While cleaning up the shop today, I had a bunch of time to think. (Sweeping requires very little mental activity.) So, while shoveling pilefuls of saw dust into a bucket, I started to wonder about uses for it.
Could the sawdust be glued and pressed to make particle board? It's got irregular shapes, and it's not all the same species. Here's a get rich slowly scheme... Drive to neighborhood shops and collect the sawdust from them. Then make boards. I know I had at least a 1x12x3' worth of sawdust under the saw. It only took 4 months.
About that press... Most people have something that weighs a couple tons in their own driveway. Maybe a car could be used to run over the boards a couple times to pack it nice and tight. (Or make a really heavy man hopping mad?)
How about using it for fire starting? I know it won't burn well by itself (the top layer burns, but the bottom layer gets choked out.) A little sawdust, some alcohol, and some pressure, and you've got a free fire starter right?
Well at least it's something to think about next time you're sweeping up the shop.
Happy sawdust making,
Puckdropper