What do you do with plywood scraps?

[Andrew Nemeth]

Ever so often I go through my shop and clean out all the scraps that I "may use someday" so I have space to keep making sawdust. I always cut down solid wood into the size I can burn in a fireplace but I toss the plywood scraps and anything with glue/paint/finish on it in a can or dumpster. Is there a better way to dispose of this scrap? What do you all do?

[Chip Lindley]

Plywood burns too! I save all small cutoffs, hardwood, ply or mdf/pb in a 55 gal. plastic drum (or 2) for kindling next winter in my shop stove.

[Adam Strong]

So long as you don't cook over the fire, ply burn great... Not sure if there is any other good way to recycle your scraps. Certainly they could be made into pulp for paper products.

[kenneth kayser]

Burning any softwood in a fireplace can cause creosote build-up in the chimney which can cause a chimney fire.

[Neal Clayton]

make jigs.

they're perfect for hinge jigs, mortising jigs, etc.

[Bill LaPointe]

I bought a mesh type outdoor fireplace a couple of years ago. Sits in the corner of my back yard. When I start tripping over containers of stuff I take it out back and burn it. Sawdust and metal are about the only thing I have to take to the dumpster.

[Rich Engelhardt]

make jigs

+1.

Also:
- spacers,
- stop blocks,
- setup jigs for router profiles/TS blade height go-no-go
- tool holders,
- cleats,
- bases for stationary tools,
- glued edge to edge - they can be used as sacrificial cutting surfaces for cutting out templates when using an exacto, single edge razor blade or utility knife,
- Small scraps can be glued face to face, then using a hole saw, wooden "knobs" can be made by putting a carriage bolt through the hole left by the mandrel.<--the late Nicki Avrami can be thanked for that idea.

& much much more..

[Ramsey Ramco]

I have an outdoor fire pit I take it all to. Nice evening spent outside, ice cold beverage of choice sitting by the fire, for a second I think I'm in paradise

[Kent A Bathurst]

trash bin.

[Myk Rian]

I save them until I get tired of them laying around. Then I toss them in the scrap bag.

[Andrew Nemeth]

What is the environmental impact of burning the glue in plywood?

[Don Alexander]

DO NOT burn MDF period !!!!! it has formaldehyde in it(among other things) which is POISON

you definitely do not want to breath that crap

plywood is also not a great thing to burn because of the toxic fumes from the glue

[Cody Colston]

DO NOT burn MDF period !!!!! it has formaldehyde in it(among other things) which is POISON

you definitely do not want to breath that crap

plywood is also not a great thing to burn because of the toxic fumes from the glue

Absolutely not! Put it in a dumpster and send it to the land fill so they can burn it, instead.

JK. I burn mine, what doesn't get used for jigs or something. But then, I'm rural and burn all my shop waste...wood and sawdust along with my yard waste that's too big to go in the compost pile.

If you are not burning it inside the house or sitting directly in the smoke and breathing it I really doubt that it will hurt you to burn it. You're not gonna live forever, anyway.

[Brandon Weiss]

Less than the impact of the vehicles required to complete the process of hauling it from your house to the land fill or wherever they haul it.

[Doug W Swanson]

I usually burn all of my scrap lumber.

If we are going to be sitting around the fire, making campfire pies or roasting marshmallows it's nothing but firewood.

If I just want to get rid of some scrap plywood, paneling, etc I'll have a fire just for that.

Doug