Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[gtaus]

I'm currently will be building chicken pens out of pallets. Pulling the boards are such a hassle, especially when the nails have ridges, & heads that break off easily.

There are definitely challenges to building stuff with pallet wood. Those spiral pallet nails are a pain to pry up. When you break off a nail head, then you have another issue to deal with as well. I don't know how far you have read in this thread, but I have mentioned a number of tools that I find very useful in pallet breakdowns. If you have any particular concerns with pallet breakdowns, let me know and I'll either post/repost what info on tools I have that work for me.

Lots of people prefer to use full pallets so they don't have to breakdown the wood. I'm all for that, too. I would love to see your pallet chicken pens when you build them. Or, if you are like me, maybe you found inspiration online and maybe you could post a link to an idea that you like before you actually do the build.

 

[MysteryChicken]

There are definitely challenges to building stuff with pallet wood. Those spiral pallet nails are a pain to pry up. When you break off a nail head, then you have another issue to deal with as well. I don't know how far you have read in this thread, but I have mentioned a number of tools that I find very useful in pallet breakdowns. If you have any particular concerns with pallet breakdowns, let me know and I'll either post/repost what info on tools I have that work for me.

Lots of people prefer to use full pallets so they don't have to breakdown the wood. I'm all for that, too. I would love to see your pallet chicken pens when you build them. Or, if you are like me, maybe you found inspiration online and maybe you could post a link to an idea that you like before you actually do the build.

The nail heads are brittle.

I'm using a wrecking bar/Crowbar for removing boards.

 

[gtaus]

The nail heads are brittle.

I'm using a wrecking bar/Crowbar for removing boards.

Yep, lots of nail heads pop up when trying to remove them from the pallet wood. What I have found works best for me to remove headless nails is the Crescent Code Red pliers. It not only clamps down on the headless nail, but when you apply pressure on the curved top to pull out the nail, it adds additional clamping power to hold the nail even better.

For me, the Crescent Code Red pliers can get out headless nails that none of my other tools can. It's my go to tool for pulling out headless nails.

In second place, I would opt for some 10-inch Nippers. They work great for most of the easier to pull out headless nails and are very fast to use. But, they cannot pull out some of the really tough nails that the Crescent Code Red pliers will pull out.

I bought a pair of the 10" Nippers, but if I had to do it again, I'd buy the longer version 16 in. End Nipper for more leverage - even at twice the price. I think a longer Nippers would be worth the extra money.

Some people use a curved locking jaw pliers with success, and they do work, but I find they will not pull out the tougher nails that either the Nippers or the Crescent Code Red pliers can do without much problem.

Having used all of the above types of pliers, my first choice would be the Cresent Code Red pliers and you probably don't need any other pliers for pulling headless nails. Having said that, sometimes removing headless nails from pallet wood can be an effort, even with the Crescent Code Red pliers. Those spiral pallet nails are more difficult to pull than normal smooth nails.

If you breakdown pallets for the wood, then it might make sense to invest a little more money into a good pair of pliers to pull out those headless nails. At the current price of wood at the lumber yard, it would not take very long for your new pliers to pay for themselves. At least, that is the way I think about it. It's worth $20 for me to get some good nail pulling pliers or nippers if I can save $300 of reclaimed lumber. In my case, I have used it on even more lumber than that.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Yep, lots of nail heads pop up when trying to remove them from the pallet wood. What I have found works best for me to remove headless nails is the Crescent Code Red pliers. It not only clamps down on the headless nail, but when you apply pressure on the curved top to pull out the nail, it adds additional clamping power to hold the nail even better.

View attachment 3290032

For me, the Crescent Code Red pliers can get out headless nails that none of my other tools can. It's my go to tool for pulling out headless nails.

In second place, I would opt for some 10-inch Nippers. They work great for most of the easier to pull out headless nails and are very fast to use. But, they cannot pull out some of the really tough nails that the Crescent Code Red pliers will pull out.

View attachment 3290040


I bought a pair of the 10" Nippers, but if I had to do it again, I'd buy the longer version 16 in. End Nipper for more leverage - even at twice the price. I think a longer Nippers would be worth the extra money.

View attachment 3290052

Some people use a curved locking jaw pliers with success, and they do work, but I find they will not pull out the tougher nails that either the Nippers or the Crescent Code Red pliers can do without much problem.

