Make Refrigerator Magnets From Reclaimed Wood Scraps

As an upcyclist/environmentalist/maker or whatever you want to call me, I try not to waste anything. As an example of the usefulness of even the thinnest, scrappiest of the scraps, I made these refrigerator magnets.

Y'know how you always have those long, skinny pieces of wood from ripping stuff on the table saw? Yes, they make great kindling, but you can do so much more... Please take a minute to watch the video for more information. You can watch to the end for a little gag reel if you wish.

Step 1: Pick Your Scraps, Prep Them and Glue

First I rooted through all my buckets of scraps for nice, long pieces of good wood. I was looking for stuff at least 1/2" wide and thick. I found plywood, mahogany, pallet wood, barn wood.... all sorts of cool stuff. I gave them all good, flat edges on the table saw and cut them to manageable lengths. I then glued them together in groups of about 3" wide per section. I was able to clamp several of these sections in one set of clamps by simply not gluingthe outside edges of the boards. The next day I unclamped and continued...

Step 2: Plane, Cut, Drill and Done

I ran the laminated sections through the bench planer several times to make both sides of the uneven scraps flat. I then set a stop block on my chop saw and cut them all to squares. I drilled a 3/4" hole 1/4" deep hole in the back - the same diameter as a bunch of magnets I bought online. I glued those magnets in to the holes an made sure they were flush with the wood.

You could decorate these any way you wish. I made them as promotional giveaways for a Maker Faire so I put my "I (heart) upcycling" stamp on them.

These look like top shelf items and they are made from what almost all of us (myself included) would normally consider complete scrap.

Thanks and be good,

Tim