Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[Smokerbill]

Ace Hardware sells pallets at their store. I take a pass on them. There are a number of other businesses in town that are happy to give pallets away for free because it costs them money to dispose of them at the landfill.

Some businesses, like Harbor Freight, are starting to send pallets back to the shipper for credit. I used to get a lot of pallets from Harbor Freight, but not so many anymore. Too bad for me, but I would rather see those pallets being sent back to the shippers for credit than dumped in our landfills as waste.

I still have a number of places in town that are happy to let me take their pallets for free. So, I'm good for now.

Although I have more pallet wood than I need at present, I will still run by the businesses that give out free pallets and look for the best condition pallets and/or special size or type pallets. I really like to find a shipping pallet with special hardware still on them, like those Torx head screws or lag screws. That hardware has value.

Speaking of hardware, on my last run to our local Bobcat dealership to load up those extra long pallets, I picked up some metal banding straps. At first, I was just going to toss them into the trash pile. But the bands were in really good shape so I put a couple of them in the back of the Explorer to take home. I don't have a clue what I can use them for, but I hope to think of something, someday, and then I will feel like a genius for not tossing them into the trash bin!

Google picture of metal banding straps like I picked up...

View attachment 3958249


If I cut the band and stretched it out, it would be about 16 feet long.

Does anybody have any ideas for reusing metal banding? Would love to hear any suggestions. Thanks.

Use them to make garden bed deer fence instead of using chicken wire?

 

[gtaus]

I have drilled holes as needed and used it instead of plumber's strap

That was my first thought, too. Thanks for the second on that idea.

 

[gtaus]

Use them to make garden bed deer fence instead of using chicken wire?

I had not thought of that. I'll have to let that bounce around in my head. I know one of reasons I went with the 1-inch chicken wire was to keep out the thieving squirrels from stealing my eggplants. A deer fence would not keep out those furry bandits. But using the straps as a barrier, in general, might be useful. Thanks.

 

[gtaus]

Reconsidering Taller Protective Cages for Raised Beds

Some of you may remember that I got my raised bed gardens devasted by deer this year. So, I have been making a number of 2-foot-tall pallet wood chicken wire protective cages to keep the deer out next year. They should work for a lot of my shorter plants. However, my Roma tomato and various pepper plants grow over 2 feet tall. For example, here is a picture of a Sweet Banana pepper bed and you can see the plants are just over the 2-foot height...

The deer have been eating the tops off those pepper plants, but they don't actually get any of the plant or the peppers under the 2-foot tall cage. So, I was thinking of making some 3-foot-tall cages for next year, with chicken wire tops, to keep all the deer from eating the plants.

Just a little side info in that one can expect Sweet Banana pepper plants to grow a maximum of 2 feet high. You can clearly see that all my pepper plants are all over 2 feet tall. I think this is because I use a mix of high-quality topsoil and chicken run compost in my raised beds. My plants are growing like crazy. Who knows how tall they would grow if the deer had not eaten the tops off at 2 feet. Even so, one plant is about 3 feet tall.

A couple days ago I ripped a bunch of pallet boards to make the frame for a new 3-foot-tall protective cage. These cages are going to be 53X53 inches instead of the standard 48X48 inch beds I build now. Those extra inches are needed because I used 4X4 posts at every corner for my earlier raised beds.

I set up that pallet wood solid plywood top that I turned into a jig to make my frames. It's just the pallet with some extra scraps of wood to hold the boards in place as I screw them together...

As you can see, the frame is larger than the plywood top. But that's OK. I just rotate the frame into the one corner where I do the work...

I have to say that I really like that jig. It really makes everything come together faster, and easier. That Irwin Quick Grip clamp is my third hand holding the board in place. Working with the frame boards and the jig today, I really started learning how to build them faster. Very nice!

Anyways, here is a picture of the completed 3-foot-tall pallet wood chicken wire protective cage on top of one of my older raised beds with those 4X4 corner posts...

