Been using the Chainsaw, can I use the chips ??

[Perrari]

Earlier this week I have been chainsawing & splitting a load of wood ready for next winter. I have ended up with a deep pile of wood chip. It seems to be a shame to let it go to waste & rot. I have an idea about making a wooden mould where I could compress the chips to make some kind of fire brick that I can burn. I am thinking of mixing it with wallpaper paste just to bond it together ? (or flour & water)
Just wondering if anybody has done anything similar ? I have seen pre made blocks at various shows, but not really paid any attention to them.

 

[Shambling Shaman]

Pet bedding?

Soak in pine resin for tinder?

 

[Mesquite]

Pet bedding?

I'd be wary of using the chips for pet bedding due to contamination from the chain lubricant oil. It won't be a lot I know but there might be some risk...

 

[greensurfingbear]

I'd be wary of using the chips for pet bedding due to contamination from the chain lubricant oil. It won't be a lot I know but there might be some risk...

As Mesquite said it'll be contaminated with chain oil. When out in the woods I tend to just leave it, at home I tend to just bin it rather than going on the compost.


Out of curiosity I tried a small amount of the finer gubbings from inside the chain saw I was cleaning it to use as fire lighter. It burnt for a long time and didnt take much to get it burning, never used it in any other way.

 

[Shambling Shaman]

I'd be wary of using the chips for pet bedding due to contamination from the chain lubricant oil. It won't be a lot I know but there might be some risk...

Good point.

 

[Biker]

I bag mine as well as the sweepings (shavings and sawdust) from my carpentry workshop and use that to suppliment the kindling in the wood burner.

Haven't heard of compressing it into bricks before, but like chipboard there must be a way of doing it to stay in a solid mass and burn slowly rather than breaking apart and smothering the air flow.

If the wood was still green when you cut it it might be an idea to lay it out on a tarp or something to dry in the sunshine (when it gets here) before bagging it for the winter, else it could go mouldy 'teen now and then. I suppose some of those nylon string spud sacks would work well enough to store it in though. Just a thought.

Too true abut not using it for pet bedding, shame really but that oil will have contaminated it.

 

[santaman2000]

I'd be wary of using the chips for pet bedding due to contamination from the chain lubricant oil. It won't be a lot I know but there might be some risk...

And unless it's Cedar it will likely attrack/harbor bugs (ticks)

 

[British Red]

I compost mine - works great. I also use it for mulching pots or added it to deep wood chip mulch. Don't work it in or the decomposition removes nitrogen. Just leave it on the surface - it prevents weeds, retains mositure and gradually rots in fertilising the soil.

 

[demographic]

If you use bio bar lube you don't have to worry about where the lube gets to but another thing you can do is make a sawdust stove out of an old 45 gallon drum (Yanks call em 55 gallon drums but that's cos they have ickle gallons) and as far as I know they need dry sawdust/chippings but then burn for eight hours without filling up.

 

[Perrari]

Thanks for the replies so far ! I only have a cat as a pet and that sleeps where it wants, so I have no need for pet bedding.
As British Red suggested I have put some in to the compost, but my compost bins are now full, grass/hedge cuttings etc this time of year.
Biker suggested using them to supplement kindling, which I have also done, but as he said it tends to smother the flames. What I have collected so far are hanging in sacks in my woodstore, the wood is mostly pine, larch, cherry & oak, All mixed and is about a year or longer since cut down so fairly seasoned, just needs the dampness dried out.
I like Shambling Shaman's idea of mixing with pine resin for tinder, but I was thinking more for house fuel, I dont think I would get enough pine resin. but will have a go at making some tinder.
Keep the ideas flowing !