View attachment 3290054

Having used all of the above types of pliers, my first choice would be the Cresent Code Red pliers and you probably don't need any other pliers for pulling headless nails. Having said that, sometimes removing headless nails from pallet wood can be an effort, even with the Crescent Code Red pliers. Those spiral pallet nails are more difficult to pull than normal smooth nails.

If you breakdown pallets for the wood, then it might make sense to invest a little more money into a good pair of pliers to pull out those headless nails. At the current price of wood at the lumber yard, it would not take very long for your new pliers to pay for themselves. At least, that is the way I think about it. It's worth $20 for me to get some good nail pulling pliers or nippers if I can save $300 of reclaimed lumber. In my case, I have used it on even more lumber than that.

All we have are regular pliers, & the curved locking head pliers. We do have nippers, but they're small.

 

[gtaus]

All we have are regular pliers, & the curved locking head pliers. We do have nippers, but they're small.

Understood. A person can get a lot of work done with standard pliers and /or those curved locking head pliers. I was just sharing some options of tools I find very useful particularly to breaking down pallets and removing headless nails. I only got that Crescent Code Red pliers and the 10-inch nippers a few months ago when I started breaking down pallets and had a couple loads of reclaimed lumber to clean up. Never needed those pliers or nippers before, but they do work better than a standard pliers or even the curved locking jaw pliers I had in my toolbox. Pulling headless nails out of pallet wood or reclaimed lumber can to a challenge.

For me, with the quantity of reclaimed lumber and pallets that I had which needed to be cleaned up this summer, it was well worth my money to invest in a few tools specifically for pulling those pesky headless nails.

Also, I'm now at a stage in my life where I'm more willing to buy a new tool that saves me time, reduces my effort, or increases my safety when I work. Since I work alone, I really have to protect my back, etc... because I know I won't heal so fast after a mishap.

For example, my one wheeled wheelbarrow which served me fine for 30+ years has been replaced by Gorilla yard carts with 4 wheels. I can now pull a heavier load and be much safer at the same time. And, if the cart gets too heavy, I can hitch it up to the riding lawn mower.

At any rate, I don't mean to be telling people that they have to buy the same tools I use. I'm just offering suggestions of things I find worth my money and it may be worth your consideration if you have similar needs.

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

This is where I get my broken off planks!!! (We've got a good amount of these boxes where I work!) Looks like I'll have more come my 3 days off!!!

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

Been digging them out over the course of the day...hopefully someone else is encouraged to use what they have laying around as well!

 

[gtaus]

This is where I get my broken off planks!!! (We've got a good amount of these boxes where I work!) Looks like I'll have more come my 3 days off!!!

Looks like there are some nice full length planks for you in that pile.

Lots of other good wood, too, for projects that don't need full length planks. Most of the pallet planters and pallet raised beds I built this summer just use plank pieces only 16 inches long. Also, there are some split planks in there that could be very useful for projects where you could just run the plank through a table saw and end up with shorter, narrower pieces of wood. For example, on one of my planters, I would alternate between a plank piece that was 4 inches wide with pieces that were only 2 inches wide. I did that to use up a number of split planks that I had laying around that were no longer 4 inches wide, but could be cut down to 2 inches wide and still used.

 

[gtaus]

Been digging them out over the course of the day...hopefully someone else is encouraged to use what they have laying around as well!

That should give you lots more boards to fill the gaps in the walls of the Turkey Tower. Looking good.

 

[luckycluk]

I am proposing this separate thread dedicated to showing off your DIY Pallet Projects and perhaps a little discussion on the topic of pallet projects. I know there are pics and posts about pallet projects here and there on the BYC forums, but some people suggested I start a dedicated thread to the subject so we can all share our pallet projects and maybe pass along some good idea for others.

I'll start off with a simple pallet project I built for the garden. It's a tool holder for hoes, rakes, shovels, etc.. I made one full length pallet to hold my longest handled tools, but I added another pallet cut down 3/4 size and 1/2 size for my shorter handled tools. I connected the pallets with some 2X4's long enough to fit my 5 gallon buckets between the pallets. What I like about this project is that it was super simple to make for a beginner. Secondly, I now have my tools all stored in one place instead of laying all over the garden. Third, the stand is light enough to move wherever I want, but heavy enough not to blow over in a good wind. Here's the pic...

View attachment 3208481

Here is what it looks like on the backside.

View attachment 3208485

very inventive, good idea