# Any way to form sawdust into woodstove logs?



## sprior (Aug 31, 2008)

Anyone know a recipe to form sawdust from the dust collector into bricks for burning in a woodburning stove? We bought about 2 cords of firewood about the same time I got my first lathe, and now my wife is making comments that I'm wasting the firewood (but I'm having lots of fun doing it).


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## ash123 (Mar 14, 2010)

I don't burn dust but I do bag and burn shavings and chips.


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## jlhaslip (Jan 16, 2010)

put the dust/shavings into empty cereal boxes ( or other empty boxes ) and add one of them to the fire each time you load up.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I do burn wood that's split from logs*

But I would not attempt to burn dust for fear of an explosion. The dust is not compacted enough like the commercial fake logs are. It will also burn too fast to make it efficient, my theory. I would use a small amount of chips and shavings as a fire starter if at all and keep it far away from the open fire until use.
All my dust and chips go in the compost pile and get covered with dirt, leaves and grass clippings. The worms love it in there and like to jump on the fish hooks when they're bored. :boat:


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## sprior (Aug 31, 2008)

I was thinking about maybe mixing in melted paraffin wax as a binder and making bricks to burn as starters.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*That would be great!*

The wax alone will work. I use those tiny little votif candles when the the fire is down low,but..... when I really need a fire in a hurry I break out the propane torch or the brush burner and heat up the flue real well then the smoke goes up rather than out. It's an all new SS chimney, outside air for combustion with 2 two 90's, one inside the other a "tee" cleanout outside and with about 30 feet of height so it's hard to warm up for a draw. :yes:bill


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## jeffreythree (Jan 9, 2008)

Maybe there is something out there for sawdust along these lines: http://woodstoves.newarchaeology.com/makelogs.php


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## johnep (Apr 12, 2007)

During the war we used to make briquettes with coaldust and cement. Using flower pots as moulds.
johnep


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## unisawyer (May 7, 2010)

I have a metal can that I mix the sawdust and used motor oil and use it for starter.It burns hot, clean and long enough to start a fire without kindling. It don't have a tenancy to flash when lit.


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## Joe Lyddon (Mar 13, 2007)

When I build the fire, I pour a log-long strip of plain sawdust across the middle piled with small wood or pine cones, followed by bigger & bigger wood.

When ready for the fire, a squirt BBQ lighter fluid across middle getting the bottom section followed by a match does it fine for a good part of the evening.

The sawdust will develop in a NICE LONG lasting red strip of coal-like burning which keeps the other stuff going... I was surprised to see how well it burned.

*CAUTION: * *Only apply the sawdust BEFORE the fire is lit, during the initial building process... otherwise, the sawdust DUST could cause an explosion!*  :thumbsup:


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

woodnthings said:


> . . . The worms love it in there and like to jump on the fish hooks when they're bored. :boat:


:laughing:





.


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## Improv (Aug 13, 2008)

woodnthings said:


> ..... when I really need a fire in a hurry I break out the propane torch or the brush burner and heat up the flue real well then the smoke goes up rather than out. It's an all new SS chimney, outside air for combustion with 2 two 90's, one inside the other a "tee" cleanout outside and with about 30 feet of height so it's hard to warm up for a draw. :yes:bill


Bill, I am going to guess your house is all insulated and stuff to keep you warm by limiting air flow ... except the chimney. Crack a window or door to the outside and break your house's 'seal'. Because your chimney is the highest egress from the house, the warmer air will preferentially flow that way. When you hear the draw, you can close the door/window. Growing up in a fire-warmed house, it was the only certain way to the fireplace to start drawing without secondary heat sources.

Regarding, sawdust in fires. I'm not worried so much about explosions as I am about getting it sucked up the chimney and starting a fire there.


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## Joe Lyddon (Mar 13, 2007)

Improv said:


> Regarding, sawdust in fires. I'm not worried so much about explosions as I am about getting it sucked up the chimney and starting a fire there.


In my experience, the sawdust, covered up with other small kindling, does not and cannot move anywhere... It just burns as nice as you please... :yes: :yes:


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## Steven57 (Nov 5, 2010)

*sawdust*

Agree with sawdust in cereal box. Would not be concerned with explosion. I have an outdoor boiler that turns the wood to charcoal first and then burns the gases. I'm constantly throwing sawdust/chips in, twigs, pallets, xmas trees, green wood. If it burns, it gives me heat!.Sawdust in cereal box and a little used oil,,,great fire starter.


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## b00kemdano (Feb 10, 2009)

My uncle has a pellet stove, so I wondered if you could make your own pellets. I Googled "pellet mill" and came up with all kinds of info.


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## H. A. S. (Sep 23, 2010)

I use all my sawdust in the furnace. Know for a fact that fine coal dust will flash explode, but never had a problem burning sawdust, even when I have a roaring fire.


