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I hate to just throw pieces of quality lumber away just because they are too small to building a guitar with. However, it's getting to the point where I have too much scrap wood. Not just ply and MDF cutoffs but good hard woods like maple, rosewood, mahogany etc. I do use them as much as I can but I can't seem to find that many uses for them. I've made tool handles, sanding blocks, a hand plane...

Anxious to hear everyone's creative ways of keeping the scrap pile from taking over the shop.

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"I'm not going to say that perfection has never been achieved. However, if it has, it probably went unnoticed due to it's lack of character."

Sorted mine by species into boxes and put them on the shelf.
I even save sawdust in pill bottles.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Much of my scrap ends up cooking hot dogs.

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Doug

Don't let fear or common sense stop you from trying to build something

You use it for firewood?

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"I'm not going to say that perfection has never been achieved. However, if it has, it probably went unnoticed due to it's lack of character."

There are no scraps, only large pieces and small pieces.

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Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement.

Me keep...for a while, till the instrument is completely finished and the rubber maid is full. Then me gift them to the old retired dude who makes things for children with wheelies on them and sells them at the various seasonal craft fairs / farmers markets ect.

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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Yup, or at least some of it. I always keep some scrap on hand but why turn an appropriate amount into a hoard? I, too, hang onto the scraps of a given instrument until finished.

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Doug

Don't let fear or common sense stop you from trying to build something

Mine generally become rosette parts.

I sort the large pieces into tubs- exotic, domestic hardwood, and softwoods. The small piece get sorted out into boxes for heel caps, end wedges, and inlay pieces. If it is too small for any of that, I burn it. But that is pretty rare.

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ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
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Kindlin' for the fireplace mostly, but the back/sides/top offcuts gets saved for future headplates, endgrafts, heelcaps, center seam reinforcement, and other various veneers. I used to save scraps for clamp cauls and sanding blocks but I'm all set on those now.

I sort it and keep an assortment of good scraps. The rest is kindling for the woodstove.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Same here. I make it a rule to NEVER throw good hardwood scraps away. You never know when you'll need a little piece of this or that wood.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

I didn't expect to hear so many people say they burn it. Do any of the exotics give off nasty fumes or even toxins when burnt? Rosewood, bloodwood, etc. I know Zebrawood smells terrible when you cut it. I'll bet it smells even worse when you burn it. I grew up in the sticks and all we ever burned was pine. Wouldn't even think of burning anything halfway expensive or useful. Maybe it's just me.

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"I'm not going to say that perfection has never been achieved. However, if it has, it probably went unnoticed due to it's lack of character."

I make hand tools with some scraps and I also save the sawdust sorted by type for filling gaps and b&s for headstock veneers etc. I do throw some bits away, but I struggle with it.

This is a small block plane that uses my 1" chisel made from scraps of Jarrah. It is set at 25° and works really well on bracing etc.

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Martin Taylor
http://martintaylorguitars.com.au

"Scraps" devolve into smaller instruments, headplates, bridge patches, end wedges, heel caps, etc.. When they build up too much they go in the trash. I am a hoarder by nature, but after tripping over something once too often I will quite literally open the shop door and pitch it out into the yard.

Sawdust to the compost pile.

I keep a small box of scraps by the drill press, to use as backers(never drill without supporting the backside!).

Maple, mahogany, and some rosewoods are put aside to use as smoking chips in ye olde BBQ grill. Be aware that some may be toxic, so only try this on your own food, and only if you're certain you're not bothered by the particular wood.

Tiny spruce and cedar pieces go into the charcoal kindling box; I hate the taste of charcoal lighter fluid and instead use wood kindling to light the BBQ...

Other than that, as others have said, bindings(the trimmings from guitar sides), end grafts, back seam reinforcements, inlays, headplates, etc... I haven't purchased ready-made versions of the above since maybe my 3rd or 4th guitar; it's all there in the scrap box.

And in the end, I still have some tiny odds and ends, which go out to some crafty people who make miniatures. One lady who gets a box from me every few years makes incredible lamps and such that sell for nearly as much as our instruments sell for!

Donald: What about the scraps, Ronald? What would you like to do to the whole scrap pile?

Ronald: Burn it ALL.

Donald: See you next guitar, Ronald.

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I read Emerson on the can. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...true...but a consistent reading of Emerson has its uses nevertheless.

StuMusic

I made a small laminated curly maple/ figured walnut bow for my son a little bit ago. It works great!

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If anyone in the UK has too much in the way of light flamed maple offcuts [and a stamp] I have a good home for them

I give my scraps to a co-worker who has a friend who is a sculptor. From what I understand, she can use even the very small pieces. The sculptor shares with other artists.

I do keep leftover wood that I believe I may be able to use.

I build ukes out of my guitar cut-offs.
I haven't figured out what to build out of the uke cut-offs.

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For spruce cutoffs, turn it into charcoal and sell it to pyros. They make really good blackpowder. Heck just give them the spruce and they'll know how to make the charcoal. Actually a few guitar woods works well for making blackpowder: Alder (for electric guitars), Maple, Spruce, Cedar, etc. are pretty valuable to pyros. Harder stuff like rosewood/ebony won't work well... I'd say save it for inlays but when you get so much, it's going to be generations worth of inlays. Perhaps you can bag it up and give or sell them to new luthiers who might need them for repair or inlay work...

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

I allow myself one bin of scrap pieces and cut-offs. They get used for end blocks, head stock overlays, end grafts, other decorations or other small projects. When it gets too full I sort out by wood type and size and dump the rest....usually wondering why I kept that tiny triangle of wood or that sliver of neck stock

I've heard you should be very careful with what you do with black walnut sawdust. There's a compound in it, Juglone, which will kill certain plants.

If I'm not mistaken, cedar also has natural herbicidal properties. Though I haven't actually bothered to look that up to confirm (I just remember that form somewhere).

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.