While building any of our projects, there is always time between stages. Especially when waiting for a finish to dry or glue to set up. This is when I clean up the shop or move on to an outdoor project. Always something to do around the shop.

While cleaning, I find that I keep every cut off and scrap in a pile here or there. Over time it looks like a lumber yard for Lilliputian’s from Gulliver’s travels. At times I have to dispose of this material due to the amount. The preferred method is to re-purpose these materials into other useful things.

Small but useful

During a flooring project I collected cut-offs from a wood look vinyl floor. The kind that clicks together. It has a nice rustic gray color and it was made to be durable. The bottom has a thin insulation layer making it a good choice to re-purpose this into something useful.

My dog has been getting up there in years and needed something to assist her with eating. Raised dog bowls are nothing new and quite pricey. They assist the dog by raising the dish to a more comfortable position. Problem is I also have a cat. The raised dishes would make it difficult for her to reach the water. I extended the length creating a platform for said cat. I trimmed using leftover pallet wood from another small but useful project. Store-bought feeders did not offer a solution.

So here I have this material, time and design. The ideal situation to re-purpose the left-over material. However, this is only a small amount of material for one project. My finish is still drying on the wine cabinet project so I used the rest to make a few birdhouses. It only took about an hour after hanging them to have new tenants.

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