Wood Scraps

[Charles Cadenhead]

I was wondering what people do with their turning scraps? I end up with dozens of little cut-offs like these. Do people just trash/burn them or use them in a creative way? Thanks!

 

[Russell Nugent]

Some ill keep up they're good for a jam chuck. I have a bin I keep those in. Everything else goes for my father in laws fire pit.

 

[Richard Coers]

You must have a lot less wood than I do. Little pieces have to be from a burl for me to keep them. Then they become box lids or box lid inlays. Everything else goes to a friend for kindling.

 

[Mark Jundanian]

I am a notorious international wood scrap horder. If I can't drop it in my pocket and confuse it for small change then it's not garbage .

What you have in your picture are jam chucks, shims and test pieces for finishes. But then I have been known to save the corners from pieces I have bandsawn round, so I'm probably not a good role model.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Waste Glue Blocks, Glue on Tenons, Box Lids, Spinning Tops, Jamb Chucks, Coasters, Drink Covers, Inlay Pieces, Bangles, Napkin Rings, Pull Chains, Drawer Knobs, Turkey Calls, Small Bowls and Saucers. etc., etc.

 

[hockenbery]

Best thing to do is put them in a box for jamb chucks etc then after not using them for a year use them for kindling.

you are a woodturner. Everyone in your club is a woodturner. The phone will ring....

 

[Roger Wiegand]

Unless it is an exceptional piece of wood, ie something that is exotic and expensive, it's all fodder for the pizza oven.

Even being ruthless in tossing small pieces I'm still drowning in scraps. I tend to be fussy about matching grain and color and such in my furniture, so it's often the case that I will end up wanting to cut the small pieces from the same board or a sister and not use the mountain of scraps I've accumulated.

 

[Steven Katzman]

I just burn mine in a little fire pit thing I have. But I live in a town home and don't have space to store stuff.

 

[David Shombert]

Attached is a photo of a little hollow form I made from the bandsawed-off corner of a 12" x 12" ambrosia maple block. It's about 2.5 inches tall and 3 inches across. A guy once offered me fifty bucks for it.

 

[Rick Crawford]

Make jewelry out of the cutoffs.

 

[john lucas]

There are no scraps in my shop. I've made miniatures as small.as .o23". Tall. I have 3 bins full.of scrap.pieces that end up as decorative rings or collars, drilled inserts, pendant parts, knobs for boxes and of course doll house scale pieces.

 

[William Rogers]

I put them in my fireplace and can heat the house the whole winter with them.

 

[Lamar Wright]

Some make a good Jamb chuck when turning off the foot on a bowl. Let your imagination be your guide!

 

[Charles Cadenhead]

Best thing to do is put them in a box for jamb chucks etc then after not using them for a year use them for kindling.

Yeah, this is what I do with them. When we moved here I dumped 2 five gallon buckets of them. I was looking for some creative ideas for my cast-offs. There's some good possibilities here.

 

[Ed Weingarden]

Small salt and pepper shakers.

 

[Doug Freeman]

It ain’t SCRAP ‘till it’s trashed/burned, it’s a cutoff. Scrap can’t be used to build anything since it went away in trash, through the chipper, or up in smoke . I have and use buckets of cutoffs

 

[Brian Horais]

I was wondering what people do with their turning scraps? I end up with dozens of little cut-offs like these. Do people just trash/burn them or use them in a creative way? Thanks!

Conner, sometimes I combine them and then turn small ornaments. If the piece is a little larger, I get creative and try to highlight the wood grain and texture. Here's an example of a Redwood burl cutoff I kept for quite a while until I decided to make something with it.