all that GREAT SAWDUST , what do you do with it?

My farmer neighbor used to take it all for bedding; but i warned him that exotics can be bad for livestock. Even plain old walnut, e.g. can make horses founder with long exposure. Walnut can also be bad for gardens.

Then the fracker guys saw the pile and glommed onto it. They do something with it when drilling, or maybe to absorb on the platform deck? Never thought to ask, they just made it disappear. That's been a few years, and now it piles up again, almost halfway up the (outside) shop wall. It does compost in the bottom. May have to get one of the neighbors to move it farther back in the field with a loader, eventually. Right now it insulates that side of the block wall shop. :wink:

smt

Due to the dust having some toxic-ness to it, and the fact I also suck up non-dust debris too, I bag it and throw it in the trash. I used to dump it on the edge of the woods thinking I was doing some good until one day I realized I had delrin shavings blowing cross my yard, so now it all goes in the trash.

Just a thought but if you were to be a little selective when you vacuum it up and keep the most toxic separate, You could take the rest and with a little glue creat some fire starters with it and create a side market for it! We use to buy some in the winter to start fires in our wood burning insert. So it is just a thought but you know what they say about one mans junk, and not the dangle junk!

it makes good bedding mulch around plants. I usually throw it away as I produce too much to use.

Ron Padilla said:

Just a thought but if you were to be a little selective when you vacuum it up and keep the most toxic separate, You could take the rest and with a little glue creat some fire starters with it and create a side market for it! We use to buy some in the winter to start fires in our wood burning insert. So it is just a thought but you know what they say about one mans junk, and not the dangle junk!

Click to expand...

So, lets just say...EPA and maybe 911....for the types of wood dust, and the glues that would be burnt, not good for the lungs. First, cocobolo and some other rosewoods, when burnt, will do to your lungs as poison ivy does to your skin....not good to burn and breathe. Even maple and purpleheart can be enough to send people to the hospital depending on the allergies of the people around the burning area. Even in an enclosed stove, it will be an issue....if you smell it...it's in your lungs
Be safe,
Dave

I know some use it for fertilizer. Do not use walnut. It will kill dogs if water gets in it and they drink it.

One third of my shop is for cue making. A third is for working on my old cars. The last third is for working on heavy equipment. I use the wood chips to soak up oil and hydalic fluid.

Another reading comp issue? I do believe that I said that if a little exercise in selection while vacuuming up and segregating the material, so what that means is find a way to get ride of the bad stuff keep the good and create fire starters! maybe not done in the part of the country where your at but maybe done in others, as well as a market with people who practice survival. Not only the above, but to let it sit till you have piles of saw dust cannot be very wise for not only the builder but his wife and family if it is a home business, by letting all that fire hazard sitting there and compiling with unknown amounts of mixed material. I would think it would be a little smarter to clean and dispose after every job, that would help in cutting back hazardous mix of material. Then take the non-hazardous and REPURPOSE!!!

I don't think we need to throw stones at each other and pick apart what I or anyone says! But I am willing to argue a point with anyone as I am still willing to learn something everyday!

Ron Padilla said:

Another reading comp issue? I do believe that I said that if a little exercise in selection while vacuuming up and segregating the material, so what that means is find a way to get ride of the bad stuff keep the good and create fire starters! maybe not done in the part of the country where your at but maybe done in others, as well as a market with people who practice survival. Not only the above, but to let it sit till you have piles of saw dust cannot be very wise for not only the builder but his wife and family if it is a home business, by letting all that fire hazard sitting there and compiling with unknown amounts of mixed material. I would think it would be a little smarter to clean and dispose after every job, that would help in cutting back hazardous mix of material. Then take the non-hazardous and REPURPOSE!!!

I don't think we need to throw stones at each other and pick apart what I or anyone says! But I am willing to argue a point with anyone as I am still willing to learn something everyday!

Click to expand...

I assume you are pointing this at me? I would recommend turning down the sensitivity meter a bit, as I read your post and comprehended it very well thank you. No one was throwing stones, just pointing out safety issues that would arise from using the sawdust in that manner you suggested. There is no practical way to sort out the good sawdust/chips from the bad sawdust/chips. Of the various woods we use in cuemaking, most are ok to burn, others are not so good, plus mix in any phenolic and man-made materials. In one cue there can be an assortment of good/bad woods that get cut all at the same time when tapering, going into one collection port...hence one barrel....see what I mean? Plus most cuemakers shops are small, so different dust collectors for different woods are not an option for most just based on space, let alone cost, especially just to start a side business to their side business. I do believe that if it can be used for another task, such as soaking up oil, use as a mulch etc. go for it. I am the son of a wood craftsman and have been around woodworking my whole life, and have recently just lost my Dad to lung cancer, even though he never smoked a day in his life. He did breathe in a ton of dust though. Hence my point about the safety issues.
I hope this clarifies my post, have a great week
Dave

My condolences on the loss of your father losing a father is one of the hardest things as welfare issues when it comes to running a shop with all of the hazards that are created in doing so. I ran several large facilities in of all places California where as a manager the fear that hung over us were safety issues along with the governing bodies that over see employee safety. In the day to day operation not only did I have to ensure that safety was a number one priority in making sure that all hazardous waste had to be properly tracked a birth to death tracking situation for all materials, even tracking and turning in monies that were collected from recyclable materials like all types of metals recovered at the end of life that was recycled.

I also understand the issues with running a day to day operation of a small business, and the fact that most small businesses struggle to survive, so my comment was intended to be tongue in check, Yet as I commented and I understand that there is going to be mixed commodities when collecting waste, that maybe with a little time invested SOME of the waste could be reused to put more money back in a persons pocket instead of some ones garden! I can only Imagine and have you watched the movie and listened to the song? But I can only imagine what some well thought out nonsensical agency impact could have on a small business for placing some product in some ones garden! Remember the couple that didn't want to bake a Cake?

So again in my attempt at being tongue in check sort of backfired!
Sorry

my key board had jumped the curser around so some of what I wrote was moved around sorry for that, part of it was suppose to say that the loss of a father is one of the hardest things a son can go through at any age My Condolences!!!

L I F D 1 said:

Sawdust, what becomes of all that great sawdust in your shop?

Bacote and Maple, Ebony, Cocobolo, the rare and exotic wood that you use.

There has to be lbs and lbs, every year, where does it all go?

Click to expand...

ELBeau said:

Click to expand...

Beau, you were such a bright young boy. Good looking youngster too! :wink:

HQueen said:

...Do not use walnut. It will kill dogs if water gets in it and they drink it.

Click to expand...

Holy cow! Why did I get into this dangerous hobby??

L I F D 1 said:

Please tell about your Hot Rod Ford.

I cannot believe what I'm seeing, about 50yrs age and Cherry Stock!

Even the suspension is showroom stock / factory stock.

Nothing on that automobile has been touched, door panels, interior, steering wheel, glass, Nothing!

Push that out into the daylight and JPEG it to death.

Click to expand...

I do like them looking stock, but that’s not the hotrod in the shop. The car in the lift is a 38,000 original mile 66 GT350.

Larry

Some snooker cue makers apparently use ebony sawdust to fill/accentuate the pores of ash shafts to create the typical arrows/chevrons look. See here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ0Zrz-f_tA
https://handmadecues.com/finer-details/ (

However, I assume most mass produced cues just use dark grain filler.