wood scrap-aholic

[William Hall]

Hi my name is William Hall and I am a wood scrap-aholic.

My small basement shop is over-run with wood scraps that I cannot seem to allow myself to throw out. You never know when the time will come, that you only wish, you had that one piece that you threw out yesterday. I think I would save the saw dust if I could figure out a way to make it back into useful wood.

Is anyone else afflicted with this space threatening phobia? Is there a "Mid-West Center" that I can attend? I’m paranoid that SWMBO is close to an intervention.:eek: Has anyone been cured and please how did you do it?

In all seriousness, I would love to hear about some of the creative ways you organize your wood scraps.

William Hall

[Mark Singer]

Try the fireplace! Great way to get rid of scraps.

[Chris Padilla]

William,

Is it only hardwood that you keep? Maybe exotics?

I've managed to overcome keeping MDF and plywood scraps...they get tossed pretty fast depending upon the size/shape of the scrap. I find it harder to part with hardwood but I'm working on it! :)

I have a 12" diameter by 36" long packing tube (shipping tube) that I glued a plywood disc to the bottom of to stabilize it. It in goes thin scraps and I can see the top of the scrap when inserted, it gets trashed. I have all kinds of off-cuts from plywood and lots of hardwood dowels in there.

Otherwise, a lot of folks have made carts to help organize shorts--kind of an A-frame cart.

[William Hall]

William,

Is it only hardwood that you keep? Maybe exotics?

I've managed to overcome keeping MDF and plywood scraps...they get tossed pretty fast depending upon the size/shape of the scrap. I find it harder to part with hardwood but I'm working on it! :)

Hardwood and exotics... absolutely! Nice plywood... probably. MDF... never (unless its large enough for a future jig).

William

[Garry Smith]

I believe most fellow woodworks have this same illness.
My shop has a second floor which is 20x40 and it is full of short pieces and cutoffs. I have had many times in the past when I needed just a small piece of a certain type of wood and had to cut it out of a large board or had to go buy a board just because I needed a short cutoff.
Garry

[Jim Becker]

The best thing I ever did was to "set standards" for what to keep and what to chuck. If it's under x dimension(s), it goes in the burn bin (if solid stock) or the trash (if MDF or plywood). Even then, it sometimes requires additional culling to keep the space reasonable. I use a 30 gallon metal trash can for small stock longer than 24". Wider boards that are at least 24" long go on the rack cross-wise between the supports for easy access. Only exotics that are smaller than that get retained and those are few and far between in my shop. It truely is hard to throw things out, but one has to make a plan and execute it. Now, if I could only deal with those odds and ends in the "fastener collection" in the same manner...

[Paul Downes]

William, I confess. I am also a scrap-o-holic. On the other hand, I was feeding the wood stove a couple of years ago and in the process of splitting a chunk of maple I chipped off a piece about 2x6x6". I threw the main part of the block into the fire and picked up this chip a minute or so later and recognized it as spalted cury maple! Ouch. That little chip has made 4-5 awesome pens! I'm getting an outdoor wood fired boiler in a week or so and I'm sure I will better control this collection disease once I have it installed.

[Dave Anderson NH]

I don't keep a lot of lumber or sheet goods in the shop or even at home for that matter. With both Highland Hardwoods and Northland Forest Products only 15 minutes from the house it's much cheaper and easier to let them inventory things for me and just drive over and pick up what I need as it is needed. As for cutoffs, that's a different matter. If it is an exotic I keep it down to really small pieces since I make a lot of tool handles. Unlike some of the other folks I love MDF scraps since they are always useful for jigs. Once hardwood pieces get less than Jim Becker's x by y i size they go into a cardboard kindling box in the bench room. I tend to accumulate over the Spring and Summer and burn during the Fall and Winter. It's sort of a regular seasonal cycle. Sue never complains about cutoffs, she enjoys the heat they generate.

[Carole Valentine]

I'm afraid there is no cure for me. Wood of any type is hard to come by here. Since I am a new woodworker and can foresee the need for numerous jigs requiring small pieces, I keep just about anything. I eventually end up using a lot of it for things like stop blocks, testing a router bit setting, cutting plugs or trying a finish. I can, however, see where my "I might be able to use this" mentality might become significant problem in the near future!:o

[Brad Schmid]

Ohhhh, I have this problem but it's been mitigated ;)

His name is Ben. He's a 5 1/2 yr old boy with an imagination, a passion for gluing "stuff" together, and free reign of the scrap supply. Oh I still throw the scraps in the same bin, he just empty's it out as fast as I fill it up :D

Once he builds the object, he loses interest and moves on to the next, so it makes great firewood when we go camping (he likes hot dogs and marshmallows slightly more than keeping his creations). Some I even save for nastalgia and besides, it's fun to see him take an interest :)

So, really all you need is a youngster with an endless supply of elmers glue. Problem solved :cool:

Brad

[Kent Cori]

I don't keep a lot of lumber or sheet goods in the shop or even at home for that matter. With both Highland Hardwoods and Northland Forest Products only 15 minutes from the house ...

