Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 22

Thread: What do you do with scrap wood?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Metro West MA
    Posts
    127

    What do you do with scrap wood?

    So the first real big project I'm taking on in our new house is to build a set of cabinets in my garage. With all the $$ spent on decent plywood, I haven't brought myself to throwing away any scraps larger than about 3" square, figuring I could at least use them for clamping or stop blocks.

    But I was wondering if anybody has come up with clever things they do with their pieces of scrap wood?

    -Chris

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    SoCal
    Posts
    22,494
    Blog Entries
    1
    Clamp cauls, backer blocks, setup test blocks, etc. for the little stuff. Once they've had 2 or 3 re-uses I cast them off. For larger pieces (up to 2 feet) I have bins built under the outfeed table.

    http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachme...8&d=1200376088

    For items larger than that (2 to 4 feet) I have a cutoff bin. Items larger than that go on the lumber rack.
    Last edited by glenn bradley; 01-26-2008 at 10:15 AM.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    St. Louis
    Posts
    3,349
    Store them till I turn them
    Where did I put that tape measure...

  4. #4
    Mine get smaller and smaller, then too small. So they go to the woodstove.


  5. #5
    What is scrap wood, I plan my projects so well there is no scrap...

    I just keep making smaller and smaller things until there is no scrap.

    Really I keep a bucket of small stuff and then have a little rack I made for the larger ones. I use them for test cuts, backer boards, parts for jigs. After I get though using them for test cuts there is not much left so it goes in the trash.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Tucson
    Posts
    5,001
    Blog Entries
    1
    Pile it up in boxes everywhere. Luckily i have very little scraps.
    What you listen to is your business....what you hear is ours.

  7. #7

    Scrap wood ideas

    I'm one of those people that saves everything, so hopefully I can help.

    Have four main areas for storing scrap:
    Under the planer for stuff that is not planed to dimension
    Under the Miter Saw for the dimensioned long stuff that's up to 3' long
    On a shelf dedicated to short, blocky scrap stuff
    In a small drawer under the miter saw for storing the small but dimensioned stuff

    - I Use long scraps 1.5" wide and over for picture frames
    - small blocky pieces for drawer pulls (either bandsawn or turned)
    - junk wood with knots etc can still be good for test cuts with a router
    - If you have a bunch of dimensioned pieces you can glue them up and turn the resulting block (haven't done this yet) to make neat designs of alternating colored wood.
    - Practicing dovetail cutting works with a lot of stuff you wouldn't use otherwise.
    - Scrap 1/2 plywood makes great sticker material.
    - Scrap good hardwood (long, thin) ply makes great spacers for various parts of assembly.
    - Short plywood chunks are good for elevating projects off the table for finishing (so you can do a whole assembly all at once and only have four small marks on the bottom where it was resting while drying)
    - anything of a square/rectangular shape gets earmarked for the lathe
    - Really thin hardwood strips are great for plywood edging

    I figure I re-use about 80% of the stuff that some would throw away as junk, thereby saving myself sometimes using good wood for a junk task. The other 20% I put into a bucket and use for good coal generating kindling.

    Hope that helps,
    Andy

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    east coast of florida
    Posts
    1,482
    I save scrap pieces of plywood to test dados. That way you can ensure a tight fit. They also come in handy as large shims.
    I just can't make myself through away much of that nice plywood either.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    South Florida
    Posts
    165
    Testing dadoes, rabbets, router depth, grooves, bevel angles, and saw blade alignment tests.....

    #1 of course, boxmaking

    JC

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    139
    Testing fit mostly, clamping, alignment. I tore a bunch of old 2x4 built benches out of my garage recently. I cut them all up to about 18" in length, rolled my fire pit out to the grass next to the driveway and burned them over three nights. My kids absolutely loved it, they had a blast roasting hot dogs and marshmallows. Not so sure the neighbors were digging it, but they all pretty much have sticks up their collective butts.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    McDonough, GA (near Atlanta)
    Posts
    392

    Scrap Wood

    There is no such thing as scrap wood if you have a scroll saw. Even the smallest piece can be included in an intarsia project.

  12. #12
    Fireplace.
    Jack Briggs
    Briggs Guitars

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Stephenville, TX
    Posts
    914
    This subject comes up occasianally. Below is the reply I made to the question from before....I just copied and pasted from before as I haven't changed my opinion. If it's a very expensive wood or highly figured, etc I would be more inclined to save it.

    ----------------------------

    I toss 'em......or at least try to make myself toss them. They pile up and get in the way. Well, I sez, I can use that. By the time I need "that" one of several things happens. The wood has aged and discolored enough or is different enough to start with that it can't be used, I can't find it, or I forget I have it and cut another piece, or the cutoff I find is a half inch too short or a quarter inch too narrow. Etc, etc.

    I have a friend who got a brilliant idea to buy some large plastic tubs at Wal-Mart and organize by size or species so he'd know what was where. He did that three or four years ago and the tubs are taking up shop space and haven't been opened yet (his admission).

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Minnesota
    Posts
    33
    Its sort of like saving bolts, you seldom have what you need anyway. I use any scraps shorter than 12" long in the wood burner. At least its heat.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Placitas, NM in the foothills of the Sandia Mountain.
    Posts
    527
    You can never have enough stickers.

Similar Threads

  1. wood scrap storage?
    By larry merlau in forum General Woodworking and Power Tools
    Replies: 25
    Last Post: 02-03-2006, 5:58 PM
  2. Storing good wood
    By John Harris in forum General Woodworking and Power Tools
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 03-24-2005, 4:23 AM
  3. what I did with some scrap wood..
    By Greg Tatum in forum General Woodworking and Power Tools
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 08-09-2004, 6:48 PM
  4. Quick Mirror Frame from scrap wood
    By Todd Burch in forum General Woodworking and Power Tools
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 07-26-2004, 11:39 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
  •