What do you do with all of your shavings?

[Rick Cicciarelli]

Been practicing turning chair legs out of maple firewood and I am ending up with huge piles of maple shavings. Seems a shame to waste them and I don't have a wood stove to put them in. Anyone come up with any good uses for all of their shavings?

[Steve Vaughan]

pile 'em up in a big pile out back...they'll eventually compost I guess. During winter, used some for firestarter, but that's it.

[Nate Davey]

Everything but walnut I use for flower bed mulch. Walnut, as it is a natural herbicide, I put on areas I don't want things growing.

[Tim Thiebaut]

If you or anyone you know goes camping alot, you can melt down parafin wax in a double boiler, mix in the wood shavings and you have fantastic water proof firestarters. Once you mix the wood and wax you can pour it into egg carton cups, or paper towel tubes, then you can just slice them off in "1 chunks...hit them with a match and even in the rain they will burn like crazy to let you get a fire started. I have been making these since I was a kid in Maine to take camping.

[David DeCristoforo]

Snort em. Clears the head...

[Jim Heikes]

I put them on my stash of log sections, pour on the cheapest beer I can find, cover it up with a tarp and let the mega spalting begin...............sorry to use beer that way but I don't drink anymore.:eek::eek::eek::D:D:D:):):)

[Don Alexander]

I put them on my stash of log sections, pour on the cheapest beer I can find, cover it up with a tarp and let the mega spalting begin...............sorry to use beer that way but I don't drink anymore.:eek::eek::eek::D:D:D:):):)

any specific length of time you let them brew? or just check often?

[mickey cassiba]

Snort em. Clears the head... They legalized that in CA??? I gotta move back...I dig the pine man!

[mickey cassiba]

BTW I don't do anything with mine...The south Texas wind takes care of everything for me. I don't think the stuff even hits the ground for a quarter mile!

[Mark Hix]

when I run out of wood to turn, I put them back together and start all over.


Sorry, could not reisist.....mulch, mulch and more mulch.

[Michael James]

Any fruitwood shavings might be nice for the smoker if soaked. Apple and others are too ridiculously expensive to buy here. Mesquite's a great cooking wood but way overhyped for smoking (IMO), leaving hickory as the default to buy.
mj

[Dick Wilson]

I put them on my stash of log sections, pour on the cheapest beer I can find, cover it up with a tarp and let the mega spalting begin...............sorry to use beer that way but I don't drink anymore.:eek::eek::eek::D:D:D:):):)

I wonder how well, or should I how fast the spaulting advances with mixed with smaults????

[Scott Hackler]

I live on 6 acres with quite a few trees, so every once in a while another few trees gets a foot thick pile of "mulch". Never close to the house or shop/garage in fear from termites moving in (except for the cedar shavings). All walnut shavings get liberally scattered in the yard or thrown into the giant brush pile for burning.

[Baxter Smith]

Have a friend with horses. They would have to pay 6-7 dollars per bag so they take bag after bag for free. And to think I could have made some money from my turning........

[Sid Matheny]

I pile most of mine in a low place in my yard. I don't have a garden any more but this year I did have some potatoes in a box that started to sprout. I took them out back in the box and filled it with sawdust. They are up over the top of the box now and hope to get a few "taters" from them. Just something I wanted to try. If they do good I may try a larger spot in the back yard next year and cover them with sawdust.

Sid

[Bernie Weishapl]

I use all of mine except for walnut to mulch flower beds, trees and it helps with composting also.

[Donny Lawson]

Mostly flowerbeds and for starting fires in my wood stove during the winter.

[Greg Just]

mulch pile. Pig farmers like them.

[Kathy Marshall]

Mulching and compost and I leave bags full out by the shop and the neighbors all know that if any bags are sitting out then they're free for the taking (bedding for chickens, birds and horses, etc). I also bag the walnut shaving separately, walnut is bad news for horses and probably not too good for other animals either.

[Richard Jones]

Mulch, of course, for the landscaping and the garden we have behind the store. Also, my wife uses both the lathe shavings and the rip spaghetti shavings from the chain saw to package items in our gourmet baskets. If you have any gift/floral/etc. friends, take some by to them, I'm sure they'll find a use for it. Sure beats buying the filler to go into the gourmet baskets. I also turn rough NE's, throw in some shavings, she's been selling them pretty well.

But, at the end of the day, mulch is still king..............

[Steve Schlumpf]

I have a number of compost piles of shavings. Up here it is damp and fairly cool most of the year and in about 2 years the shavings break down into a black mulch that works well in my wife's gardens - as well as our neighbors!

[philip labre]

Mulch for my asparagus and filling couple of sink hole that developed with all the rain, figure the wood will stay instead of sift into the cracks in the limestone like the sand did. Rest are being used for fill to make more yard.

[Keith E Byrd]

I bag them up and when the bag is full I spread them in the folower beds and around trees for mulch. I didn't know walnut was an herbicide so will have to change my mulching after this weekend!

[John Hart]

I the winter, I burn them. In the summer, I give them to horse owners. 'Cept the walnut. Walnut makes horses sick.

Oh...and walnut makes the bestest fire. I think I'll start making Tim Thiebaut's parafin firestarters. That's sounds so cool!!!

I also thought maybe they could be cast in resin for a delightfully wild turning medium.....but that doesn't address the remaining ton of shavings. :)

[Nate Davey]

I bag them up and when the bag is full I spread them in the folower beds and around trees for mulch. I didn't know walnut was an herbicide so will have to change my mulching after this weekend!

Apparently, to hear Google tell it, there is a chemical in walnut called Juglone, found mostly in the leaves, seedpods and roots.

[Bill Wyko]

If I'm turning Mesquite I use it to smoke ribs.:D

[bob edwards]

I put mine out in the sun. When completely dry i put them in a cardboard box. When I rough turn a green bowl I pack it in the box covered with the shavings. They allow the bowl to dry quickly and evenly. They warp but I haven't had a crack yet.
Bob Edwards
San antonio

[curtis rosche]

mix with epoxy and make some cool looking blanks :P or get a pellet stove wood pellet maker

[Rob Wachala Jr]

You can do this with dryer lint as well. Though I use an old cookie sheet instead of mixing it in a pot.


If you or anyone you know goes camping alot, you can melt down parafin wax in a double boiler, mix in the wood shavings and you have fantastic water proof firestarters. Once you mix the wood and wax you can pour it into egg carton cups, or paper towel tubes, then you can just slice them off in "1 chunks...hit them with a match and even in the rain they will burn like crazy to let you get a fire started. I have been making these since I was a kid in Maine to take camping.

[Dennis Simmons]

I put mine in a goat food bag, and leave it in the parking lot of Wal-Mart :P