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## Wingdo45 (Apr 21, 2020)

I was born unto a sawmill and grew up with the offal that never disappointed... I even bought my first car, using sawdust as a down payment, and then a load every week for the summer at the local race track (horses), and I'd be the new owner of a 1947 DeSoto!

As for using it as firewood, it burns too quickly to be practical, in my useless opinion. It isn't compacted, has air throughout, so with the two you get a good deal of heat for a limited time, and then it is converted to ash, which is an insulation, so when it dies, it dies quickly... depending on the type wood, also in my opinion.

I always keep a big can of clean sawdust for using on outside spills of all sorts (oil, anti-freeze/brake fluid/etc.) and even dog eggs benefit from a cup of sawdust and quickly become part of the lawn without blowing off your foot as you traverse your dogs favorite poop spot.

I also use it when turning wet/green raw branches/lumber. You rough down/clean off surface imperfections until you have a clean blank. Write what is is/date/type on the piece and bury it in the very dry (from years of protection) sawdust and it will draw out all the moisture w/i days, week at the most. You can then rough in whatever you choose to make, stick it back in the dust for another week for good measure, and then machine to your heart's content!

It works well on the new/spring plants to hold in the initial watering, and repeat as needed. Great for starting poultry, as well as keeping it in the bottom of the coop to absorb those droppings as well... simply add a cup of lime for smell, DE to kill bugs/mosquitoes, or Sevin dust for mites and such. The birds will dust bath in it, controlling their own parasites.

Personally, I use all my sawdust today on my small farm, and just can't imagine having enough to burn... as a child, we could go through a big mountain of sawdust every week, but selling it was just as good, since we always had plenty at the mill.

Good luck regardless!


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## Brian T. (Dec 19, 2012)

My grandpa was a builder of wooden boats on the west coast. He burned sawdust in the furnace in the boat shed.
Mostly in grocery store brown paper bags back in that day and time. For an explosion, you have get a ratio of dust to air of 1 to 7 up to 1 to 12 That's a lot of dust. Wet sawdust does not burn like that.

I keep a big garbage bag of chips and shavings in my hobby wood carving shop.
I dump all waste acrylic paints in there. Once polymerized and soaked into the wood, 
that stuff can do no harm to the aquatic environment of our sewage systems.


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## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

Wingdo45 said:


> [...] It works well on the new/spring plants to hold in the initial watering, and repeat as needed. Great for starting poultry, as well as keeping it in the bottom of the coop to absorb those droppings as well... simply add a cup of lime for smell, DE to kill bugs/mosquitoes, or Sevin dust for mites and such. The birds will dust bath in it, controlling their own parasites. [...]


I am not an agriculture expert, so I had to look up terms:
*Lime* -> I assume that he/she is talking about the mineral, not the fruit. 
*DE* = diatomacious earth
*Sevin* = A commercial insecticide. It comes in powder and spray forms. You can find it at the big box stores, among other places.


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## shoot summ (Feb 21, 2014)

Compacted sawdust is used to make pellets and bricks, there was a guy locally selling the bricks recently, supposedly better heat production than logs. The issue I saw was storage, just like the small pellets for my grill, the bricks are moisture sensitive, so storing them is an issue.


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## TomCT2 (May 16, 2014)

there are any number of pelletizing machines on the market. they are not cheap.
with wood pellets at +/- $200 per ton, you'll have a very difficult time making the economics work.


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## Tom-G (Nov 11, 2012)

Windo45 - Did you realize you were responding to a discussion thread from 2010?


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

Tom-G said:


> Windo45 - Did you realize you were responding to a discussion thread from 2010?


Yes, but 10 years can make a big difference in things because of newer technology. Maybe not in this case, but there's definitely an interest in the topic since it's the single "waste" product woodworkers generate that would be nice to recycle or repurpose. Let's see what shows up here..... ?


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## redeared (Feb 7, 2019)

I have a press back from the energy crisis back in the 70's it makes 4 bricks at a time. I mix sanddust and paper from our shredder in buckets with water, mix it up well with a drill and paint mixer, let them soak overnight then make the bricks. Best time to make them is in the summer so you let the sun dry them out. My kids come over and take them for their file places.
We have a pellet stove and I looked into the pellet mills and realized since we use 50# a day it isn't practical for us, I would be making pellets everyday and just don't have that much sawdust. A lot of people using the mill use plant matter, soy, alfalfa etc...


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## Tom-G (Nov 11, 2012)

woodnthings said:


> Yes, but 10 years can make a big difference in things because of newer technology. Maybe not in this case, but there's definitely an interest in the topic since it's the single "waste" product woodworkers generate that would be nice to recycle or repurpose. Let's see what shows up here..... ?


