Is Your Project a By-Product?

by Andrew Davis

One thing leads to another and in this issue most woodworking projects lead to sawdust.  Big surprise!  But Andrew thinks about this kind of stuff.  And that leads to using the sawdust or any other seemingly useless by-product into something that can be monetized above the level of trashing it.

I collect hand plane shavings for kindling for my outdoor wood-fueled pizza oven.  The company I bought the pizza oven actually sells hardwood wood shavings and small blocks for just that purpose.  I admit I've actually thought of mechanizing a cutter to produce shavings of my hardwood scrap.  Now there's a by-product that could be worth something.

Have you considered a project or business turning trash into gold?  In his January 2022 article Is Your Project a By-Product?, Andrew amusingly goes through the mental process of what to consider to evaluate a price for a by-product.  Andrew lays out a compelling list of accounting variables that will have you feeling that sawdust, wood shavings, wood blocks, or other woodworking by-products might be best left for the trash.  See for yourself.