What to do with sawdust

[Honeycow]

We have a dairy farm so the sawdust and shavings are not a problem. We use it for bedding for the animals. We can use all that I make easily. You might be interested to know that farmers and horse owners buy shavings by the bag. About 3x2x2 compacted for $4-5 bucks. Think bigger yet.... Many farmers buy it by the tractor trailer load. That will cost $1600-1800 bucks. Most of it comes out of Canada where there are mills that make things like pickets fences and stuff. For dairy cows it should be from kiln dried lumber. About ten years ago the price more than doubled when a lot of businesses used it for heat. There are quite a few chip burning plants in the area that use chips for electricity. Another example of one man junk is another's treasure.

[LarryEA]

Len are you saying the egg case is paper mash or you mix paper mash with saw dust?? Roly

Yepper, it's the egg case.... pressed fiber......  har har... ever see a pressed fibber?

It's early for me.......mind is in a fog

 

I mean to quote this to previous Larry oops   Where's my quote something strange happening on here.  Roly

You're strange !!   ... Am I The Larry?

[Kepy]

I have found that it makes the floor of my shop softer and also insulates.

[Lucky2]

Len are you saying the egg case is paper mash or you mix paper mash with saw dust?? Roly

Yes Roly, the egg crate is made of a paper mash that takes the form it's sprayed on. It's the same material that is used to make the disposable coffee cup holders, they desinigrate if they get wet from water, but they hold up to the hot wax. You only need something to pour the wax/shavings mixture into, it can be anything I just use egg crates because I always have a few on hand. What a buddy of mine uses, is a cupcake pan. He packs the shavings into the cups, then he pours the wax over the top of it to fill the cup.

 

Len

Edited April 22, 2016 by Lucky2

[Phantom Scroller]

Yes Roly, the egg crate is made of a paper mash that takes the form it's sprayed on. It's the same material that is used to make the disposable coffee cup holders, they desinigrate if they get wet from water, but they hold up to the hot wax. You only need something to pour the wax/shavings mixture into, it can be anything I just use egg crates because I always have a few on hand. What a buddy of mine uses, is a cupcake pan. He packs the shavings into the cups, then he pours the wax over the top of it to fill the cup.

 

Len

Interesting Len might try that. Thanks. Roly

[Jim Finn]

The ideas to use the sawdust as fire starters is interesting.  I produce bushels of sawdust a week.  Most of it is a fine powder, like talcum.  Hard to think one could sell that much let alone transport it and make it worth while.

[Lucky2]

Jim, I sell some of the ones I make, I charge ten cents per starter. No matter what time of year it is, they sell.

Len

[Lucky2]

There's something I should add, I don't use a lot of scrollsaw dust to make these fire starters. Mostly, I use the chips from my Dewalt planer, I find those chips to be a better size for what I'm making. And I have a lot more of them, then I do of scrollsaw chips. Of course these starter blocks aren't worth a dam, if you don't have something to light them with. 

Len

[Chachi111769]

There's something I should add, I don't use a lot of scroll saw dust to make these fire starters. Mostly, I use the chips from my Dewalt planer, I find those chips to be a better size for what I'm making. And I have a lot more of them, then I do of scrollsaw chips. Of course these starter blocks aren't worth a dam, if you don't have something to light them with. 

Len

Always have waterproof matches with the fire starter which those are also easy to make dip the tip about half way up the stick of wooden matches in paraffin wax and Bang you got water proof matches now take the striker from the box glue it to the inside of a lid from a medicine bottle with the screw on lid and put your matches inside on the bottle screw on the lid and bang you have a waterproof container that will float and you have matches to light your fire starter now what you will need to do is stick that in a baggie That you have wrapped in duct tape trust  me  it works but they need to be the kind that zips closed.  Now not only do you have a container that you can carry you firestarter and matches in but you also have a way to gather food like berries and water and if taken care of it can last you for years to come...