8 Ideas for Scrap Wood Projects That Sell

Creative ideas that help you to reuse your wood scraps

After milling lumber on your portable sawmill or finishing a big woodworking project, you're likely to have scrap pieces of lumber leftover.

So why not put those scrap wood pieces to use?

There are plenty of sawyers and woodworkers who do DIY projects using these off-cuts, which can make for great gifts or you can sell them on Facebook Marketplace. 

So with that in mind let's get into some fun projects real woodworkers have made for you to get some inspiration.

Tips for doing DIY scrap wood projects

So what do you need to get started repurposing your wood waste into great selling custom projects? Here are a few tips:

• • Keep solid pieces that can be cut and carved into something new. If a piece is splintered or rotten feel free to burn it or throw it away

  • Take inspiration from other projects (see below) so you know what sizes of lumber other sawyers reuse

  • Keep wood scraps in a dry place so they don't get wet or rot between when you cut them and when you plan to use them

With a portable sawmill on your side you're likely to mill a lot of off-cuts, so figure out a plan for reusing them and don't let them go to waste.

Top scrap wood projects to try

Let's get into some great scrap wood projects that have a lot of rustic charm and can help reuse your wood waste:

Slab Cutting Boards

Courtesy of Michael W. from the Woodland Mills Product Owners and Community Facebook Group.

Made from scrap wood from his HM126 Portable Sawmill, Michael says nothing goes to waste after he's done milling.

This cutting board isn't anything fancy, but it's a great way of making a fun project that can sell for up to $100 or more at a craft market.

Use epoxy to fill any gaps and you have a great-looking board that has a lot of appeal.

Rustic Waste Wood Coasters

Courtesy of Jessica L. from the Woodland Mills Product Owners and Community Facebook Group.

Why throw something in the garbage when you can reuse it?

These rough cut coasters, made from dried waste wood from another project Jessica worked on with her HM126, were made from the ideology that nothing goes to waste.

With a growing scrap wood pile Jessica decided to create some coasters as a quick way to reduce the amount of lumber sitting around, and these functional chunks of wood would make for a great gift, especially for someone who loves a barn wood aesthetic.

Playground Playset

Courtesy of Troy W. from the Woodland Mills Product Owners and Community Facebook Group.

Want to make a memorable playground for the kids or grandkids, or offer a great low-cost play set for people to buy for their children?

Using his HM126, Troy says he had a lot of scrap wood leftover from a porch build so he decided to make a pirate play set for his kid. It looks great and is made from rough, unfinished lumber, great for reducing costs and giving a great surface for running and playing on.

Put something like this on Marketplace and take commissions, and you can sell a finished play set for several hundred dollars using just wood scraps and a bit of ingenuity.

Scrap Wood Earrings and Jewelry

Courtesy of Jonathan S. from the Woodland Mills Product Owners and Community Facebook Group.

Do you have especially small pieces of scrap wood, but a crafter's mentality to do something creative with it?

The possibilities are endless if you want to make jewelry with your wood scraps. Turn them into earrings like Jonathan has, or whittle them into rings or necklaces. Share them with friends or sell them at craft fairs or farmer's markets. These can be as complicated or simple as you want them to be, and anyone's wife would be in awe over a cute gift like this.

Carved Wooden Bowls

Courtesy of Larry J. from the Woodland Mills Product Owners and Community Facebook Group.

Larry says he's "addicted to scraps" from his HM122 Portable Sawmill, and can you blame him when he's been able to make such amazing carved wooden bowls from them?

There is a lot of craftsmanship to these pieces, which is really impressive considering they are made of wood waste from a sawmill. If you can transform your wood scraps the same way Larry has, you can potentially make a lot of money from your waste wood.

Picture Frames

Courtesy of Julie-Dennis H. from the Woodland Mills Product Owners and Community Facebook Group.

Turn your live-edge wood scraps into a memorable picture frame for family photos or other moments.

Great for cottages, cabins or rural areas, customers will be impressed with work like this and pay good money to put one up in their summer homes. Get a start on projects like this in the spring and set up in an area with a heavy presence of cottagers and you can make a ton of money on these frames.

Bandsaw Blade Knives

Courtesy of Joseph Q. from the Woodland Mills Product Owners and Community Facebook Group.

What do you do with the smaller pieces of scrap wood from your other projects, or even your used bandsaw blades when they've gone dull?

Joseph found an ingenious idea to reuse both. After doing some milling on his HM130MAX Portable Sawmill, he was inspired to recycle both his used sawmill blades as well as his off-cuts, and carved and cut them into a custom knife. It's a great little tool that has a great story and reuses not one, but two of your resources.

Short Custom Slabs

Courtesy of Devin S. from the Woodland Mills Product Owners and Community Facebook Group.

Want an easy project that makes use of your oddly-shaped logs that can make you some money?

A lot of sawyers tend to want straight logs, and will cut off twists and Y-shapes so they can make a nice, square cant for making dimensional lumber. But what if you take those off-cuts and create some beautiful slabs from them?

Devin demonstrated some beautiful slabs made from material that might otherwise go to waste, and with a bit of kiln drying and finishing these can fetch some pretty high prices among the woodworking community. So consider whether it's worth building a project with your scrap wood or cutting it into slabs to sell.

In summary: How do you sell scrap wood projects?

So what do you need to know to turn your wood scraps into profit?

• • Using a portable sawmill like an HM126 or HM130MAX you can produce a ton of extra lumber for profitable side projects

  • Keep everything you think you can use, you never know what might inspire you

  • Keep your scraps in a safe place where they'll stay dry and ready to use

  • Make connections at crafts fairs and in cottage country and see what people want to buy

Keep this in mind and you'll be making money in no time.