What to do with Saw Dust?

[ironsides]

It seems like there ought to be a better use for the Saw Dust coming from wood working tools and our CNC ShopBot.

It pains me to dump it into the garbage can, but what else can be done with it?

I know my Grandfather used it to cover his ice in the Ice Cellar after the ice was cut out or the frozen river. The ice lasted a long time, but that was in the days long gone by.

George

[garyc]

George...
Trade the hardwood chps & dust for heating pellets. Or make your own!

[knight_toolworks]

if you only cut solid wood then it is not too hard to find a home as long as you don't have bad woods in there like walnut. But if you cut plywood and mdf then the garbage is the only method.

[Brady Watson]

You can also use it as a soil suppliment...but no nasties like plastic, MDF or plywood.

-B

[knight_toolworks]

You can also use it as a soil suppliment...but no nasties like plastic, MDF or plywood.

-B
but also no walnut and i bet some tropical's.

[cedars]

Here in Lancaster, pa I used to take the barrels of saw dust to a dairy farm and dump for free. He used it for bedding. Now I have a guy come and pick it up and he pays me $1.25 per barrel. He resells it for bedding to farmers. Between that and cutting up my scraps and giving it away for kindling, there is very little that ever ends up in the dump.

[ironsides]

What is the problem with walnut, of which I have plenty?

George

Never mind, I found this link

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Walnut_toxicity_fact_and_fiction.html

[myxpykalix]

I give it away to people who use it for plant bedding or in horse stalls or in their compost bins.

[adrianm]

I have a sawdust fired heater for the workshop.

I've started using oak and beech to smoke fish as well.

[dhunt]

I give it away to people who use it for plant bedding or in horse stalls or in their compost bins.Same here.
We have farming folk on the island
who come by and take our chips and dust away for animal bedding and similar agro-uses.

Otherwise it's just a fire hazard! -get rid of it somehow anyhow.
.

[pappybaynes]

Black Walnut can be deadly to horses - oak will make them sick as well...



I give it away to people who use it for plant bedding or in horse stalls or in their compost bins.

[beacon14]

Mostly particleboard and MDF dust here - it all goes to the dump. Any full cans of strictly wood shavings get put out in the yard around the bushes.

[bobmoore]

I have a guy who owns a scrap yard. He uses it for oil dry somewhere in his yard. He gave me 55 gallon drums for my cyclone, picks them up when they are full and drops empties.
Bob

[Xray]

I save mine and throw it in the firepit at camp, one handful at a time.
Creates quite a spectacular affect.
[I use a separate vac dedicated to MDF and acrylic, so that doesn't get mixed with the wood]

[genek]

the walnut can cause a problem with a horse hoof... very bad on race horses,...
walnut saw dust can cause certain plants not to produce fruit,,, like tomato's plenty of bloom no tomato's.

[genek]

i use my dust as compost.. i have a large pit area that i dump into.. after it rots i dig it out for my wife and her friends very rich soil... also you can make epoxy pen blanks with the saw dust... use 3/4 pvc as mold mix epoxy and the saw dust and pour into molds. pen makers will buy them from you the more varied the color of wood the better,

[michael_schwartz]

If somebody has found an easy way to make pellet fuel from sawdust without expensive equipment I want to know.

I just dispose of my dust, and shavings in the dumpster with all my other garbage. When I get going with my planer, I can produce upwards of 150 gallons of shavings in less than an hour, so It is often more important just to get rid of them quickly. When it comes down to it, I don't have the time to do anything special.

[mark_stief]

Michael
Depending on what you call expensive I make 15-20 tons of pellets every summer with the pellet machine I have and have probably got about $15,000 invested in the whole setup but I'm out in the country and can get away with more than if in the city built some stuff for the setup and went to scrap yards for other parts I have pictures of the setup if you want I can email them to you Also sell the pellet machines for just what you want to do

[sagreen]

I mix sawdust with a small amount of wax. Put the mixture in a cupcake pan and form fire starters for my wood burning stove. They work awesome!

Scott...
http://www.rmgvideos.com

[Shane]

Apparently you can compost MDF and it completely breaks down the formaldehyde. I'm tempted to give composting the MDF sawdust a go otherwise it takes up too much room in the bin.

http://www.epa.gov/oswer/docs/iwg/fiberboard.pdf

Shane.

[adrianm]

Love the way they use a picture of OSB rather than MDF just to confuse people!

[twelchPTM]

i save my dust so on really slow days i can roll around in it before i go home and tell the wife how hard i worked.....

[evan]

First good laugh I've had all day. Thanks, I needed that.