Dave, I hate you :) My closest well stocked hardwood supplier is about an hour away and not in a direction that I generally travel. Must be nice to just stop by on your way home. Color me green with envy. :D

As for scraps, I use the store in the spring/summer/fall and burn in the winter approach. Considering the mild winters in Florida (why do all the house here have fireplaces anyway?), my scraps can last for half the season.

[William Hall]

So, really all you need is a youngster with an endless supply of elmers glue.

Hi Brad. Similarly, I have a 4 year old that loves to nail the scraps together. I haven't thought of letting him use glue.... humm. He's a bit impatient waiting for glue to dry though(must take after is mother:D). Maybe that is a better solution than all the boards with nails sticking up that I have to help with. Thanks.

[Paul Downes]

Now that you mention it, My 3 yr. old was in the shop today as I was putting in insulation. When I checked on him to see what he was up to, I found that he had liberated my teflon tape and screwed it to a piece of styrofoam and was swinding his contraption around. Little buggers will get into just about anything. I guess I'll have to set up an area of the shop for them to use and supply them with more appropriate 'scrap'.

[Dale Thompson]

William,
Everything that I make is "scrap', one way or the other. :( Most of it was given to friends and relatives as "art". :cool: Weddings, graduations, birthdays, retirements, funerals, etc.

Now that I have no more friends and my relatives refuse to return my calls, most of my "stuff" goes to funerals as "fill" for the grave. :) ;) Am I creative, or what? :confused:

Dale T.

[Brad Schmid]

Hi Brad. Similarly, I have a 4 year old that loves to nail the scraps together. I haven't thought of letting him use glue.... humm. He's a bit impatient waiting for glue to dry though(must take after is mother:D). Maybe that is a better solution than all the boards with nails sticking up that I have to help with. Thanks.


William - I too once had a 4 yr old who loved to nail. By the time he was 5 he had run me out of nails :D

I let him use elmers white glue cause it comes out of clothes (mom appreciates that :) ) and I can easily clean it off whatever he gets it on (which is usally anything within reach). He also has his own bag of plastic spring clamps which helps offset the patience factor on assembly ;)


Sounds like Pauls youngster is getting into the "swing" of things too. he, he, he.

Cheers,
Brad

[Carole Valentine]

With both Highland Hardwoods and Northland Forest Products only 15 minutes from the house it's much cheaper and easier to let them inventory things for me and just drive over and pick up what I need as it is needed.
The nearest decent hardwood supplier for me is a 2.5 hr round trip and a $17 toll. :(

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

I am VERY guilty of keeping scraps, but mostly domestic and exotic hardwoods. SWMBO and I are admitted pack-rats. (Mine is inherited from my Dad.............I don't know what her excuse is..........probably being around me for 20+ years!) ;) Anyway, we have WAY too much junk laying around. But, she has recently read some sort of anti pack-rat book, and we are currently cleaning house, garage and shop. This is such a special occasion, we are getting a 15 yard roll-off dumpster delivered next week. (I hate to admit it, but we will come REAL close to filling it too.) To my defense, there was a LOT of junk here left by the previous owner......but we have our share of our own. By the end of the month, it will all be gone........we are looking forward to the room, and fighting the pack-rat mentality from here on out. (Some things just HAVE to be saved, don't ya know!) :D

[Jim Ketron]

Like some posted My kids love to make things out of my scraps.
Jim

[Terry Stapleton]

If you are like me and don't have a woodstove or fireplace, then try this. Get yourself a fire ring or pile up some bricks away from the house somewhere. Go to the local hardware and pick up a couple of mountain pie makers. Nearly all of my hardwood scraps go into the mountain pie box now. I'm happy cause the scraps get used and the family is happy cause we all love mountain pies. :)

[JOHN HANCOCK]

My wife would say I have a worst case of the disease. Not only do I avoid throwing away anything larger than my hand, but I collect free wood on a regular basis. Sometimes this has been good, but it occasionally prompts a cleanout the shop/garage day. Usually that happens when my wood starts creeping into LOML's part of the garage (her half of 21x38 garage), which she insists on keeping open enough to park a car in.

