #17
    Anybody ever had any luck pressing the sawdust into bricks with some sort of binder (water, wax, coca cola...) and then burning them in the fireplace?

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Monroe, MI
    Posts
    11,896
    My neighbor will take mine for his horses. I asked him if there were any woods to make sure stayed out, like walnut. He said none are a problem. We're talking about harness racing horses here, so I'd assume he's pretty careful about them.

    However, I've started spreading it on the trails I mow in the natural part of my property.


  4. #19
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Richfield, WI
    Posts
    65
    Julie,

    "Technically speaking", walnut sawdust is bad for 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 doesn't contain nearly as much of the toxin as the other parts of the tree. Last summer I put well over 10 cubic yards of free mulch in my rosebeds only to find out afterward that the stuff was laced with walnut leaves, wood and bark. So far none of my plants are showing any signs of distress, but we'll see what happens this spring. I guess that's what I get for being cheap. I've read that if you let the shavings compost slightly before adding them to the garden it reduces the chances for any problems.

  5. I usually throw my saw dust into the garden.

    I just recently used some to dump outside on the sidewalk by my shop where the snow and ice were slippery.

    The smoker idea is great. I saw that used once on an episode of 'Good Eats' on the food network. You may want to think about this since different woods will impart different flavors. (for example, I'd not want to use a bunch of pine saw dust in a smoker).

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Charleston, SC, USA.
    Posts
    289
    I don't put it in my beds next to the house because of termites but I so put all my wast out in beds in the yard.

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Lake Leelanau, MI
    Posts
    2,630
    I save my bandsaw dust to use as epoxy filler. Dust from the random orbital sander is good also.

    John
    John Bailey
    Sawmill Creek is a member supported forum. Click here to donate.


  8. #23
    I give mine to a local farm co-op. They use it to line the horse stalls.

    Now if I could just figure out what to do with all these eggs ...
    Bowclamp "good caul"

  9. #24
    Woodstove starter
    Mulch
    Goes into the compost pile for the garden
    Soak up oil on concrete after working on the ol truck.


  10. #25

    Different fire starte

    I have not heard of the parrafin was fire starter before. (I like it). I know I might get some responses saying this is not a good idea and I have not done it lately but years ago someone told me you could make a firestarter with about a coffee can worth of sawdust and 4 or 5 tablespoons worth of used engine oil. It does work well. Don't know if there would be any problems about the burning of oil in the fireplace? Anyways that is another version of firestarter with sawdust.
    "I have worked myself up from nothing to extreme poverty." Groucho Marx
    http://www.youtube.com/user/TheChrisPineWorkshop

  11. #26
    30 to 1 Brown to Green Composting is the Holy Grail. I make alot of saw dust/shavings but the lawn is bigger. Makes VERY good compost mixed with Grass clippings.

  12. #27
    Quote Originally Posted by Jamie Siegel View Post
    The smoker idea is great. I saw that used once on an episode of 'Good Eats' on the food network. You may want to think about this since different woods will impart different flavors. (for example, I'd not want to use a bunch of pine saw dust in a smoker).
    Isn't that the truth. A friend of mine had gotten his first small smoker a few years back, and he smoked some nice country style pork ribs, but they tasted terrible.
    Oak, mesquite, apple, and a lot of others are great, but a word of caution... don't use cedar in your smoker!
    I took maybe three bites, and after each one I felt like I was going to have a coronary.

  13. #28
    Not for livestock~!! Never Never Never~!! 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. Shavings are fairly large.

  14. #29
    Not for livestock~!! Never Never Never~!! 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. Shavings are fairly large.

    It'd be about as bad as giving your horse lawn clippings from a mower.

  15. #30
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Somerville, MA
    Posts
    126

    what about plywood

    My sawdust has a good amount of sawdust from plywood. Anyone know if that should be avoided for mulch? I'm concerned about the glue. I always heard not to use plywood in the fireplace?

Similar Threads

  1. That's not sawdust.....
    By Dave Fifield in forum Off Topic Forum
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 12-31-2006, 11:41 AM
  2. Porter Cable miter saw -- lots of sawdust
    By Ellen Benkin in forum General Woodworking and Power Tools
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 02-27-2006, 1:25 PM
  3. Help! Sawdust Shop Open Day Demo....
    By Dave Fifield in forum Laser Engraving General Topics
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 02-05-2006, 2:28 AM
  4. Sawdust Olympics
    By Greg Heppeard in forum Off Topic Forum
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 08-16-2004, 7:50 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •