Help me I save scraps and can't get up or stop
 

What can I do? I have many cu. ft. / pounds of cutoffs trimmings etc. that
are small, thin, and probably totally useless. I can't bring myself to
throw them away. They're overtaking my garage and useful wood. HELP HELP
HELP ME STOP NOW!!!! :)

This is why I got a woodstove. They can be useful *and* discarded, at
the same time!

You should get together with the guy that had the bottle of old glue.

Simply take those pieces, sand them into dust, combine them with some
of that old glue, and voila... you've got your own MDF.

Once you're done making the MDF, you should cut it into log-sized
chunks because you're going to need it this winter when oil hits
$6/barrel.

wrote:
What can I do? I have many cu. ft. / pounds of cutoffs trimmings etc. that
are small, thin, and probably totally useless. I can't bring myself to
throw them away. They're overtaking my garage and useful wood. HELP HELP
HELP ME STOP NOW!!!! :)

hello,

depending on the size, glue them together, and make some inlay patterns with
them... I spent a couple of afternoon doing that 2 weeks ago, I now have
around 20 strips (4 different designs) of inlays and I am looking for plenty
of boxes ideas to use them!!
I just discover 2 1/4 inch scrap pieces (6''*6'' roughly) of contrasting
colors and will turn them into checkerboard 1/4 square inlay strips....

it's fun and fast and cool to do!

after you are done doing that, find other woodworker around who are doing it
to and do some exchanges. the problem being that you usually end up with 5
strips of the same design, which it would be much better to have 5 different
designs, therefore the trading...

cyrille

wrote in message
...
What can I do? I have many cu. ft. / pounds of cutoffs trimmings etc. that
are small, thin, and probably totally useless. I can't bring myself to
throw them away. They're overtaking my garage and useful wood. HELP HELP
HELP ME STOP NOW!!!! :)

I share your pain. I do use some of the smaller oak and walnut pieces in
our smoker. I have to soak them for a day or so to keep them from just
bursting into flame.

RonB

On Fri, 23 Sep 2005 03:07:15 GMT, "
wrote:

What can I do? I have many cu. ft. / pounds of cutoffs trimmings etc. that
are small, thin, and probably totally useless. I can't bring myself to
throw them away. They're overtaking my garage and useful wood. HELP HELP
HELP ME STOP NOW!!!! :)

I do a lot of small stuff so I do keep a lot of small cutoffs and it
makes sense for me to do so, up to a point. If you don't do small
stuff either find someone who does locally, toss em, or ebay. Take a
look at these couple auctions and it's amazing how high the bids will
go sometimes. At the very least it'll be gone and you won't have
thrown it away even if you didn't really get much for it.

(watch for line wrap)
http://cgi.ebay.com/Exotic-Hardwood-...cmdZViewIt em

http://cgi.ebay.com/Exotic-Hardwood-...cmdZViewIte m

What I found was the key for me was how I store them. I built a
section of my bench specifically for storing this stuff with shallow
trays.

http://woodworking.dnsalias.com/imag...ch/bench08.jpg

Having a lot of trays means I can sort them and being shallow I can
actually find what I'm looking for. If they're just sitting in a big
box or a pile you are never ever going to bother looking for what you
need on those occasions, it'll be faster to just cut what you need off
a bigger piece.

-Leuf

Try small kids toys, doll furniture, cars etc.

Smaller pieces for inlay work.

Try woodcarving tiny little animals. Keep you busy for hours.

Greetings and Salutations...

On Fri, 23 Sep 2005 03:07:15 GMT, "
wrote:

What can I do? I have many cu. ft. / pounds of cutoffs trimmings etc. that
are small, thin, and probably totally useless. I can't bring myself to
throw them away. They're overtaking my garage and useful wood. HELP HELP
HELP ME STOP NOW!!!! :)

1) Buy a lathe. Small pieces are great fodder for bottle
caps, tops, pens and a myriad of other useful things. Smaller pieces
can be glued up to create LAMINATED blocks for turning.
2) Contact your local schools. If they STILL have an art
department, the teachers will be MORE than happy to take the scrap
off your hands as "found material" for art projects.
3) Buy a chipper and make mulch. Don't include walnut and
related woods. The resulting chips are welcomed by gardeners, pet
owners and stables.

Of course, it is total coincidence that two of three of
these suggestions include "having" to buy a new toy...I mean Tool...
(*smile*).

Regards
Dave Mundt