Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[Hedgeland Farms]

I started working on my next pallet project this afternoon. I will be making 1 or 2 pallet raised beds for food gardening. I broke down a few pallet this afternoon and have most of the wood standing by for the project. Just trying to decide on what design I want to use for the build.

I could continue the planter design, and just make that bigger (4X4 feet), or I could make it like my galvanized steel panel raised bed design, just using pallet wood instead of the steel panel.

Here is a picture of my galvanized steel panel raised beds....

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I already have 4 of those steel panel raised beds in the backyard, and I could make the same design only using the pallet wood instead of the steel panel. I still have some leftover 4X4 posts for the corners. If I kept that steel panel design, then my pallet raised beds would have the same general look and size of the existing raised beds. I don't know if that is a plus or not. Maybe some of you with better sense of aesthetics could clue me in on that.

If not, I'll just continue with my pallet planter design and upsize it to (4X4 feet), maybe without the top decorative boards.

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Any thoughts appreciated.

I love the look of the of your flower planters!! Also your raised bed is total love!!! I think (if I read correctly abt going with the same design as your gardne bed) you have splendid idea!

 

[MotherofOrpies]

UPDATE on my planter(s) build for Dear Wife.

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As I said in an earlier post, my first attempt was the middle 24X24 inch planter, which was deemed too big. My second attempt, on the left, was the 16X16 inch planter, that was judged too small. My third attempt, on the right, is a 12X24 planter and I surely hope it hits the Goldilocks' zone and is just right for Dear Wife! I'll find out when she gets home from work today. Wish me luck!

Let me add, that I have learned something on every one of these pallet builds. Nothing like experience to improve your production. My last planter was more square from the start, required less custom cuts to finish the fit, and it went together much faster because I am learning how to cut the boards more efficiently.

Although I am very happy with this planter design, I think I will be trying out a few other designs I have seen on YouTube. One of my ideas is having the planks mounted on the inside of the 2X4 frame. Since a 2X4 is 3 1/2 inches wide, that would give me about 7 inches of play when mounting the planks on the inside. That would mean I doubt if I would ever have to custom cut or taper that final board for the sides. I would just take up any difference(s) with the overlap on the inside 2X4.

Something like this google picture...

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Were you not that far away, I would love any planter you built!! My hubby is of the book learning type, the only time hebtouched a hammer was to take it out of the car ( i sometimes have to use it elsewhere) but he doesn’t even know where it goes

 

[ChicksnMore]

Crazy! A stray pig wonders onto your property? How does that even happen?



The food garden beds are pretty much left up to me. Dear Wife only cares about her flower gardens. Even so, I showed her the pictures and she thought I should go with the galvanized steel panel raised bed design I already have, and just use the pallet wood in place of the steel panel. That's the way I was leaning, too, so I think I'll just build them that way.

We've had all kinds animals show up over the years...not a lot considering how long we've lived here, but a wide variety. Our tortoise was a stray we couldn't find the owners for. We've had stray horses as well.

I NEED a stray pig!!

Not really lol...that kinda cool he just showed up lol

Were you not that far away, I would love any planter you built!! My hubby is of the book learning type, the only time hebtouched a hammer was to take it out of the car ( i sometimes have to use it elsewhere) but he doesn’t even know where it goes

X2 on both planters and hubby

 

[gtaus]

I love the look of the of your flower planters!! Also your raised bed is total love!!! I think (if I read correctly abt going with the same design as your gardne bed) you have splendid idea!

Thanks for the compliments. It's raining outside today, so I think I'll just take the day off and start building the raised beds in a day or two. I think I will build my new pallet raised beds in the same design as the galvanized metal panel raised beds I have in the backyard.

Just a note on the galvanized metal panel raised beds. I built those metal panel raised beds because the cost of wood was so terribly high at the time. I was able to put together the frames of the raised beds from reclaimed and leftover lumber from previous builds. So, the only thing I had to buy for those metal panel raised beds was the metal panel itself. I think I paid less than $20 per 4X4 raised bed. Compared that to about $200 each in wood if I had to buy everything new from the lumber yard.

