Need help on dismantling pallets!

[3riverschick]

Hi,
After seeing the stunning Woods Fresh Air Coop another lister built, I have decided to make one too. So have gathered a bunch of standard and industrial pallets to dismantle for wood as he used. Now I need help in learning to dismantle them. Any helpful hints so appreciated! I found the industrial pallets are put together with nails sunk below the level of the wood and the nails have spiraling on them which makes then very difficult to remove. All the cross boards are splintering as I try to use the wonder bar to jack the board up enough to get to the nails. Do I just sacrifice the cross boards and use the 2x4's only from the 6 ft. long industrials? Also, I am finding the cross boards of much thinner wood than I remember from years ago, which makes them much more prone to splintering when I try to take them off.
Thanks for your help!
Karen in western PA, USA

 

[rIrs roost]

I used a saws all.

 

[flocking nuts]

Hi, 
 After seeing the stunning Woods Fresh Air Coop another lister built, I have decided to make one too. So have gathered a bunch of standard and industrial pallets to dismantle for wood as he used. Now I need help in learning to dismantle them. Any helpful hints so appreciated! I found the industrial pallets are put together with nails sunk below the level of the wood and the nails have spiraling on them which makes then very difficult to remove. All the cross boards are splintering as I try to use the wonder bar to jack the board up enough to get to the nails. Do I just sacrifice the cross boards and use the 2x4's only from the 6 ft. long industrials? Also, I am finding the cross boards of much thinner wood than I remember from years ago, which makes them much more prone to splintering when I try to take them off.
Thanks for your help!
 Karen in western PA, USA

Hi Karen,

I recently encountered the same thing, and even when I decided some of the boards would have to be sacrificed I still had trouble getting the nails out because the heads of the nails would fold or come off. A lot of what I read suggested using a reciprocating saw after you pry the boards up enough to get the blade in. I don't have one, so I made due, and likely did it the hard way.

I was taking apart shipping crates that had the tops removed and slat sides like pallets. I hammered the claw from a straight claw hammer under to get them looser, then used a crowbar to get the slats all the way up. Some of the nails slipped through or the wood split, but I did my best to avoid it. Once the pieces were apart I tried banging them back through, and if that didn't work I used the cutting wheel on a Dremel so they weren't sticking out in my way anymore. Since then my bf got me cats claws, and it helps some, but digging the head out is a pain.

I hope this helps, and makes sense. We just finished putting a quick coopish thing together for some chicks that list their mamma last night. We finished at 3am. Ill sleep better knowing they're safe.

Wendy

 

[Kasilofchrisn]

Look up the pallet pal on YouTube.
He certainly makes it look easy using his device.
With a few woodworking tool a person could make one in an afternoon.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[Dmontgomery]

I use a reciprocating saw with a "wood with nails" blade installed. You can easily zip right through the edge boards then use your wonder bar to pry the middle boards up enough to get the blade under them. You will end up permanently bending your blade though. That just has to be an acceptable loss.
I have also used a "pallet pryer" a friend made for me out of iron. They are on the internet if you want to search for them.
Or you can pick up a demolition pry bar from Lowe's or Home Depot. The problem with prying pallets apart is that the nail heads tend to split the boards.
For reclaiming the boards, using the reciprocating saw appears to be the best way for me. Takes longer but the boards come out in better shape.

 

[3riverschick]

Thank you all for the help. It all makes sense to me. I do have a sawsall , looks like it will be a big help. And I am going to check out that link on the pallet pal.
Thanks so much, everyone!
Karen