I got about 400 board feet of 1x12 pine and fir shelving, along with a few pieces 16 inches wide when the historic hardware store closed downtown. That turned out alright because she got some nice paneling in her potting shed. The potting shed was also rebuilt using lap siding from a bungalow garage a neighbor took down. But, I still have 4 ten foot redwood 4x4's in my rafters that I salvaged 2 years ago and a lot of rough saw old growth doug fir 2x4'. I have a hard time letting that old growth redwood and doug fir go, even smaller pieces.

[David Rose]

All I can say is that I am certainly glad I don't turn! I throw away many pieces that would still make pen blanks. :rolleyes: The worst pieces are those cut off edges less than an inch wide but often over a full foot long! :eek: I usually stick those in a bin and hope that they will warp enough to become firewood. I burn most shavings and dust so it's nice to have a few "sticks" in there for effect.

MDF pieces narrower than a couple of inches and shorter than 6" I've discovered are usually too small to help with fixtures and jigs. That's good!

I do wish Dave had not mentioned "tool handles". Those warped edge pieces would be fine for that. :eek:

David, who figures scrap is wood that cannot be made into anything

[John Shaffner]

I have to jump in on the "kids in the shop" thing. My son Jeff started working with me in my shop when he was about 4 or so. He would glue, nail, sand just about anything he could get his mitts on. By the time he was 6, he was actually making some of his own toys and other things. Now, at 21, when he visits me, he is eager to go to the shop and make something. We really enjoy the time we spend together there, it's created a bond between us that, I feel, will last forever. Out of 5 boys, Jeff is the only one of them that has taken interest. (Although I do have strong relationships with all of them)


John

[Dave Dionne]

I don't keep a lot of lumber or sheet goods in the shop or even at home for that matter. With both Highland Hardwoods and Northland Forest Products only 15 minutes from the house it's much cheaper and easier to let them inventory things for me and just drive over and pick up what I need as it is needed.
Dave I am with you , I am new to woodworking but am only trying to keep some smaller pieces of MDF for jigs but I too am within 20 minutes of both Highland's and Northlands and been taking RTE 101 to 125 lately so just a couple of minutes from Highlands on the way home. It is amazing how fast I can collect wood from there shorts been. Got some great Crotch walnut there last week for shorts, 14 inches wide x about 26 inches long and some nice Canary wood. Jewlery boxes and pens for Christmas gifts.

Dave

[Lynn Sonier]

Alas, I have several boxes of small pieces of wood, mostly red and white oak. When it is almost down to sawdust, I grudgingly let it go. I often find a piece in there that saves cutting a big piece of lumber up.

[nic obie]

A few years ago I made this top out of my scrap walnut, cherry and mahogany (pls.excuse the dust). Top is 2.5 inches thick, legs are mahogany. Don't even ask how many pieces I had to glue together to make that top.

Hahahahahaa......

[Lou Morrissette]

[QUOTE=Dave Anderson NH]I don't keep a lot of lumber or sheet goods in the shop or even at home for that matter. With both Highland Hardwoods and Northland Forest Products ......
Dave,
I've shopped at Highland Hardwoods but where is Northland? Are they as good as HighlandL
Lou

[Jack Hogoboom]

I knew I was in trouble when I bought some plywood to make a rolling scrap wood holder based on a magazine design -- and doubled the amount of scrap I have. I have a pile in my basement shop that takes up a whole corner of the basement, plus my rolling bin.

I have 4 kids that love to spend time in the shop, gluing and nailing. Even they can't make a dent in it.

I keep thinking that one day I'll need that 6 foot long piece of 1/4 x 1" oak to edge-band something. The sad part is that my really good scraps are probably buried at the bottom of the bin!!!!

Save yourselves!!!! I think it's already too late for me.

Jack

[Chris Padilla]

A few years ago I made this top out of my scrap walnut, cherry and mahogany (pls.excuse the dust). Top is 2.5 inches thick, legs are mahogany. Don't even ask how many pieces I had to glue together to make that top.

Hahahahahaa......
Nic,

That top looks wonderful...it must weigh a ton!! Very nice job on it. Soooo, how many pieces are glued together? :D C'mon, I bet you counted them once.... :D

[Dennis Peacock]

<b>Nic.....
Nice table.!!!!</b>

I got scraps of every shape and size. Terry Hatfield told me a long while back just to toss all that crap and get the shop cleaned up. I did....and I was happier in a nicer, cleaner shop.....but slowly over time....it is getting back to a mess....and yes....more scraps!!!! :o

[JayStPeter]

I've got a problem there. Moving last year really helped me prioritize. Hopefully, I'll be able to maintain the "standards" that I set for usable scrap at the time. Nearest places to buy stuff range from 20 min for normal borg stuff to 1.5 hrs. for exotics and unusual plywood.

