Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[gtaus]

I found out that it is much easier to breakdown pallets after rain when they are wet. I keep them outside.

I store my pallets outside, too. But I only have worked on them for breakdown when they were dry. How is it that they are easier to breakdown after a rain?

 

[chickengr]

I store my pallets outside, too. But I only have worked on them for breakdown when they were dry. How is it that they are easier to breakdown after a rain?

some nails go out smoothly. I managed to get a few planks without breaking them. but you must be patient and work slowly.

 

[gtaus]

some nails go out smoothly. I managed to get a few planks without breaking them. but you must be patient and work slowly.

Well, I got the working slowly bit down. Not so good at patience.

I'll have to give it a try to breakdown a pallet after a good rain. I would have thought the lumber would swell up and that would make it even harder to remove the boards.

 

[Sally PB]

I'll have to give it a try to breakdown a pallet after a good rain. I would have thought the lumber would swell up and that would make it even harder to remove the boards.

That's what I would have thought...

 

[Smokerbill]

Well, I got the working slowly bit down. Not so good at patience.

I'll have to give it a try to breakdown a pallet after a good rain. I would have thought the lumber would swell up and that would make it even harder to remove the boards.

Regarding those spiral nails, why don't you try drilling a small hole right next to the nail, maybe with a 3/16" or 1/4" bit, before pulling the board off. I bet that would help.

 

[gtaus]

Regarding those spiral nails, why don't you try drilling a small hole right next to the nail, maybe with a 3/16" or 1/4" bit, before pulling the board off. I bet that would help.

Thanks, that's an idea to try.

I do have plug cutters that will work. You just pick a plug cutter big enough to fit over the head of the nail, the drill it down into the wood. Makes a considerable hole in the wood, but you can just lift the board off and fill the hole with a dowel plug if you want.

I know that works, but it takes time. If you had some wood that was really worth saving, it's a great option. For the pallet wood I use, it's usually not worth all that effort.

BTW, I bought my plug cutter kit because I had some furniture that a bolt or screw broke off inside the wood. I needed to remove the bolt/screw and still not do too much damage to the furniture. I back filled the hole with a dowel, cut it flush with a Japanese saw, and it was good as new. That furniture was worth the time and effort to fix it right. Well, as right as I could make it. I'm not a true craftsman, but I can do a few things that work for me.

 

[gtaus]

A few years ago, when the price of lumber was sky high, and a couple years before I got into pallet projects, I built some wood framed raised beds using galvanized steel panels for the sides...

At the time, I think it cost me about $40-$50 per raised bed using the galvanized steel. Compare that to using all wood which would have been close to $200 per raised bed. Of course, the cost of lumber has come down in price, but still, you could probably save money using galvanized steel panels for the sides even today. As you see in the picture above, I used salvaged wood even back then to build the framework of the raised bed, and that saved me a lot of money.

I was doing some research today, and I found out that the galvanized steel panels can last as long as 50 years, or even longer! Wow! I doubt the wood frame will last that long, but maybe if I painted it, stained it, or otherwise preserved the wood it would last many years longer than natural wood.

Well, compare that galvanized steel panel raised bed for about $40-$50 to the pallet wood raised bed v2.0 that I was building last year. The pallet wood was free, so my total out of pocket cost was less than $2 per bed. That's great, IMHO. But it's not a 50-year raised bed. I expect my $2 pallet wood raised bed to last maybe 5-10 years.

5-10 years is long term planning at my age. So, I am more than happy with my $2 pallet wood raised beds.

But I thought I would post this comparison for your consideration. Would love to hear the thoughts of others.

 

[gtaus]

Stackable, Interlocking Compost Bins!

I found an interesting approach to hot composting bins on a thread from this past spring. After looking at the pictures and the plans, I could see where one could easily use pallet wood for this project.

First of all, giving credit to the member who posted the link...

I have been using this type of compost bin for 10 years and love them
https://www.vegetablegardenguru.com/homemade-compost-bin.html

OK, now some pictures to peak your interest. Here is the compost bin all stacked up and interlocked...

Looks pretty nice to me. But here is where the design really shines. Each layer of that compost bin can be removed and restacked in another place. For example, if you practice hot composting and you need to turn the pile, you simply start taking off the top portion of the compost bin, set it on the ground next to the original pile, and then start moving the compost material into the new bin you are building.

Here is how they show it on their website...

I think that's a pretty interesting way of turning and rebuilding the compost bin!

If you are interested in that design, here is a link to the Free Compost Bin Plans.

Not a difficult design to build, just look at the detailed picture of this...

From the outside...

If you are into hot composting, and building stuff with wood, then maybe this design is just what you are looking for. Lots of advantages to this system.

I have a bunch of full-sized pallet wood bins hiding underneath some trees. They work great but cannot be easily moved. I just fill the bins and let them sit for years, cold composting. I really like the stackable, interlocking idea here because you don't have to be super strong to take apart this compost bin, one level at a time, and move it to wherever you want. If you want to practice hot composting, I can see where this stackable bin approach has many advantages when it comes to turning the pile over and rebuilding it in a new bin.

 

[Sally PB]

What a fantastic idea! Thanks for posting this.

I have a 3-bay compost bin made of cinder blocks where I do my "not in the chicken run" composting. It's by one of my gardens. I might make a bin like this to put near my other garden, which is up a steep hill. It really need its "own" compost bin.

 

[ChicksnMore]

Stackable, Interlocking Compost Bins!

I found an interesting approach to hot composting bins on a thread from this past spring. After looking at the pictures and the plans, I could see where one could easily use pallet wood for this project.

First of all, giving credit to the member who posted the link...



OK, now some pictures to peak your interest. Here is the compost bin all stacked up and interlocked...

View attachment 3705862

Looks pretty nice to me. But here is where the design really shines. Each layer of that compost bin can be removed and restacked in another place. For example, if you practice hot composting and you need to turn the pile, you simply start taking off the top portion of the compost bin, set it on the ground next to the original pile, and then start moving the compost material into the new bin you are building.

Here is how they show it on their website...

View attachment 3705863

I think that's a pretty interesting way of turning and rebuilding the compost bin!

If you are interested in that design, here is a link to the Free Compost Bin Plans.

Not a difficult design to build, just look at the detailed picture of this...

View attachment 3705868

From the outside...

View attachment 3705869

View attachment 3705871

If you are into hot composting, and building stuff with wood, then maybe this design is just what you are looking for. Lots of advantages to this system.

I have a bunch of full-sized pallet wood bins hiding underneath some trees. They work great but cannot be easily moved. I just fill the bins and let them sit for years, cold composting. I really like the stackable, interlocking idea here because you don't have to be super strong to take apart this compost bin, one level at a time, and move it to wherever you want. If you want to practice hot composting, I can see where this stackable bin approach has many advantages when it comes to turning the pile over and rebuilding it in a new bin.

I really like that! Think I'd use 4x4's for the corners just for ease of stacking. I've been thinking about replacing my bins...I might try that when I do.