On Sun, 22 Feb 2004 00:39:23 GMT, Unisaw A100 scribbled:
No, no, no! Pay attention! That's what to do with your *sawdust*, not your scraps! Scraps take too long to compost. How many times do I have to repeat it?
I just discovered a use for planer shavings. A friend came over today to use my planer on a bunch of spruce and pine he cut on his property. Somebody with a Woodmiser milled it for him and he asked to use my planer. A soon-to-be grandfather, you will never guess what he will make with it (the wood, not the planer). That's right, a hope chest for his daughter.(1)
Anyway, to make a short story even longer, as he was cleaning up, he asked me if I composted the shavings. I told I put them out for the city's compost pick-up. He said he could use it as firestarter. I told him that my experience with planer shavings is that they did not burn too well. I tried putting them directly on the fire. If you put too few, they just immediately flare up. Too many, and they just sit these and smolder until the fire goes out. Then you still have a pile of (partially burnt) shavings to dispose of. I also tried putting them in paper grocery bags and then burning the bag in a stove or fireplace, but the same thing happened.
What he does is to pour diesel fuel or kerosene on the shavings so that it is absorbed. He keeps it in plastic bags. When he needs to start a fire in his woodstove, he puts a small quantity of the shavings in the stove and lights it. Bingo!
Luigi Replace "nonet" with "yukonomics" for real email address
(1) He had promised her a hope chest many years ago and is finally getting rountuit. Bill is building a cradle too, as behooves any grandfather. He is planning to finish it with shellac. When I told him that it shellac edible as it is made from bug secretions (just like honey) and that it was used to coat Smarties (M&Ms, Keith), it reinforced his decision.