Can I flux with mdf sawdust

[Tom R]

Can I flux with mdf sawdust? I have a unlimited supply of it at work. I just dont know how well it will work because it has glue in it. Have you tried it before? Did it work as well as regular Wood?

[fredj338]

It's not the glue I worry about as much as the other chemicals in the glue, like formaldehyde? An old chunk of 2x4 passed through a router or saw a few times yields a lot of sawdust.

[malpaismike]

Anything that is not recommended for camp fires, eg. particle board, osb, and, yes, mdf, should be avoided. I make buku sawdust--as well as cast boolits. Send me a sack of Kreugerands and I'll send it back to you full of fluxdust. Kiddin'. There is a fella on this site that sells, I think, Calif cedar. Now you can flux in your linen closet. I made a ration of flux sticks from the trim from some poplar shelves I whipped up. All else fails, Midway has their flux on sale several times a year--still working on the same jar as 2 yr ago. Good luck, and be safe. mm

I forgot--especially don't use trreated lumber; not as deadly as it used to be, but still noxious--and old stuff (can you say cyanide?) is still around. mm

[cajun shooter]

Pat Marlin sells a wood shaving not sawdust that is great smelling. I have been on the same box for over a year. He will compress it and it will last for a long time. My wife comes into my shop and asks what is that nice smell? I would in no way use any MDF board as the fumes are very dangerous!!

[oneokie]

As others have said, don't use the MDF sawdust. Along with formaldehyde, it also contains Urea. Both give off toxic fumes when heated.

[rattletrap1970]

Use a wooden paint stirring stick.
I read that on here a while back and it works great.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Scoop up your chain saw chips, sweep up the floor after running your power saw or sweep the sanding dust off the bench into a pail for your next casting time. Of course make sure there is nothing else on the bench or on the floor that will go into the cast that shouldn`t be going in there.Robert

[Jal5]

Cannot beat chain saw chips and right now is the season around here at least for tree cutting/trimming.

Joe

[frkelly74]

I was just going to say it smells bad when it burns. It didn't occur to me that it was toxic.

[Tom R]

I will not use It I guess. I very seldom do wood work anymore. I do mostly metal so I think I will stop by a cabinet shop. I am using candle wax now and that works but I am almost out.

[fredj338]

I was just going to say it smells bad when it burns. It didn't occur to me that it was toxic.
Often that is a good sign, if it smells bad burning, it's likely got something toxic in it. Same for smelting ww. You don't really want to be down wind of grease & oil caked ww melting.

[malpaismike]

Pat Marlin was who I was thinking of when I posted before. Not to ***** his bizness, but you can get cedar chips as bedding for pet critters at PetSmart and others. mm

[jaguarxk120]

Many times it's not what the material is but who uses it and for the use it's put to.

[Ferdinand]

I wear a mask when cutting MDF and other particle board while woodworking since I've become concerned about the chemicals in them.

I make furniture and turn wood and have more walnut, cherry, oak, ash and other shavings on hand than I can even use for campfires. I'm going to flux with that instead of parifin next time I smelt, which might be soon since I've accumulated another 50+ lbs of ww and expect another shipment of 150 lbs soon. I'm gong to try to segregate the cherry wood shavings since they actually smell sort of good when they burn...

[Echo]

I stop by Lowe's and gather sawdust from their wood-cutting operation.

Hope they don't cut too much mdf...

[fixerupper]

Im sure most folks are aware of this..... but another sawdust to avoid are the treated lumbers.... CCA, ACQ etc..... the pressure treated green lumber.

Toxic fumes, toxic ash. Nasty nasty stuff when burnt.

[imashooter2]

Use a wooden paint stirring stick.
I read that on here a while back and it works great.

Ask for the big ones that the commercial guys use to stir 5 gallon pails.

[a.squibload]

Speaking of ash, I get plenty from the pellet stove.
When using sawdust you wait 'til it's burned up before stirring it in, right?
Suppose ash would make a good flux? Or is it too far gone?
I haven't seen any reference to it here.

Any other use for ash? I've been tossing it.

[Freightman]

Speaking of ash, I get plenty from the pellet stove.
When using sawdust you wait 'til it's burned up before stirring it in, right?
Suppose ash would make a good flux? Or is it too far gone?
I haven't seen any reference to it here.

Any other use for ash? I've been tossing it.
The garden and flower beds, kills the nematodes, wire worms, and other undesirables. Just do not use too much as it will make your soil PH out of whack, one pound per 100 sq ft. is plenty.