If I keep that same design, but just use the planks from the pallets instead of the steel panel, I'll save even that $20 per 4X4 bed. Even better. Of course, it's not a great looking cedar raised bed that will last 20 years and look great, but I know the plants won't care and I can easily replace any board(s) that may rot from the pallet build. Using pallet wood will look good enough, and I have the option to stain or paint the bed if I want.

 

[gtaus]

My hubby is of the book learning type, the only time hebtouched a hammer was to take it out of the car ( i sometimes have to use it elsewhere) but he doesn’t even know where it goes

I spent most of my adult life sitting at desks moving paper. I am really enjoying building things with my hands these days. The great thing about pallet projects is that if you get the wood for free, you don't have to feel bad if you mess up on a project. You can usually tear it apart and start over or use the wood for some other project. Pallet projects are a great way to learn how to work with wood and tools. As you can see from the pictures on this thread, some pallet projects are easier than others, so a person can attempt to build a pallet project at their current level, or take it up a notch and go for something more complicated.

 

[gtaus]

We've had all kinds animals show up over the years...

X2 on both planters and hubby

I'm glad you liked the planters. I had fun building them, and trying to find the sweet spot in size and design that Dear Wife liked only took 3 attempts. We plan on filling them up next spring and Dear Wife plant flowers.

BTW, the reason I built these planters is because our wooden whiskey half barrels we bought about 20 years ago are falling apart. This spring, I had to take apart 2 half barrels to make one that was useable. So, I figured we would be out of those flower barrels in a year or so. Now was the time to try to build replacements.

Here is the type of wooden half barrels I bought years ago. Seems like lots of stuff is in short supply or just no longer available post COVID. We have a Home Depot that sells them for about $58 each.

The half whiskey barrels are nice, but I'm happy with my free pallet planters.

I did find a few designs to build round half barrels from pallet wood, but those skills are beyond my current capabilities. Maybe someday I'll work up to those projects. For now, I'm happy with what I can build.

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

I'm glad you liked the planters. I had fun building them, and trying to find the sweet spot in size and design that Dear Wife liked only took 3 attempts. We plan on filling them up next spring and Dear Wife plant flowers.

BTW, the reason I built these planters is because our wooden whiskey half barrels we bought about 20 years ago are falling apart. This spring, I had to take apart 2 half barrels to make one that was useable. So, I figured we would be out of those flower barrels in a year or so. Now was the time to try to build replacements.

Here is the type of wooden half barrels I bought years ago. Seems like lots of stuff is in short supply or just no longer available post COVID. We have a Home Depot that sells them for about $58 each.

View attachment 3214588

The half whiskey barrels are nice, but I'm happy with my free pallet planters.

View attachment 3214598

I did find a few designs to build round half barrels from pallet wood, but those skills are beyond my current capabilities. Maybe someday I'll work up to those projects. For now, I'm happy with what I can build.

I actually like yours better!!
And I am the same...I can't build worth anything..

I see it in my head and do my best to make it a reality lol

 

[gtaus]

And I am the same...I can't build worth anything..

Some of the pallet projects don't require much skill or experience at all. Even so, those beginner pallet projects can be very useful and valuable. Just knocking together some pallets to make a compost bin is a good example. No skill required, but you will start making black gold compost for your gardens in those bins.

When I said making the pallet barrels was beyond my current skill level, I was referring to each and every board has to be cut at a precise angle so when you put them together, they form a circle. In one video I watched, I think he cut the edges of each board at 8 degrees, and when he put them all together in the glue up, it formed a circle. The skill, of course, is being able to cut that precise 8 degree angle on each edge. There were a number of factors to consider, such as how big round you wanted the planter, how many boards you were using, etc... Anyway, more than a straight cut and nailing the wood together....

If anyone has made a planter barrel out of pallets, I would love to hear from you!

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

My starting point

(I'll just edit and add pics as I go to this post on this thread)

Gotta get plywood to cover walls

 

[ChicksnMore]

I'm in love with the location! And the beginning looks great too