Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[Smokerbill]

I blocked off the remaining space with a bunch of upright fenceposts and 4x4s, and a few 2x2x3' rabbit cages. For me to pass, I just move one of the cages out of the way. The cages needed to take up space somewhere, so might as well make them useful. LOL

 

[Sally PB]

Notice how full of fresh grass it is under the wire. That grass is 7 inches tall up to the level of the wire. You don't see any grass poking through the wire because the chickens know to hit the grazing frame first thing in the morning, and they trim everything sticking above the wire down to the wire level.

Thanks for posting this picture. I meant to do something like this last summer, forgot, and this reminded me. Now I just have to remember...

 

[gtaus]

Thanks for posting this picture. I meant to do something like this [grazing frame] last summer, forgot, and this reminded me. Now I just have to remember...

I had to make my grazing frame 7 inches high off the ground because I converted my entire chicken run into a chicken run composting system. I have lots of compost litter in the run and the chickens scratched a lot of it on to the top of the wire and killed the grass growing in the frame. If you don't have lots of litter in your chicken run, you should be able to get by with just using a 2X4 on edge and that will be tall enough for the grass to grow.

Also, I made my grazing frame 4X10 feet, but that's only because I had some salvaged lumber laying around that length. If I were to start over today, I'd just use some pallet wood 2X4's and make the grazing frame(s) 4X4 feet. That's a much easier size to handle and move around. If you need more grazing frame action, then make another one. I mean, I like my 4X10 foot grazing frame, but it's too big to move around unless I really want to get a little work out.

A smaller 4X4 foot grazing frame would be easier on me. I'd probably build two of them for my chicken run. But the 4X10 foot grazing frame is pretty bulky and heavy for me to handle all by myself.

 

[gtaus]

Been raining here lots since last Friday. Most of my outdoor projects have come to a stop. That gives me a chance to catch up on sorting out pallet wood screws and nails that I might be able to reuse. Here is a picture of some of my sorting work in progress....

Those long black screws are some kind of lag screw that I salvaged off a few pallets I found. I checked the local stores and those same screws cost about 80 cents each. I was able to take out 18 of them intact and as good as new. 18 X$0.80 = $14.40 saved!

Those gold screws are some high quality deck screws. I got about 2 pounds ready to reuse. Amazon sells them for about $6.00 per pound in bulk, so I salvaged maybe another $12.00 in deck screws.

The other bins are mostly pallet wood nails that are straight enough to be reused as is. I don't use nails much these days, I prefer screws, but I refuse to throw out something that I might be able to use in some project. Those nails are sorted out by size and weight.

Notice that I have a pair of vinyl gloves in the parts case. Those old rusty nails can really get your hands dirty and washing your hands does not necessarily get them clean. So, I started using these gloves.

Well, not much happening here. Thought someone might be interested in the possibilities of salvaging screws and nails from pallet wood breakdowns. I estimate this case has about $30 of nails and screws ready to reuse. Not a bad showing for about an hour's worth of work while I sat in front of the TV watching a movie.

 

[gtaus]

Update on Air Locker AP700

Since I'm talking about salvaging pallet wood nails, I should mention that my new Air Locker AP700 nail puncher/remover not only works great for shooting out nails, but the long nose on the Air Locker lets you straighten out nails while in the wood before you shoot them out. I find I am salvaging maybe 2X-3X more nails than before when I used a hammer or crowbar to pull out nails. Often times, when using a hammer or crowbar, you end up bending the nail as you pull it out. The Air Locker shoots out the nail straight. So, I have a big bucket full of nails to sort through and many more of them will be good to reuse, as is, compared to before when lots were bent from the hammer pulling them out.

I really like my Air Locker. It de-nails my wood 3X-4X faster than what I could do with a hammer or crowbar. So, it's a big time and labor saver. But it also has the added benefit of salvaging many more nails than before, and that might have some value to you as well. I got my Air Locker from Amazon in a kit with an extra driver for if/when the original driver needs to be replaced. My purchase was still less than $60.00 for the kit. If you do lots of pallet wood breakdowns, you might want to consider it. It does not do anything that you can't do with a hammer and/or crowbar, but it's a lot faster and easier.