In order for this cage to work, it has to keep out the deer but give me access to work the bed. I am certain that it will keep out the deer, and I would probably not even need any chicken wire top frame for these cages. However, my other concern was if I could reach inside the cage to work the bed.

Unfortunately, the 3-foot-tall cage on top of the 16-inch-high raised bed is just too tall for me to reach all the way into the bed. At almost 4-1/2 feet on the top of the cage, I come up about 12 inches shy of reaching the topsoil. That's a problem.

I have enough chicken wire to build another two 3-foot-tall cages, but everything is stopped until I think about this some more. I can easily reach the topsoil in the raised bed with the 2-foot-tall cages, but not this new 3-foot-tall cage.

I have thought of a few ways to use my standard 2-foot-tall 4X4 foot protective cages on the larger 53X53 inch raised beds. I might be better off just using 2-foot-tall 4X4 foot cages and adding a second cage on top if/when the plants grow taller than 2 feet high. I will be working on some of those ideas in the next few days to see if that might work. I just don't want to build any more 3-foot-tall cages at this point. Again, it's just too tall when sitting on top of my 16-inch-high raised beds.

Well, leaving on a positive note, I filled yet another one of those cages on a raised bed with more leaves. That makes 3 cages and my tiered compost bin full of leaves to use this winter. More than I need, I am sure.

Here is the cage I filled today...

Yeah, I know that cage filled with leaves looks just like the other two I already posted. But I am a little excited about my new leaf storage plan because it is right next to the chicken coop and run. In addition to using the leaves to top the snow in the chicken run this winter, I am also thinking about using some leaves mixed in with my paper shreds for my chicken coop litter. I only use free resources for my coop litter.

A few years ago I built a 12X12 foot storage area out of pallets. I dumped all kinds of leaves in it. The idea was to use them in the winter. However, that storage area is halfway across the yard. When winter came and the snowbanks got up to 3 feet high. I just did not have the energy, or the desire, to shovel out a walkway to that area to get those leaves. I considered that a failure in terms of using those leaves as intended for the chickens in the winter. However, I just let all those leaves sit and compost in place for a couple of years and this spring I used that leaf compost to top off some of my raised beds. So, not a complete failure in the end.

 

[Molpet]

Unfortunately, the 3-foot-tall cage on top of the 16-inch-high raised bed is just too tall for me to reach all the way into the bed. At almost 4-1/2 feet on the top of the cage, I come up about 12 inches shy of reaching the topsoil. That's a problem.

Door that opens out so you can get in.

 

[gtaus]

Door that opens out so you can get in.

I let that idea bounce around in my empty head for a while. Then I thought instead of a door, what would happen if I just made 4 separate panels and then zip tie them together to make the 4-sided cage. I could use a bungee cord, or something like that, on one corner and that essentially would make it a "door" that I could open and shut easily by only removing the bungee cord.

Or maybe using the bungee cord idea on 2 corners so I could access the plants from either side. Since my raised beds are 4X4 feet, or slightly larger, I can't really reach all 4 feet from one side.

I think I will pursue that idea of separate panels. It also has the advantage of easy storage. I could just cut the zip ties and stack the panels together, taking up much less room than a complete solid 4-sided frame. Also, I could make those separate frames in my garage with limited space whereas making the complete 4-sided frame takes up too much room to build and store.

That means, if I just made separate panels, I could work inside my garage in the winter and build those panels one by one.

The only downside to making separate panels that I can think of is that I would have to do a lot more cutting of the chicken wire. However, if that idea works, it's worth the effort I would think.

Anyways, I am loving these new ideas. Thanks for suggestion that inspired this train of thought. It is very much appreciated.

 

[avjudge]

I let that idea bounce around in my empty head for a while. Then I thought instead of a door, what would happen if I just made 4 separate panels and then zip tie them together to make the 4-sided cage. I could use a bungee cord, or something like that, on one corner and that essentially would make it a "door" that I could open and shut easily by only removing the bungee cord.

Or maybe using the bungee cord idea on 2 corners so I could access the plants from either side. Since my raised beds are 4X4 feet, or slightly larger, I can't really reach all 4 feet from one side.