Totally agree. I only pointed it out as Wingdo45’s post ended with “good luck regardless” which I expected was intended for the OP.


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## kwoodhands (May 1, 2020)

I remember a wood stove that looked like a hot water heater. There was a 3" or so steel pipe in the center standing vertically. The pipe was a flue of sorts. Sawdust was packed down tightly around the pipe and between the vessel. The pipe was removed after the sawdust was packed down tight.
The fire was lit from the bottom if I recall correctly.
. I do recall the stove was hot and the heat lasted 6 hours or so til it needed more sawdust. This was in a window and door shop. I was about 10 years old so I do not recall more.


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## kiwi_outdoors (Jan 15, 2020)

those commercial fire starter logs stink, we smell them in the winter, when we are out in our hot tub. under the stars


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## redeared (Feb 7, 2019)

kwoodhands said:


> I remember a wood stove that looked like a hot water heater. There was a 3" or so steel pipe in the center standing vertically. The pipe was a flue of sorts. Sawdust was packed down tightly around the pipe and between the vessel. The pipe was removed after the sawdust was packed down tight.
> The fire was lit from the bottom if I recall correctly.
> . I do recall the stove was hot and the heat lasted 6 hours or so til it needed more sawdust. This was in a window and door shop. I was about 10 years old so I do not recall more.


There is a Youtube video of that stove


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## Wingdo45 (Apr 21, 2020)

Tool Agnostic said:


> I am not an agriculture expert, so I had to look up terms:
> *Lime* -> I assume that he/she is talking about the mineral, not the fruit.
> *DE* = diatomacious earth
> *Sevin* = A commercial insecticide. It comes in powder and spray forms. You can find it at the big box stores, among other places.


Sorry... sometimes I forget how old I am and assume folks know the basics on farm living... 75 years of down on the farm can really screw with your head!

The bottom line here is, sawdust is worth its weight and the inconvenience of storing it far outweighs its merits as an important tool in the woodshop.


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## TimPa (Jan 27, 2010)

woodnthings said:


> ... or the brush burner and heat up the flue real well then the smoke goes up rather than out. It's an all new SS chimney, outside air for combustion with 2 two 90's, one inside the other a "tee" cleanout outside and with about 30 feet of height so it's hard to warm up for a draw. :yes:bill


crack open the nearest door or window for a few minutes...
sorry i see someone else also mentioned that.

there was a fellow in Sweden maybe who packed sawdust into a 55 gal drum, then lit the center, and it heated his house/shop for a week. just kinda smouldered, but gave off heat.


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## redeared (Feb 7, 2019)

TimPa said:


> crack open the nearest door or window for a few minutes...
> sorry i see someone else also mentioned that.
> 
> there was a fellow in Sweden maybe who packed sawdust into a 55 gal drum, then lit the center, and it heated his house/shop for a week. just kinda smouldered, but gave off heat.


Smouldering for a week I would hate to look at his flue pipe


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## TimPa (Jan 27, 2010)

i couldn't find the original video from overseas. but apparently i may have been off on the "one week" burn. intersting none the less
do a search for saw dust stove...


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

A source for saw dust would be where someone owns a portable saw mill, friends or neighbors? Unless the property owners want it for their own use it is essentially a "waste by-product" of the milling operation. Just BEWARE of Walnut dust, it's not safe for bedding for horses or for compost in gardens as far as I remember. I'm not certain why either? 
I don't know what the box stores or lumber yards do with theirs, except I see piles of it around the radial arm and table saws at my local yard. Also beware of wet or damp sawdust, as I understand it can self ignite when it's allowed to compost in a large pile, not sure of that either, but I know compost can get fairly warm.








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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

I have heard about sawdust combusting, and often wondered about it because on the Saskatchewan prairies we had ice houses, blocks cut from the local lake, layers would be put down then covered with sawdust. Our ice house was made of logs, we would have ice through the summer. I guess the ice kept it cool enough to not combust but the ice would be gone long before freezing.


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## redeared (Feb 7, 2019)

Only the largest piles, like those in commercial composting operations, are really in any danger if they are mismanaged. Key to preventing any issues is proper maintenance of your organic matter to prevent hot compost bins, aerating the pile and watering it on occasion to keep it moist.. I have been composting saw dust for over 40 years and never had an issue. Saw dust can combust at 250F under the right conditions but it would have a be a very large pile to do so.


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## allpurpose (Mar 24, 2016)

I like having a small bucket of sawdust to rub on and into glue squeezout to make cleaning glueups a lot easier. By the way...2 things happened today.. I sold my table saw so now I have the space for the new one and I bought a used dust collector...hose and the fancy schmancy plugin part that'll start both the saw and the DC at the same time..


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