Small pieces left over, what to do???

[tribalwind]

I was mulling this very topic yesterday as I realized my FOUR scrap bins are full and I have a pile of scraps in the corner. I'm trying to establish/reorganize my shop, and I'm getting tired of moving this pile around!

Regarding burning: I've always been hesitant to burn plywood scraps inside (fireplace) because of the glue component...am I justified in this hesitation?

mike i think you're right,
though burning in a closed wood-stove is probably safe(?) since its all going out the pipe.
im finally getting close to having a working woodstove in the shop, itll be done just in time for spring im sure!
should do wonders for my scrap-dilema

[jdschulteis]

[. . .]

Regarding burning: I've always been hesitant to burn plywood scraps inside (fireplace) because of the glue component...am I justified in this hesitation?

I don't know if you're justified, but I know you're not alone! I don't burn any engineered materials (ply, MDF, particle board, OSB) in my fireplace.

[JimD]

I keep way more than I should. I wait until they get so thick that it really starts bugging me then I through out a couple of large trash bags and start accumulating again. The trouble is that I find things I can make out of the little pieces sometimes so that makes me want to keep them. Even worse is needing some small scrap I just threw out.

Jim

[LinuxRandal]

cca featherboards?

I helped redo a porch floor, and I ended up with the scraps of cca. I hung on to them as I made a few specialized push sticks, but was wondering if these would be OK for featherboard material?

Thanks all

[Jim Boyd]

another vote for lathe use

i seen a site where the guy would take tons of tiny pieces,glue them all up into some odd shape then turn them into candy dishes,ash-tray looking things and they looked really cool,multi-colored patchwork forms,no order whatsoever mostly.im going to try some of them sometime.
i think he was an ebay seller,cant remember what products though.

[just4funsies]

I have discovered that I never need those scraps... UNTIL THE DAY AFTER I THROW THEM OUT!!

[rickd]

saving scraps

i throw all the scrap pieces of wood from my current project into a black plastic garbage can - never know when or what might come in handy or be required to fix something. i have really found this to be useful.

when the current project is finished, part of my cleanup job is to go through this can of scraps and sort out the keepers from the burnable stuff. the larger 'keepers' and any ply go into my sort of organized cull bin and i throw the smaller ones into a second black plastic garbage can. the stuff i don't want goes into my burn bin in the back yard. what's a keeper? whatever i think it is on any particular day i think.

oh yeah - and when the second garbage bin of small scrap 'keepers' is full - i do another cull process and probably get rid of about half. sounds crazy i know - but like others here i hate to throw out any wood at all, i do go back to that second can enough to make it worth my while. two garbage cans and a cull bin seems manageable in my one car garage sized workshop.

[WayneJ]

A lot of the scrap in my bins gets used as bird houses. Got about fifteen of them. As they rot away I replace them/
Wayne

[Jim Barry]

try something like this quilt

All you need are pieces 1" wide and cut on a 45 deg. Figure out the rest from there. :-)

[tmaceroli]

I guess the consensus is that we all have too much scrap material lying around. Some have better strategies than others for reuse. For myself, I try to get one more reuse out of pretty much anything. Main uses are:

- For thin strips, paint/finish stirrers. Or color testers - you can just dip 'em in the can, wipe 'em off, and presto!
- Anything hardwood gets saved for making jigs and runners for the miter slot.
- Small square blocks are good for setting up stops for cutting. I have them pretty much everywhere so I don't have to hunt.
- As a realtive newbie, I usually test my setups before I proceed. Having pieces of all sizes is helpful.
- For jigs and to keep clamps from marring workpieces.
- For throwing in times of frustration.
- For raising up cabinets and such while finishing.

I can force myself to part with these treasures, once I've gotten another use out of them.

[beetee3]

I helped redo a porch floor, and I ended up with the scraps of cca. I hung on to them as I made a few specialized push sticks, but was wondering if these would be OK for featherboard material?

CCA? As in CCA pressure treated lumber? I wouldn't use it for anything that I would be handling on a regular basis. In my experience pressure treated lumber tends to be quite brittle too so it might not work too well as a featherboard anyway. I would pass. If you are that short on scraps then I'm sure there are plenty of folks here that would be happy to ship you a barrel or two.

[ejs1097]

I used to save lots of scraps like most of you but don't bother anymore. I keep a office sized trash can for scraps, when it's full they get burned and I start over. I may go through it from time to time looking for a piece but none usually are what I'm looking for.

I have a small space for a workshop and find it annoying looking at tons of scraps that will never get used. If I did I could post on that messy shop forum on woodnet.

Same goes for nuts and bolts. My dad harps on me for throwing away hardware. unless you have a bin for that exact specific screw, you never find them when you need them or there isn't enough for what you need. I keep common sizes in bins, if I don't have a bin for them they get tossed. I don't need to save every screw that costs about 3 cents.

My shop is much cleaner now and I'm less stressed out with the clutter in it.

[Bud]

My nephew cuts his scrape into squares and later build checker and chess boards with them.

Bud

[John Hunter]

This thread reminds me that I have a barrel in my shop that is over flowing that I really need to sort out and get rid of some of the small pieces that i can not think of a use for. My brother has a wood burner in his shop and he gets what I can't find a use for or find space to store.

[mdutch]

My solution is, I have a couple of wooden wine crates and a 5gal metal bucket next to my rack. In go all the hardwood blocks and long scraps I "think" I might use. Then my wife comes along and starts a fire in the back yard, and burns them up.

Then we fight about it.

Then we make up.

Then I start filling the boxes again.....

Except for clamping blocks, in five years I think I've actually used five pieces out of the box.