 

[swright81076]

I've seen it done with paper bricks. There's a couple of tools to use to make brick. I think Argos do one.
Easiest way is to get shredded paper and soak it into a pulp, then add the sawdust or chips.
Add more water if needed.
Put this pulp into the compressing tool and squeeze away. After a few months it'll be solid and dry, so long as it air dries, keep rotating the pile.
The paper acts like a bonding agent.
I've used them at home in the chiminea and they do work, and give off decent heat.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[HillBill]

Depending on the wood it could be used to smoke food. Hardwood chips and shavings can be used to grow mushrooms,

 

[demographic]

One thing about all the compressing into bricks, leaving ages then burning (as well as the sawdust stove I linked to) is that by its very nature, the kind of person who does a good bit of chainsawing usually has enough proper wood that they don't need to **** about with it.

 

[Perrari]

Fair point ! I dont really 'Need' to **** about with it either, I just have a load of it where I do use the chainsaw, and if i could make use of it I could probably get a weeks worth (maybe 2)of heat from it, rather than bin it.
If I was a tree surgeon with access to a lot of 'proper wood' then I would probably not be bothered. But I am not! I am just trying make the most of the wood I have.

One thing about all the compressing into bricks, leaving ages then burning (as well as the sawdust stove I linked to) is that by its very nature, the kind of person who does a good bit of chainsawing usually has enough proper wood that they don't need to **** about with it.

 

[Biker]

I've seen those paper brick making formers and I have also read conflicting reports about them, mostly the time and energy required to make the damn things and then having to wait a loooong time for them to set.

But there's got to be an easier way of getting the wood chippings to glob together into a rough formed brick. I do like the wallpaper paste blend idea, but with the density of it all would the interior ever dry out as the outside shell solidifys?

Making them into thinner pancakes could work then glue and stack the pancakes afterwards to form said brick. I bet you could even blend in the paper method as a bonding agent and use less wallpaper paste. Wallpaper paste is pretty cheap if you don't get the ready mixed stuff but the bottom of the range produce (Tesco's stripey gear equivalent). Just don't get somehting that's flame retardent

I'm thinking making several frames of 2x1 battons forming a sort of of Georgian window effect (see example of that below) with a flat piece of fine mesh or triple layer of chicken wire with battons supporting it underneath but spread enough to allow the water to pass out and air to circulate underneath. Mix up the gloop and shovel it on the mat, spread it out flat with a trowel or something and then flatten off the top. Repeat the process on the next frame and the next and finally once semi dried stack these using battons between like you would season sawn planks. (see bleow another example) Then let this set in the sun and once dried pop out of the molds and repeat.

Could work... or should I get my coat?

 

[Perrari]

Exactly Biker! I was thinking of a multi brick contraption, although I think your window is too good and should be used as a multi picture frame. I reckon mixed with wallpaper paste and allowed to dry for maybe 24 hrs especially in sunny or windy conditions it should be solid enough to remove from mould and just put in the wood shed to dry further allowing me to make more.
The other idea I had was to make a wooden box with internal dimensions of about 6" x 10 " x 25" deep with a fixed but removable bottom, then another piece on top (6"x10") with a piece of 3x2" screwed on the back (like a piston) to compress it down, using a ratchet strap to squeeze all the water out.
I can picture it but hard to explain without a sketch, but should end up with a block 6 x 10 x ? " that I could probably snap in to shorter pieces.

Thats probably as clear as mud without a sketch ?

 

[Perrari]

O yeah, Swrights idea about paper would also be good, I have access to shredded paper which could be included.

 

[Biker]

I can pictue the mold you're talking about, and the rachet straps would really crank it down and squeagie out the water. Like your thinking there buddy.

Oh and those images I posted weren't anything I'd made. I just googled what I needed and pasted the link to the appropriate image in the thread. Simples.

Having access to shredded paper would be a really good asset to making these blocks. Mix the whole mulch in a big in and slop out into the molds. Yeah, it'll work.

Go for it!

 

[Perrari]

The only way to find out I suppose is for me to try it.

 

[Bodge]

I used to make bricks out of shredded paper. I used a section of square drain pipe, drilled holes in it and a waist high piece of timber to snugly fit in the drain pipe. soak the paper in water stuff into pipe and put my weight on the wood and squeeze to shape. Quick and easy but a pain to stack and dry out completely. They did work very well in the end though but not worth the faff imo.