Offcuts and what to do with them

[Andy]

I'm a bit of a hoarder and don't like waste - I can't bear to throw away offcuts, and as a result my workshop is getting fuller and fuller. I keep even quite small pieces - mostly cherry, maple and walnut.

Anybody got any ideas what to do / make with them? What do others do with their offcuts?

thanks, Andy

 

[TRITON]

That is the question isnt it.
One of the problems is even gathering together off cuts of one species and trying to cobble something together, theres the problem that everything is a different shade, so you are compelled to stain them heavily in order to make it look reasonably nice.
I've worked in a workshop that had cubic meters worth of offcuts, and in my time there few of them ever got reused.
I waited till the boss was away and burnt what i could.

 

[Alpha-Dave]

I find this far easier to do at work where we are always short of space, so there are costs associated with storing things. We also have limits on the amount of flammable materials that can be stored in a given space (the process mostly focusses on flammable liquids and gasses, but cardboard, wood and plastics must also be reasonably reduced).

At home it is very different as the biggest ‘cost’ for me is just the time wasted in finding the things I need. Occasionally I try to use an objective eye and get rid of the unused materials, but it is tricky.

 

[Keith 66]

They go in the stove & keep me warm. You cant keep everything.

 

[Padster]

I've recently started making pens, depending on the size, offcuts could be perfect for blanks.
Cherry, Walnut and maple you say....

Padster

 

[mikej460]

Sell it or give it to pen makers, anything left use to keep your toes warm. I say this as a fellow hoarder, you've got to be strong...

 

[Inspector]

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

 

[Richard_C]

I have a bucket into which small offcuts ts get thrown. When bucket is full, it gets quickly sorted into half firewood and half keep, that way I always have no more than a bucketful, and by woody-darwinism the quality of retained offcuts goes up.

 

[artie]

They go in the stove & keep me warm. You cant keep everything.

Ditto

 

[Jacob]

Make useful "things". I've made a few small chopping boards and found them really useful - seem to have reinvented the plate - they hold half a pizza or a sandwich/toast/pie, and your glass of wine or mug of tea. Handy to have an edge groove to catch crumbs
Also made a lot of trays 2x10x14inches which are really handy for sorting out stuff e.g. papers, cutlery, small tools on the job etc etc. They all got used straightaway and need some more. Nice exercise in dove tails. Doesn't matter if you have sides all different woods.
Then there's small boxes, knobs, shaker pegs, toys.....etc
Arty knick knacks? These are nice: Woodworker Sophie Sellu of Grain & Knot on sourcing sustainable timber to create objects that celebrate the organic forms of nature | Journal | The Modern House

 

[D_W]

I have one can of offcuts. Whatever I have that doesn't fit in it (and that's a legitimate offcut, not just half of a board length left) gets burned. I tried to save all kinds of little bits of rosewood, ebony, etc, in years past, but it's not worth the trouble. I just ended up with lots of big and little junk and haven't since then ever wished to have any of it back.

 

[eribaMotters]

I'm a bit of a hoarder and don't like waste - I can't bear to throw away offcuts, and as a result my workshop is getting fuller and fuller. I keep even quite small pieces - mostly cherry, maple and walnut.

Anybody got any ideas what to do / make with them? What do others do with their offcuts?

thanks, Andy

Take your goodies to your local secondary school for the Technology faculty. I used to teach Tech and most weeks I used to go round local joinery shops on the scrounge. If it was to short to go through a large industrial thicknesser it was often OK for us.

Colin

 

[Torx]

I like these end grain arty things I’ve seen on Pinterest recently

Or laminate the bigger bits and make something useful

 

[Orraloon]

By offcut problem started when we swapped from a wood heater to gas. The pile grows. I do find the odd useful bit now and then but every so often a clearout is required when I find the shed getting too small.
Regards
John

 

[triker64]

I'm a bit of a hoarder and don't like waste - I can't bear to throw away offcuts, and as a result my workshop is getting fuller and fuller. I keep even quite small pieces - mostly cherry, maple and walnut.

