Anybody ever do anything productive with their sawdust? I'm not talking about using a handful for this or that but for the majority of it produced. Is there a way to effectively turn it into a log (block,etc) for a firepit, etc?
I was thinking about a water/glue solution to form it but then I'm thinking, is that smart?
"WonderMonkey via CraftKB.com" wrote in news:7940bebc19857@uwe:
Ever seen compressed sawdust and glue? If not, just visit your local cheap furniture store.
The Threshermen used to run their threshing machines really hard and then throw sawdust in the fire box to get a spark show.
Model railroaders used to die it and use it as grass, ballast, and other such ground coverings.
Puckdropper
Puckdropper wrote in news:4706b0d8$0$47115$ snipped-for-privacy@authen.yellow.readfreenews.net:
*snip*
Oops... Wrong form of "die." Should be:
Model railroaders used to dye it and use it as grass, ballast, and other such ground coverings.
Puckdropper
| Anybody ever do anything productive with their sawdust? I'm not | talking about using a handful for this or that but for the majority | of it produced. Is there a way to effectively turn it into a log | (block,etc) for a firepit, etc? | | I was thinking about a water/glue solution to form it but then I'm | thinking, is that smart?
Well, at least you're thinking. Mix it well with parafin shavings, pack it into a pipe form, and compress it with a hydraulic ram. You may want to experiment with the mix ratios and the pressure. :-)
-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA
Fri, Oct 5, 2007, 8:52pm (EDT+4) u37947@uwe (WonderMonkey=A0via=A0CraftKB.com) mumbles; Anybody ever do anything productive with their sawdust? I'm not talking about using a handful for this or that but for the majority of it produced. Is there a way to effectively turn it into a log (block,etc) for a firepit, etc? I was thinking about a water/glue solution to form it but then I'm thinking, is that smart?
Yes. Yes, but not me. Yes. Depends on what you mean by smart.
JOAT "I'm an Igor, thur. We don't athk quethtionth." "Really? Why not?" "I don't know, thur. I didn't athk."
Hmmmm.... turn a log into sawdust, then turn the sawdust back into a log? Why not just burn the log in the first place?
B.
Fri, Oct 5, 2007, 9:47pm (EDT+4) snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com (Puckdropper) The Threshermen used to run their threshing machines really hard and then throw sawdust in the fire box to get a spark show.
Where'd you hear that one? The steam threshers I know of used straw as fuel, plenty of sparks from that, which is why the chimneys needed spark arresters. One of the last things you'd want in a dry field of "fuel" would be sparks.
JOAT "I'm an Igor, thur. We don't athk quethtionth." "Really? Why not?" "I don't know, thur. I didn't athk."
You approach the problem the same way the electric utilities burn powdered coal, you aerate the sawdust, then let it burn as it falls.
Lew
Both sound a bit involved to me. In _Downhome_Ways_ by Jerry Mack Johnson, he recommends taking a large (empty) paint can or other round metal container, removing the lid, improvising legs, and cutting a circular hole a couple inches in diameter in the middle. Dry sawdust is then packed in around a suitable form (round stick or pipe stuck through the hole), the forming rod removed, and the contents lit using a wadded up piece of newspaper stuck in the middle. It's claimed to burn laterally 1 1/2 to 2 inches per hour.
I've not tried it myself, but it sounds reasonable (outdoors or at least in a very well-ventilated place, of course).
There was a local company that made firelogs, with a combination of shavings, sawdust, and parafin. The logs worked great for a firestarter for campfires, and would last a couple hours on their own. They were compressed into trapazodial shapes. I think they're out of business now, but we've got a few of them in a storage shed, since my dad was involved with making the factory.
Cl>
Water -- and pressure -- are the binders used to produce commercial fuel pellets. No need for glue, which would likely foul up your chimney.
It is actually the lignin in the wood that does the binding. The problem at home is getting up the pressure needed to make it stick together for it to work.
I wonder if you can spread it on newspaper and roll a log? I've made paper logs by rolling sheets together tightly.
firestarter for
making the
There is an outfit in Stockton, Ca that manufactures fireplace logs using waste materials.
As far as I know, they are still in business.
Lew
snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net (J T) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@storefull-3331.bay.webtv.net:
You're getting in to youthful memories of one event, so they're bound to be inaccurate.
What I remember is seeing it done at the Threshermen's Reunion in Pontiac, IL. There was plenty of green grass around, so little chance of the field catching on fire.
Puckdropper
It's also about $3.00 for a 25 lb bag of pellets ready to burn. Using sawdust for mushroom bedding would be easier and more profitable.
If earthworms can digest sawdust (they can digest newspaper), you could make a fantastic profit selling worm castings to gardeners. Local garden shop here gets $10 / pint, which takes my small herd about 2 days to produce.
The pellets aren't bound together all that tightly. You can crumble them into sawdust between your thumb and forefinger. This probably helps them ignite faster.
Ever seen how the Shuttle solid rocket motors are made? Big, long pipes filled with fuel, big hole down the center with an ignitor at the top -- that's what the cones on top are. Could you do the same with schedule 40 iron pipe and a tamper rod, maybe slightly cone shaped to generate sideways pressure and ease removing the tamper after pressing the sawdust?
There are companies still out there. A couple that come to mind are Duraflame and Presto Logs.
Bill
As somebody else noted, the big thing in making them so they'll burn is that they use something as an accelerant. Sawdust in a log w/o it doesn't burn well on its own.
CraftKB.comhttp://www.craftkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx/woodworking/200710/1No addition of any adhesives
Mvh Roy
Sat, Oct 6, 2007, 2:58am (EDT+4) snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com (Puckdropper) doth claimeth: You're getting in to youthful memories of one event, so they're bound to be inaccurate. What I remember is seeing it done at the Threshermen's Reunion in Pontiac, IL. There was plenty of green grass around, so little chance of the field catching on fire.
Well, no. "I" was talking of machines actually threshing in a field, working for real, not a show. However, a real steam thresher did NOT want sparks.
JOAT "I'm an Igor, thur. We don't athk quethtionth." "Really? Why not?" "I don't know, thur. I didn't athk."
the intermediate step involves extracting some boards from the log first....
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.