Best way to use cabinet shop wood scraps in OWB?

[mistergreentree]

Hey everybody...I work for a cabinet shop and we generate quite a lot of small hardwood scrap that is all kiln dried stuff. I want to find the best way to use these in the Shaver OWB that should be here in a week.(I hope..been put off for a month and half now).

Anyway, I was thinking of taking them and stacking them with a dab of white wood glue between pieces and making "logs" about 20" - 24" in length. The scraps vary quite a bit in size, but I think I can get them into somewhat of a log. My question is will the glue do any harm over time? Will the kiln dried wood burn long enough? And does anyone have any thoughts of a better way to use this scrap in my OWB.

I also have a source for chipped up particle board...would that be a decent source for fuel?

Thanks for all the input!

 

[ericjeeper]

Tie em up in bundles..

Leave the glue out of the environment.. as for the OSB I would burn only a little at a time.,. or not at all..

 

[boostnut]

next time your at the grocery store and they ask "paper or plastic", choose paper. keep the sacks, fill them full of scraps and toss in full bags. I have a neighbor who runs a cabinet shop and he too makes lots of odd sized scraps. I burn them from time to time, they start easily and burn nice and hot without producing any noticable creosote. nice stuff to use especially when starting a fire in a cold stove.

 

[Mike Van]

What Boostnut said, or stack a bunch in the right size cardboard box, dump 'em in there.

 

[stonykill]

no glue!

I am a self employed cabinet maker and I have a simple solution for burning my scraps. I carry them out in a garbage can and toss them in a handful at a time! Thats it, its not rocket science. Just a fire.

 

[oneoldbanjo]

Down the street from me there is a place that makes wooden stairs for houses. They have a bin outside and they place all their scrap wood in the bin - it is free to anyone that wants it. Most of it is Pine and about 1" square, and there is some Oak and larger pieces mixed in. I picked up a truck load and use if for kindling and it works great, and I have even occasionally made an entire fire out of it. It burns very hot - but doesn't last real long. You might want to mix it with some logs for a long burning fire.

Last year I had a bunch of triangular shaped OSB pieces that were scraps from a hip roof project. I stacked them up and cut them into 2' x 3' strips and loaded them into my woodburner and I probably had the firebox more than half full and I tried to vary the way they were in the OWB so that they could get some air and not just lay flat on each other.........What a mistake!!!! There was so much thick black smoke coming out of my OWB you would swear I was burning a couple of tires. I had no idea that OSB would do that as I had only burned an occasional piece prior to this event and I never noticed much smoke. I would not suggest burning too much OSB or particle board at once - I certainly will never do it again.

 

[oneoldbanjo]

Two more thoughts on the Pine Scraps:

It takes a whole bunch of these little pieces of Pine to keep you warm - but if it is free and easy to get it might be worthwhile as long as you can keep getting a new supply and don't have to try and stockpile a whole winters worth at one time.

I save 50 pound dog food bags that are made of paper and use them for putting wood scraps and bark into. When it is time to load the pine or bark into the furnace I just throw the whole bag in.

 

[mistergreentree]

Thanks for the responses guys. I was looking for a way to tightly bond the pieces to hopefully increase the burn times. It sounds like the white glue is a bad idea. I also don't have my OWB yet and have no experience in how full you load them and how tightly you pack it in, so I'm sure I will learn this year. I kind of thought the particle board would be offensive to burn with all the binders in it, but thought i would ask anyways.

I have a small town grocery a couple miles from home that I can get cardboard boxes from whenever I need them. I think I might try filling those then burning the whole box when I can.

I really appreciate this site and have learned alot from you guys since I joined. I hope to be able to contribute some back sometime.