Looking for scrap ideas...

[new2woodwrk]

I am making a lot of product these days and IMO tossing way too much scrap in the garbage.

Mostly I'm talking about 3/4 Basswood, 3/4 Poplar and 3/4 Pine usually about 2-6" in length and maybe the same width or less

We have switched to Basswood for some products, as we no longer use Pine for these products as it tends to be very knotty and almost unusable for patterns. We end up cutting out up to 1/3 of a board sometimes! Not acceptable.

I would like to try and use as much of the scrap as possible but am not having luck coming up with anything meaningful or useful.

The only thing so far is using specific sizes for the inserts on the clocks I make - but I don't make that many to make it a viable resource

So, I ask you the experts...

What do you do with your scrap wood aside from my burning it, tossing it or leaving it at the curb?

If any group can come up with ideas on using scraps, this is the community for it!

Thanks as always in advance

Edited December 25, 2020 by new2woodwrk

[Dan]

I've made a lot of refrigerator magnets from scrap wood. You could cut numbers and letters for kids to play with or seasonal designs like snowflakes, cars, sports themes, etc. I use neodymium magnets recessed into the wood. My grandkids liked to used the magnets on the table with one under the table and kind of drive them around. I even made a track on the table for them to navigate through.  

Oh, and Merry Christmas Jes!

Edited December 25, 2020 by Dan

[new2woodwrk]

14 minutes ago, Dan said:

I've made a lot of refrigerator magnets from scrap wood. You could cut numbers and letters for kids to play with or seasonal designs like snowflakes, cars, sports themes, etc. I use neodymium magnets recessed into the wood. My grandkids liked to used the magnets on the table with one under the table and kind of drive them around. I even made a track on the table for them to navigate through.  

Oh, and Merry Christmas Jes!

Merry Christmas to you as well @Dan

And thanks for the suggestion/idea!

[John B]

If you can hot glue them together and whack 'em through a thicknesser down to about1/4" they would be the ideal size for Xmas decorations.
Mine are about 100 x 100mm (4")

 

[JimErn]

Toy cars, puzzles

[Gonzo]

Compound birdhouse ornaments. Glue the pieces up to get 1 1/2” thick. I think the birdhouse look really cool using different woods. plus, you can make the birds that go with the birdhouse. All my ornaments are made from scrap pieces. 
Also, in one of the latest issues of Scrollsaw Woodworking, they had a race car that is fun to make. Again, I use mainly 3/4” scrap when I make them. 

[BadBob]

I make Birdhouse Ornaments, small toys, and animal cutouts. I keep a box of small patterns ready, so I cut a car, truck, or animal when there is free space on a piece of wood.

You can make some beautiful toys from glue-ups of dissimilar wood. I recently made a batch of birdhouse ornaments from bits and pieces of wood I glued together.

Cut small parts to use on projects you make regularly. I had a small piece of wood perfect for those little birds on the birdhouses but not good for much else. I cut the entire piece into birds, so I now have a box full to use the next time I make ornaments. Inkscape is your friend when doing something like this. I set the document size to the wood's size and add birds and arrange them to get maximum yield from the wood.

 

[dgman]

I make small animal puzzles as giveaways. I originally cut these as giveaways at shows, but since there were no shows this year, I sent them as free gifts with orders from my Etsy store.

[kmmcrafts]

I guess I make a wide array of things to mostly use up most all my wood.. very seldom do I have a scrap larger than 1".. I pretty much make use of all the lumber. I make enough clocks and the bases are quite small to use up my small pieces..

Some things I wanted to make from small pieces was phone stands.. Sue May has many patterns.. they only use a small amount of wood.. But I've never had enough small scraps to really go into a production mode with the stands.. so in two years and buying several of the patterns.. I've only made about 3 of them.. Seem like they'd be good sellers if I could ever get enough variety of styles made to put on the website.. So far the ones I did make sold to friends or family so have yet put online.. most of the patterns require the 1/2 - 3/4 thickness so you'd not have to worry about ornaments etc. being to thick

Trivets come to mind too,  

[grandpuppies]

I make small one piece animals and take them to craft shows as "pocket pets" that sell for 50 to 75 cents. these seem to be very popular with grandparents usually they buy at least 2 or 3, one woman bought 10. I usually cut the 1 inch thick pieces in half and wind up with 2 animals. At one show a woman was having a dinner party and and bought 15 fo them and party favors for her family. It is an easy way to use the scraps and much to my suprise brought in a little money. It is also a way to warm up when I haven't been at my saw for a while.

[Jim Finn]

I have glued together many scraps into blocks and made band saw boxes with them,

[Gonzo]

28 minutes ago, Jim Finn said:

I have glued together many scraps into blocks and made band saw boxes with them,

Those are very nice looking  boxes 

[Jim Finn]

6 hours ago, Gonzo said:

7 hours ago, Jim Finn said:

I have glued together many scraps into blocks and made band saw boxes with them,

Those are very nice looking  boxes 

Thanks.  They sold quickly.

[rjweb]

Jim, I didn’t realize you made band saw boxes also,  they are beautiful, RJ 

[Woodmaster1]

I use the scraps to make cheese cutters. 

[CharleyL]

My original use for a scroll saw was to use up some of my scrap wood left over from building larger projects. Now, by the time that I consider the pieces too small to be anything but scrap, my son complains that they don't even make good fire starter for his wood stove, because they burn up too quickly. I know he'll keep using my scrap though, because he's too cheap to buy any fire starter wood. He keeps complaining, but then he keeps coming back every year for more of it.

Charley

[amazingkevin]

On 12/26/2020 at 8:38 AM, Jim Finn said:

I have glued together many scraps into blocks and made band saw boxes with them,

You my friend are a professional boxer!!!

[Jim Finn]

2 hours ago, amazingkevin said:

You my friend are a professional boxer!!!

Thanks....  I have not made bandsaw boxes in years.  I will make more when I accumulate more suitable wood scraps.  Sales were so bad this year that all I have been making are pine toys to give away. A relaxing activity though.

Edited December 27, 2020 by Jim Finn

[rash_powder]

Resaw them and make tea candle holders from Steve Goode's site; or if you have a lathe make pens from them.

[puzzleman]

I make mini puzzles and usually give them away but a set of 5 can be ordered on my website. check them out at www.pickenspuzzles.com. Only 5 are listed but I have many others including a hippo, rhino, pony, cross, etc.

bb