using your wood waste slabs and sawdust etc

[Frank_Pender]

Russ, I have looked into the pellet issue.  It is is binding agent and the drying of the fiver that caused me to stear away.   I also needed to put up a building and all for the drying and packageing.  I just decided to push a bit more on disposing of the sawdust and chips.  Since my sawdust is not as fine as the band mills it makes mine an little bit easier in marketing to horse an dog folks.   The chips for to folks for walking paths a such in gardens and yards.

[Radar67]

Sawdust works well as a soil amendment in your garden. Once the growing season is over, till it in to rot over the winter.

[beenthere]

Add a lot of nitrogen to the soil/sawdust mix, as the breakdown process uses up a lot of nitrogen.

[karl]

My MD sawdust goes as fast as I can make it to dairy farms for about  .15 a cu' - they haul my 3 altered manure spreaders and return them.

Live bottom 45' boxes full delivered are about .30cu'.

I would like to turn the surplus slabs that I don't need for the outdoor boiler into bedding also- do the planers handle bark well or is an adjustable disc chipper more appropriate? Most of my slabs and edgings are small as I use larger slabs for "log siding". Species are mostly fir, spruce, wht pine,
ew cedar, various hdwds in that order.

[Ron Wenrich]

A wood hog can reduce slabs into either bedding or mulch.  There are both vertical and horizontal models. 

Anybody use a tub grinder for slabs?

[Frank_Pender]

I have a friend in the Beaverton area that has recently purchased a MD mill and uses an 80 foot rock belting system to carry away the waste into an outside pile.  Then it is picked up with a trackhoe, which is fitted with a  thumb and  placed into a tub grinder.  He markets that material, which is mixed with other yard fall down materials from his yard service business. 

[karl]

Did a search on wood hogs-
Got more questions than answers
Can't see me investin' 7 g's in a mill (granted, it was used) and 100 g's in a grinder...........

Anybody used a disc type of chipper for slabs? The only one I have seen is Valby ch 160 pto powered.

[Ron Wenrich]

2 used hogs on the exchange for $5500 and one at $9500. 

[Frank_Pender]

Karl, I have a Valby for my tractor, but use it primarely for the smaller material scraps and the slabs for firewood.

[karl]

Duh, didn't even think of looking there  (now where did I leave my mind?)

Frank- that was my thought - to used the stuff with some size for firewood and chip the edgings and shop scrap ( I HATE cutting up those "slivers" and handling them for the stove)
Do you find the chips fine enough for bedding?
I wish you lived on this coast- I'd like to come over and play in your sandbox!

[Frank_Pender]

Karl, you can come and play in my 70 acre sandbox anytime you wish.   Yes the chips are small enough to use for cattle, sheep, goats, etc bedding.  Many people use the chips I produce for pathways and such in garden areas or even for one on their walking trails through their forested areas.  I get $10 a yard if they haul and $12 if I haul.  I will load for the $10 amount.

  As an example of the larger material, I am loaded and ready to haul a load to Portland, Sunday morning, of two cords of slab wood at a price of $190 a cord.  The wood is all stacked in the truck.  The first cord will have to be unloaded by hand and the second will be dumped at a second site about 5 miles away from the first.  The backhaul is a chainlink dog pen for a neighbor.   I will make enough on the backhaul to cover the cost of the wood load haul, I hope.

[Brian_Rhoad]

I have a Valby chipper. I think it is the model 240. It is the stationary type. Not 3 point and pto. I power it with a 6-71 detroit. It will take 9" round wood and a 12"-14" slab. The chips are blown right into a Schutte hammermill and come out as double ground mulch. I can sell more mulch than I make in a year so it works out pretty good for me!

[karl]

Tractor trailer loads here delivered go for a bit more than $8. yd....love to sell mine for $12.00!!!!!
Like most things I guess-Location is key.
The chipper is really beginning to sound like the toy...er TOOL for me.

Brian- wouldn't think that Detroit would be at all overworked by the 240, eh?

thanks for the info

[Brian_Rhoad]

The Detroit runs the chipper and hammer mill at the same time. I have stalled it and have "smoked" the belts also!