Offcuts and what to do with them

[Kittyhawk]

I could use your offcuts in my aircraftery. Pity I live a little way off..

 

[Droogs]

Make your own strips of inlay banding with your own patterns

 

[gwaithcoed]

I turned my off cuts into boxes which I gave to my local tenovus as a thankyou for my prostrate treatment.
I haven't done much lately but still get asked when I pop in to see them.

 

[Jacob]

Yes just make stuff and if you don't like it you can always give it to your mother in law for christmas

 

[julianf]

It seems that evreyone on YouTube makes them into end grain chopping boards.

(Our friends now have end grain chopping boards!)

I've a limited supply of friends, and then I'm not sure what I'll do!


In truth, most of my offcut stuff is waste anyway, so it goes on the Rayburn.

 

[Jonzjob]

Throw away/ burn/ditch wooden off cuts!

They ain't like money you know!

They don't grow on trees you know !

 

[TRITON]

Chop and soak the cherry and maybe the maple up small, roll it up in foil with a few small holes and use it for smoke in the barbecue. I wouldn't use the walnut for smoke though.

Pete

Pete......Canada....
This is about Bacon isn't it

 

[Inspector]

Pete......Canada....
This is about Bacon isn't it

Not necessarily. There are lots of foods, steak, salmon, chicken, corn on the cob, sausages, pretty much anything you can cook that can benefit from smoke flavouring.

Pete

 

[TRITON]

Oh I agree. Been using smoked salt for a while now. Amazing aroma when you take off the lid and it does impart a slightly smokey taste.

 

[Ttrees]

I could use your offcuts in my aircraftery. Pity I live a little way off..

Ah, sounds the same as the ol' one...
"One needs a workbench to build the workbench"

Keep askin, and you'll find someone!
I'd love to find someone whom I'd begrudgingly give a few boxes to...
Provided they'd not burn the stuff.

There's always Kumiko which might get rid of a bit,
Look at Mike Peckovich for an example
Not mad gone on it, but Mike's work is tasty.

 

[Richard Berry]

If you have a lathe and time then you could turn them into drawer pulls, spinning tops, tool handles (especially to replace the ugly plastic ones on files and rasps) and other items that can be easily sold at a car boot sale.

If you don't have a lathe, but you have a table saw or band saw then square them up and create turning blanks. I'm sure there are many people who own lathes but not band saws or table saws to easily make their own blanks. Squared up turning stock immediately increases the value of offcuts.

 

[aramco]

there a man called hans meire and he does you tube videos, and he dose not waste anything, might be worth a look , it is all scroll saw work, but has recently gone into lathe work hope this helps

 

[Spectric]

Define what an offcut is and then only keep stuff larger than this which might be useful, the problem is that no mater how much off cuts you have, how many screws, nuts and bolts you have neatly stored when it comes to wanting something you always seem to find you have everything except what you want.

 

[Essex Barn Workshop]

This thread is very timely. I had already decided that tomorrow was the day to sort out my scrap pile, it is out of hand!
Luckily, the landlord where my workshop is has a barn full of offcuts that I can throw mine on. Every few months his brother takes it all to burn.

 

[Yojevol]

I bought this book many years ago:-

It's been on my bookshelf, largely forgotten, until recently.
Having had a clear-out and tidy-up of my timber store I realise I've got enough bits and pieces to have a go at this technique. It involves making a specialised sawing jig for which I'm gathering the required parts.

This page of the book gives an idea of the size of off-cuts which are useful:-

ie, at least 12" x 3" x 1/2" - just the sort of size we're reluctant to send to the wood stove particularly if it's an interesting species.
Brian

 

[sometimewoodworker]

What I’ve done recently is build an offcuts set of bins

so when I need clamping cauls or screw down points

I can see if I’ve got the right material instead of cutting into larger piece.

I also have a burn box where mum-in-law gets some of her cooking fuel.

 

[Keith 66]

A few years ago i was working in a school as a D&T technician, one of the teachers would not throw anything away, it got to the point where we could not find anything because all available storage space was crammed with offcuts, one day i had enough & had a massive cull, sanity was restored! I go through my wood store at least once a year & have a sort out, that way you remember what you have & where it is!

 

[xy mosian]

This lady has a few offcuts, but she certainly had a good idea for using them. An eye-opener for me anyway.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b079s0c5/what-do-artists-do-all-day-katie-paterson
geoff

 

[Nigel Taylor]

make a small chair

 

[Andy]

Thanks for all the responses guys, definitely some food for thought there.