Scrap Wood: Should it stay or should it go?

We all have an issue hoarding scrap wood in our shops. If you think you don’t, I have some oceanfront property in Arizona I can sell you at a good price!

The fact is we all hold on to scraps thinking, “This will come in handy for some future project someday, I’m sure of it!” when in all reality that stick of lumber will just sit in a pile or on a shelf for years to come. Then, when you think you have the perfect project for it, you’ll walk over and give it a measure just to find out it’s 6” too short or 1” shy of the thickness you need. So, back it goes to sit and wait for the project that never comes.

Maybe I’m the exception to the rule and I should start planning my projects around my scraps but usually, I go out and source the material I need to fit the project.

Does that mean you should throw out all of your scraps or salvaged lumber? Absolutely not!

So What’s The Solution?

First off, Scott at Saws on Skates has a wonderful post that goes into great detail about scrap wood, scrap wood organization, guidelines, and more. I highly recommend the article if you haven’t read it.

But just the other day I was reorganizing my shop to fit the massive mobile storage cabinets I had just made, which meant I needed take a big stack of odd douglas fir offcuts down from my lumber rack and put it on the floor temporarily. These were much bigger than the usual scraps at roughly 40” long, 3.5” wide and about 1” thick. The perfect “too small for regular lumber, too big for small scrap lumber” kind of size.

I stood there looking at the pile, humming and hawing over whether or not I should find a way to keep the material, post it on Craigslist, or chop it up for firewood. Then, I had one of those “Ah-ha!” moments that gave me the answer to the age-old question of: “Should I keep this scrap or not?” and I want to share it with my fellow Craftswrights.

The Question To Ask Yourself

It’s that simple.

If the answer is no, get rid of it. Give it to a friend, list it online, burn it (safely and following local, state, and federal guidelines) or use it to start your Hügelkultur garden.

If the answer is yes, if you can honestly look at the pile of wood on the floor, if you can imagine coming across it on Facebook/Offerup/Craigslist and see yourself saying, “Honey, I’ve got to go! I gotta go get this free lumber that’s 20+ minutes away before someone else snatches it up!” then keep it and find a project for it sooner rather than later.

As for me? I looked at that pile of lumber on the floor and immediately could answer, “I’m not driving even 5 minutes to go pick that up.”

So if you’re in the Portland area and want a small pile of free lumber, hit me up 😄

Keep up the good work,
Cody