One final thought, the Air Locker has a replaceable piston driver. The Air Locker can be repaired when that piston wears out or breaks. There are less expensive nail punchers that perform like the Air Locker, but none of them had replacement pistons for future repairs. The Air Locker is a little more expensive up front, but if you ever break or wear out that driver piston, you can easily fix the Air Locker. With the less expensive brands, you have to replace the entire tool. Sometimes I am willing to pay more for a better-quality tool. For me, the Air Locker was well worth the extra ~$8.00 compared to the disposable brands.

 

[ChicksnMore]

Update on Air Locker AP700

Since I'm talking about salvaging pallet wood nails, I should mention that my new Air Locker AP700 nail puncher/remover not only works great for shooting out nails, but the long nose on the Air Locker lets you straighten out nails while in the wood before you shoot them out. I find I am salvaging maybe 2X-3X more nails than before when I used a hammer or crowbar to pull out nails. Often times, when using a hammer or crowbar, you end up bending the nail as you pull it out. The Air Locker shoots out the nail straight. So, I have a big bucket full of nails to sort through and many more of them will be good to reuse, as is, compared to before when lots were bent from the hammer pulling them out.

View attachment 3558632

I really like my Air Locker. It de-nails my wood 3X-4X faster than what I could do with a hammer or crowbar. So, it's a big time and labor saver. But it also has the added benefit of salvaging many more nails than before, and that might have some value to you as well. I got my Air Locker from Amazon in a kit with an extra driver for if/when the original driver needs to be replaced. My purchase was still less than $60.00 for the kit. If you do lots of pallet wood breakdowns, you might want to consider it. It does not do anything that you can't do with a hammer and/or crowbar, but it's a lot faster and easier.

One final thought, the Air Locker has a replaceable piston driver. The Air Locker can be repaired when that piston wears out or breaks. There are less expensive nail punchers that perform like the Air Locker, but none of them had replacement pistons for future repairs. The Air Locker is a little more expensive up front, but if you ever break or wear out that driver piston, you can easily fix the Air Locker. With the less expensive brands, you have to replace the entire tool. Sometimes I am willing to pay more for a better-quality tool. For me, the Air Locker was well worth the extra ~$8.00 compared to the disposable brands.

I love your tool reviews... so helpful!

 

[Smokerbill]

I moved some of my free and crappy fencing today. The chickens started wandering the long way around the garden, so I blocked it off with hogwire, t-posts, plastic mesh fencing, sticks, and a dried up, prickly holly branch!

Pictures to follow.....

 

[ChicksnMore]

I moved some of my free and crappy fencing today. The chickens started wandering the long way around the garden, so I blocked it off with hogwire, t-posts, plastic mesh fencing, sticks, and a dried up, prickly holly branch!

Pictures to follow.....

Where there's a will there's a way kinda chickens!

 

[Smokerbill]

Where there's a will there's a way kinda chickens!

Whatever works. LOL
But they'll find their way out again.
Eventually I'll put up a "real" run for them, chicken proof but not predator proof. They already have a 110 square foot secure run, but it's totally in the shade. And they just love to run free. I'll probably get a 150' roll of 5 or 6 foot 1" hex chicken wire. Make something like a 25'x50' run out of it.

 

[gtaus]

Eventually I'll put up a "real" run for them, chicken proof but not predator proof.

Looks like a beautiful space for the chickens when you do get it all set up. Love all those pictures. Thanks.

My chicken run is up to 13X30 feet. I have to put bird netting on top of the fencing because where I live, we have hawks and Bald Eagles overhead all the time. Free ranging chickens would not last long. My chicken run fencing is just 2X4 wire fence on T-Posts. No predator apron or anything like that. I call it predator resistant, but not predator proof. It has been good enough to deter nosy neighborhood dogs from attacking my chickens.

I am mainly concerned about nighttime predators, so my coop is basically predator proof - except, at the moment, I need to do a few repairs and replace some rotted wood. I built my coop with OSB and it had held up pretty good for about 4 years. However, there are a few spots where the OSB has failed and needs to be replaced. I plan on using some wood salvaged from my pallet breakdowns, then paint it to match the coop.