The big question ... what do you do with a 12"x22" piece of Birch ply or MDF? Seems my miter saw station project is generating these "gray area" scraps like crazy.

Jim, I hear ya about the fasteners. They get real difficult to organize also. I almost always have to go buy a pack of t-nuts even though I know I have a few of almost every size ... somewhere.

Jay

[Chris Padilla]

Jay,

After your new shop set up, why aren't you more organized?? LOL...I'll bet I can understand that better when the drywall goes up in my garage and the next step is to build storage cabinets and what not. When I informed my wife of this, she about flipped. I guess she thought once the garage was sheetrocked, it was ready to go. Gee, that is only the starting point! LOL....

Since I have a good local hardware store, I try not to accumulate too many screws/nuts/washers and such and just buy them in 2-10 packs. However, a decent store for ww'ing is just a tad further but really expensive so I tend to accumulate things like t-nuts that my h/w store tends to not carry.

[JayStPeter]

Jay,

After your new shop set up, why aren't you more organized?? LOL...I'll bet I can understand that better when the drywall goes up in my garage and the next step is to build storage cabinets and what not. When I informed my wife of this, she about flipped. I guess she thought once the garage was sheetrocked, it was ready to go. Gee, that is only the starting point! LOL....

Since I have a good local hardware store, I try not to accumulate too many screws/nuts/washers and such and just buy them in 2-10 packs. However, a decent store for ww'ing is just a tad further but really expensive so I tend to accumulate things like t-nuts that my h/w store tends to not carry.

Yep, no real storage yet. I actually had to BUY some cabinets so I have some stuff I can find while I build more.

It's those little packs that kill me. I like to leave the leftovers in the pack so I know exactly what's in there. Now, I have a large drawer full of those packs with 1 or 2 screws, t-nuts, shelf holders, etc in them. It's almost gotten easier to buy more than search for what I need. Sort of like my scrap wood when I had 4 5-gallon buckets of small scraps. Not doing that again.

Jay

[William Hall]

I am beginning to realize that we are all pretty much alike even though we come from various backgrounds. I really appreciate all the ideas and especially those comments about kids in the workshop.

My grandparents used to own a furniture factory (upholstered only) and I can still remember going there on weekends with my father and watching him finish the legs for sofas or hand tieing the springs. Later I would help sand or play with wood laying around the bandsaw. Good times and that was the seed that started my love of woodworking. I'm still very novice but the learning process sure is fun.

Nic, that table is fantastic. Now I have a reason to save those small pieces.

Jim, Having a standard size for wood culling seems like a great idea. It removes much of the emotion out of pitching the wood.

William

[Christopher Pine]

A few years ago I made this top out of my scrap walnut, cherry and mahogany (pls.excuse the dust). Top is 2.5 inches thick, legs are mahogany. Don't even ask how many pieces I had to glue together to make that top.

Hahahahahaa......
That is one nice table! I love making things from scraps.. I tried starting a scrap project thread a couple months ago! NOt too many posts.. I really like this table!
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=9887&highlight=scrap+wood+projects


Chris

[David Tang]

I'm a newbie (built a workbench out of 2by and plywood) and I'm a scrap-aholic. I've already got a trash can and several plastic crates full of cut-offs. Am I to understand that I shouldn't burn plywood? Don't worry, I haven't done it. Just making sure.

[David Rose]

Jay,

12x22 ply or MDF is scrap??? :eek: Sure wish you lived closer. :D

David


I've got a problem there. Moving last year really helped me prioritize. Hopefully, I'll be able to maintain the "standards" that I set for usable scrap at the time. Nearest places to buy stuff range from 20 min for normal borg stuff to 1.5 hrs. for exotics and unusual plywood.

The big question ... what do you do with a 12"x22" piece of Birch ply or MDF? Seems my miter saw station project is generating these "gray area" scraps like crazy.

Jim, I hear ya about the fasteners. They get real difficult to organize also. I almost always have to go buy a pack of t-nuts even though I know I have a few of almost every size ... somewhere.

Jay

[Robert LeClair]

Almost everything I build is out of scrap. I built a Hoosier Cabinet out of scrap. My supplier was a Trim carpenter that had a lot of waste. We also have a cabinet manufacturing plant in town. I bought 100 bd. ft. of walnut 20 yrs ago and havin't really used any of it yet. Also made a bookcase out of scrap. Had to buy the 1/4 plywood for the back. I am going to try to post a pic of the bookcase.

[Robert LeClair]

Here is the pics

[Chris Padilla]

Robert,

I would hardly call those scraps. I think off-cuts might be a better term.

In fact, those of you making nice stuff from "scraps" should use a different term. Indeed some are scrap but not all of it, me thinks! :)