Anybody got any ideas what to do / make with them? What do others do with their offcuts?

thanks, Andy

Really depends on the size of the off cuts and also what you usually make. If you have time and the inclemention and the pieces are good enough the make boxes. Otherwise try to find other woodworkers nearby who would be willing to either buy them or upto yo take for free. Better than binning them and going to lanfill. In leeds there is a wood recycling place so if you have one near you talk to them.

 

[johnny]

I'm a bit of a hoarder and don't like waste - I can't bear to throw away offcuts, , Andy

same here, wood is so expensive these days that I cannot bear to throw any away no matter how small. I have put quite a bit of my small pieces in 2x plastic dustbins and stored them outside the shed which has given me back quite a bit of floor space and made the shed a lot tidier too.

 

[Jonm]

I have a wood cart made from pre used wood heading for the skip. Anything which will not fit on that gets thrown, other than long pieces which go in the garage roof. It sort of works, still hate throwing wood away.

I think the principle of defining an area for storing wood and only filling that space works for me.

Here is a link to my cart.

I posted a wood storage cart on here, based on a design from WWMM. Made from pre used timber heading for the skip. Problem was that I made it 0.9m wide, to save space but then put 1.2m wide sheets on it so no space saved. Here is link to previous post


So I decided to widen it, again using wood scraps. Here is a photo

View attachment 113769
The extension bit is on the right, I have now added an insert to get the bin at the same height as the others.

Here is the cart loaded
View attachment 113770

I used the wheels I had, 50mm diameter rated at 50 kg each. Even with gentle usage they collapsed. So I upgraded them
View attachment 113771
Both from Toolstation. 50mm 50 kg on left cost £3.28 each. On the right, 100mm, 130kg, cost £5.48. The 100mm wheels are much better, easier to move cart and far better value for money.

It is made from a mixture of osb, mdf and ply of different thicknesses (destined for the skip) so it will never be pretty, but it is effective and works well for me.

 

[Keith 66]

Two years ago i cleared my parents house in lancashire, The whole job took 6 weeks. Dads workshop had racks full of offcuts, I am nearly 60 & i swear i recognised many of these offcuts from when i was a child. He had also boxed up everything else down to boxes of reclaimed screws & bent rusty nails. When they moved up north over 30 years ago we took boxes of gear up for them in a hired transit. My wife remarked "If i had know we were driving 300 miles transporting firewood & rusty nails i wouldnt have done it!" She had a point.
I burnt & scrapped the lot only keeping a few choice pieces of teak that i have an actual use for on a boat project.
There are times when to hoard old junk is nowt more than lunacy.

 

[Jacob]

Two years ago i cleared my parents house in lancashire, The whole job took 6 weeks. Dads workshop had racks full of offcuts, I am nearly 60 & i swear i recognised many of these offcuts from when i was a child. He had also boxed up everything else down to boxes of reclaimed screws & bent rusty nails. When they moved up north over 300 years ago we took boxes of gear up for them in a hired transit. My wife remarked "If i had know we were driving 300 miles transporting firewood & rusty nails i wouldnt have done it!" She had a point.
I burnt & scrapped the lot only keeping a few choice pieces of teak that i have an actual use for on a boat project.
There are times when to hoard old junk is nowt more than lunacy.

There you go then - offcuts into boxes to hold rusty nails! Perfect solution!
Have to say I'm a bit like Keith's Dad. I see it all as projects in waiting.

 

[Woodchip Wilbur]

He had also boxed up everything else down to boxes of reclaimed screws & bent rusty nails.

Clearing my grandmother's attic, many years ago, we found three boxes, all neatly labelled:
"Cups without handles, Guide Camp 1927"
"Cup Handles, Guide Camp 1928"
"Pieces of String, Too Short to be of Any Further Use"