I think I will pursue that idea of separate panels. It also has the advantage of easy storage. I could just cut the zip ties and stack the panels together, taking up much less room than a complete solid 4-sided frame. Also, I could make those separate frames in my garage with limited space whereas making the complete 4-sided frame takes up too much room to build and store.

That means, if I just made separate panels, I could work inside my garage in the winter and build those panels one by one.

The only downside to making separate panels that I can think of is that I would have to do a lot more cutting of the chicken wire. However, if that idea works, it's worth the effort I would think.

Anyways, I am loving these new ideas. Thanks for suggestion that inspired this train of thought. It is very much appreciated.

My thought would be 2 opposite sides openable, and I think zip ties at one corner and mini bungees at the other would probably work great for that.

I think you would have to have a solid frame at bottom and top or attach the two fixed sides to the planter box so that the whole thing doesn’t fall down as you swing a side open, at least until the plants grow enough to make that impossible.

 

[gtaus]

I think you would have to have a solid frame at bottom and top or attach the two fixed sides to the planter box so that the whole thing doesn’t fall down as you swing a side open, at least until the plants grow enough to make that impossible.

Good points.

I think maybe having another panel for the top, and securing that on the two sides that do not open to make it fixed, would solve that problem.

If I don't need a full top chicken wire panel to keep the deer out at that height, maybe just a strip of pallet wood across the top in a few places would hold everything together. Since the deer don't seem to bother the plants in those 2-foot-high cages, I am thinking the 3-foot-tall cages probably don't need any tops at all.

Another idea is to simply drive a couple of drywall screws into the frame and the top of the raised bed on the sides that will not open. If I ever needed to remove the panels, all I would need is my drill to reverse the screws. Easy!

Those are just two ideas that immediately popped into my head.

Frankly, I was thinking that only opening one side at a time would not pose any problems because the other three sides would hold it together. But your points were good to think about.

 

[avjudge]

Another idea is to simply drive a couple of drywall screws into the frame and the top of the raised bed on the sides that will not open. If I ever needed to remove the panels, all I would need is my drill to reverse the screws. Easy!

I have some Simpson hex-head screws on hand since my aviary construction because they’re approved to use with Simpson rafter ties and joist hangers and my hand-eye coordination and therefore hammering skills are nonexistent. (That’s what you get for skiing & riding horses rather than playing ball sports as a kid!)

I have decided as I’ve played around with things that these hex heads are much better for screws I’m going to want to take out, in just such a situation as this, usually seasonal changes, especially in a less-than-pristine environment. The heads don’t strip out with use like Philips or fill with gunk between uses like torx. So i keep some on hand just for such uses.

Those are just two ideas that immediately popped into my head.

Sounds like your thoughts ran pretty much the same way mine went!

 

[gtaus]

I have some Simpson hex-head screws on hand ...

I have decided as I’ve played around with things that these hex heads are much better for screws I’m going to want to take out, in just such a situation as this, usually seasonal changes, especially in a less-than-pristine environment. The heads don’t strip out with use like Philips or fill with gunk between uses like torx. So i keep some on hand just for such uses.

I had to look up those Simpson hex-head screws, as I am not familiar with the name. Assuming others may not know what they are, here is a quick Google picture...

Yes, I have used screws with hex heads in the past. They would be perfect for something like I mentioned, fastening a panel to the raised bed. I don't have any on hand at the moment. Although you call them Simpson hex-head screws, I think they are sold locally as lag screws. They probably have other names as well.

What I really liked about them is that you can use a nut driver instead of a screwdriver bit to drive them into the wood. Also, they have a built-in washer on the head, perfect for many applications.

I have no idea how much those hex-head screws cost. The main reason I use drywall screws for most of my pallet wood projects is because drywall screws are so cheap compared to other options. But I am going into town tomorrow, so I'll have to look at Menards to see if they have any. I looked online and could not find any. But maybe they are sold under a different name?

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look into them.