Free sources of Sawdust?

Hi Permies

I need a good supply of free (waste) sawdust for a project and I really have no idea where to find such a thing beyond sawmills, of which there are none nearby.

Could someone clue me in as to what kinds of other businesses would be happy to have someone take some sawdust off their hands?

Many thanks

Furniture makers, woodcarving shops, construction sites, home improvement stores, lumber yards, ads on craigslist.

Welcome!

I get mine from a local joiner (who mostly makes doors)- but only in the summer, in the winter he makes the sawdust into briquettes and sells them as fuel, but as he has nowhere to store the sawdust in summer- I get it for free!

Thanks Will and Charli.

I've managed to scope out some furniture makers, and a friend told me about a mill in a nearby town that I had no idea existed! Hopefully I can pull something together.

Cheers!

cabinet shops and millworks are also good sources for free sawdust.

Make sure you offer them something, people don't tend to like giving things away even if it is of no value to them. If you offer them something you have in excess ie, meat or honey they are more likely to think they are winning

I give stuff away several times a week. In most places, sawdust has no value. No need to pay for it.

Plenty of free firewood available at my jobs here in Victoria.

I've worked for 2 cabinet shops. They had huge dust collection systems that you could back a truck or trailer under. One even had a dump trailer that they let you borrow to haul it in.

My husband once went into a wood-working store (they sold exotic hardwoods, etc.) and volunteered to sweep for them if he could keep the sawdust. They were all for it, and he came home with quite a bit. So, you could always try volunteering to sweep if they don't want to give it away for free...

Cabinet shops, both private and at schools usually let you have all you can haul away.
If you're going to use it for animals, horses might be fine, but smaller animals like rabbits and chickens get lung problems because of the wood dust.

Also, do you need to avoid the volatile oils in certain woods? The father of a friend of mine has a wood shop and has to wear hazmat suits/respirator, has to lock all of the doors, and turn on an expensive exhaust system because of the fumes and oils of some woods are toxic. Even something as ordinary as cedar can have harmful effects on some animals and people.

The local carriage company here get the saw dust for their hose pens from a local mattress company. The company only uses oak so the stable doesn't have to worry about the mix. It's also not as fine as from a cabinet shop.

Good luck on your project.
Raine

You can look for wood turners too, anyone with a lathe has a ton of dust and large shavings......if you were close I'd load you down!

We've been getting sawdust from a local lumber supply in town. We go every week and bring our own bags. We scoop up enough to fill the bags and go on our way. Over the past summer, we've nearly covered our back yard with sawdust to help keep the weeds down and also to help hold on to moisture - we have extremely sandy soil.

Hi,
So what are you doing with your sawdust?

l have just been given a goodly few cubic meters of sawdust from a carpenters workshop. (guaranteed no mdf or ply) So how do you use it? the same as ramial wood chippings - only more careful about not mixing any in? I use a small amount for our compost loo which goes into a compost heap. But there is ample here to mulch with. In the past I've mixed it with grass cuttings thinking lasagne gardening mulch mix that was meant to be a good C:N balance.

thanks.

DOT road crews cut back brush on the roadside and chip it. they would probably deliver it for free but you might get more than you bargained for!

Make a flyer and ask at local lumberyards if you can put it up, bring them some treats a few times to incentivize them to talk up your project.  In my experience there is more waste wood and sawdust than you could ever use if you ask around.

Free hamster food

Welcome to the forum.

Tell me more about free hamster food.

Are you saying Hamsters eat sawdust?

I would feel that sawdust is not digestible to hamsters.

Everyone who offered advice on free sawdust to the post requesting that information, thank you. I have a horse that developed laminitis. The ground was soft, then mushy. As the horses walked big holes were made. Then the ground froze. She won't leave the barn or the concrete area next to it. I was told to use shavings to fill holes as well as dry area and also provide comfortable ground for her. I know certain wood is not good for bedding but I don't believe that would also apply to ground cover. The price of shavings is horrible. I paid 60.00 for less than 10 bags and even though the bags said expands to 5cubic ft it didn't even make a dent in the area and wasn't deep enough. I normally use paper bedding in barn and it spreads further. Unfortunately it is way more costly than pine.

It's a lot harder to get free sawdust than it used to be.

All of my old sources, like truss manufacturers, now collect all their sawdust and get paid for it, I guess, as it is turned into wood pellets etc.