What do you do with those tiny pieces of wood left over?

[turningnut]

Kelly,

That's a very good question. I think it all depends on what kind of things we make. I save all my scraps, no matter how small because I can always make a pen blank out of the scraps and polyester resin. I hope you find a good use for them...

[JohnB]

G'day Kelly,
I like what you did with the scraps.
I used to save a lot more stuff than I do now. I'd hang onto stuff for months and then chuck it to the tip, I've sort of shortened the process by just chucking, without the hanging on.

I do have a good study of my scraps as I cut and if I think I can see a use for them they go in one bin, if not in another. I'm pleased to say that the other fills up faster these days.

Jim, I have Bluey X that snaps up scraps, but he can't tell the difference between something that is deliberately chucked onto the floor and something that is accidentally dropped. There has been many a race between him and myself to salvage a piece that I have dropped. LOL

[Silver_Sliver]

I save mine in a plastic shopping bag and give them to our church/school pre-school children. The teacher teaches them to glue them into what she calls wood art. I would like to see some of their creations. Kids that age have an active imagination. Wish I had an imagination Lol.

[will8989]

Thread baskets, Evie? Ok, let's see some pics of them. As for my small pieces of wood. I keep what I think I can use. If I haven't used it for one year, I give to my son for his very expensive campfire in the firepit. If I am lots of sawing, like this time of year, I just pitch it. But I have a hard time pitching wood I spent good money for.

Betty

[KathyRo]

Hey, cute Kelly. I'm saving mine to cut in square pieces of various sizes for necklaces and earrings.
KathyRo

[jim_mex]

Hey Kathy - you've just reminded me of something I saw a while back.

If you throw the pieces in a rolling drum like you use for polishing stones, along with a handful of fine grit (no water!) and let them roll for a while you should end up with a good selection of nicely burnished organic looking shapes ideal for necklaces and the like.
Go one step further and soak them in fragrant oils and that should bring out the colour and save on the bottles of perfumes!

Jim

[KathyRo]

Jim, that is a terrific idea my hubby has a rock tumbler he uses for polishing Apache Tears. Yooo fragrant oils would be nice too! My thought was to cut various sizes then use leather dyes I have left over from gourding for color. I like the natural look also.
Thank you, for the tip
Kathy

[jim_mex]

Kathy - I'm curious to know - what are 'Apache tears'?
Also if you try tumbling I'd be interested in seeing the results. Its got me thinking yet again... LOL!

PS - try differing grades of grit as depending on the hardness of your woods you might need to increase the grain size. A could choice of grit would be white silica or quartz which you can probably find at your local builders merchant. I've seen it sold here in Mexico as an additive for giving texture to plasticized wall paints

Have fun
Jim

[JohnB]

A trick I used to knock the corners of small blocks etc, was to place them all in a tumbler (home made) with a pile of scraps of sandpaper. I just used to shred the paper when I'd finished with it and chuck it in the tumbler.

[jim_mex]

Hey John - that's a really neat idea and I guess with the backside of the paper you can maybe polish at the same time. Trust an Aussie to come up with that trick!!

Now just got to catch the dog again and reclaim my old sanding belts - LOL!

regards to your Bluey !