Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[Sally PB]

I miss DH going to work, now that he's retired. How else will he bring me home some nice pallets!?!

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

Do you bring your pig into a processing plant or local butcher? Just curious. I think it would be worth the money to have the animal butchered and the meat all processed and packaged by someone with good equipment. Also, if the pig was kind of a family meat pet, it would put a little distance in the process

It's a local butcher/processor
Amish ran, just a small little shop. They take care of everything there. We just go pick up our wrapped meat. It's abt 200 for everything.

 

[gtaus]

Is this true of all riding lawn mower batteries? Something I should recommend to DH?

Where I live, if we leave the batteries in the riding mowers over winter, they will completely drain flat, freeze, and sometimes the case will crack. I have always taken in my riding mower batteries for storage in the house/basement so they don't freeze. Unlike a car battery, the riding mower is not used at all in the winter so the battery never has a chance to recharge itself.

I think some people might put their batteries on a trickle charge over winter, which is enough to keep the battery from going flat and freezing. I just take my mower batteries inside and recharge them up maybe halfway through the winter, and then once again in the spring before I put the battery back into the mower.

Having said that, those lawn mower batteries are only warrantied for about 3 months, so if I get more than 2 years of life out of a riding mower battery, I'm happy.

If you have a heated garage, or even a unheated garage that does not freeze, you probably don't have to pull the battery. In the dead of winter, when the temps drop down to -40F, then my attached, but unheated, garage will get as cold as -10F. Which is why I can't store my batteries in my garage.

I hope it goes without saying, power tool batteries can die a quick death in freezing temps. So, I bring all my tool batteries inside the house for the winter, too. Need to have good batteries come springtime when I can get back outside and work on some more pallet projects!

 

[gtaus]

It's a local butcher/processor
Amish ran, just a small little shop. They take care of everything there. We just go pick up our wrapped meat. It's abt 200 for everything.

I have no idea how much something like that would cost. In fact, Dear Wife does most of the grocery shopping, so I don't even know how much she spends on any particular item. I remember last time I bought eggs, pre COVID-19, they were about 98 cents per dozen. Now, if you can find eggs on the shelf, they are about $3.00+ per dozen. Much more expensive for the cage free and free range type eggs.

Since I have a small backyard flock of 10 chickens, I have not had to buy any eggs at the supermarket in over 3 years. Backyard chickens are the best! Nice to eat eggs from my own flock.

 

[gtaus]

UPDATE on my HF woodworking bench upgrade with workbench caster kit install....

At the end of last winter, before I got into all these pallet build projects, I bought a Woodworking Bench at Harbor Freight which I really like. At that time, they were $139.99, but I had some coupons and other discounts and got my bench for about $110.00. It was a fantastic deal because you could not buy the wood alone for that price. I guess HF figured that out, too, because they have now hiked up the price to $199.00. It's a nice bench, but I would be sure to have some coupons in hand before I bought this at HF.

As you see in the picture, it does not have any wheels. So, I bought a set of 4 workbench casters from Amazon. I got my casters on sale for $26.00, but I see they hiked the price back up to $36.00. I used one of those shopping apps that track items I am interested in buying. The app I used was Honey. Anyway, it sent me an email notification that the caster set was on a one day sale for $26.00 for the set, and I immediately hit the purchase button and saved $10.00. If you have not explored using these free shopping apps, you might want to check them out. I have saved some money by waiting for items on my wish list to hit a lower price or special sale that the app tracks and notifies me of the lower sale price.

What makes these workbench casters so good is that they can easily lift up the workbench and lock the wheels in place to move the bench around the garage. The set of casters I bought is rated to support 700 lbs. There are other caster sets, but something like the Bora caster kit is about $80.

Anyways, I installed the casters on my HF workbench this afternoon and they really work nice. When you get the bench to where you want to work, you just kick up the wheel lock and the bench plants itself back on the ground and ready to work. Very nice.

The modular pallet wood workbenches that I have started will be using less expensive wheels. I just take off the wheels from HF dollies that I got for $10 per dolly on a sale last week.

The wheels rotate 360 degrees, but they don't have any lifting or locking mechanism. But they will work just fine for my pallet workbenches. Other than the cost of a few screws and nails, my modular pallet workbenches will cost just over $10 each for the set of 4 wheels. That's a pretty nice price for a DIY pallet wood mobile workbench.

Again, the reason I need the wheels is that I have my workbenches in my garage, and I need to move them out of the way to park my car in the garage overnight. Inexpensive wheels for the workbenches make life a lot easier for me.

 

[gtaus]

Finally finished my first modular mobile pallet workbench today!

Yep, we had temps hit 60F today, so I finished cutting my wood to finish off the modular workbench I started last week. First of all, a pic of the (mostly) pallet workbench....

For those who have not watched the Ultimate Modular Workbench video I linked to a few weeks ago, here is my finished version of that design using (mostly) free pallet wood. The original design on the YouTube video used brand new lumber and expensive 3/4 inch plywood. Given the current cost of lumber, that would have cost about $50 to build. I built this same design, using (mostly) free pallet wood.

The only wood I bought was the benchtop OSB board which cost me about $4.00. I actually bought an entire sheet of 1/2 inch OSB and had it cut down into four 2X4 foot sections. So, I can make four of these modular workbenches from that one 4X8 sheet of OSB.

At first, I was going to use pallet wood for the benchtop. But I would have had to mill all the pallet planks, plane them down to uniform thickness, and then do a complete glue up of the boards before I could put it on the workbench as the top. I would like to do that someday, if I have the time, but it's now too cold (<60F) for any glue ups in my unheated garage and I really needed to finish off the workbench before winter hits us hard. Hence, the compromise on the OSB workbench top.

What makes these workbenches modular, is that they are all 2X4 feet, and you can see the 4 drill holes on the front top 2X4 frame. There are holes drilled in the sides and back as well. In that way, you can bolt together the workbenches in any number of combinations to make a longer, or wider, or other shape as needed.

I really like the wheels on the bottom so I can easily move the workbench around the garage, and put it away in the evening so we can park the car in the garage for the night. I bought some dollies from Harbor Freight last week for $10 each, on sale, and just took the wheels off the dolly and put them on this workbench.

Essentially, I built this workbench for only $14.00 ($10 for wheels, and $4 for the OSB benchtop). Again, saved about $50 compared to building this project with new plywood and new 2X4's.

I have been thinking of adding some shelves, bins, or drawers to this workbench. But, there is limited space underneath the benchtop and it soon fills up with a few items. For example, I put in some storage bins and a 5 gallon bucket to give you an idea of how much storage space is under the benchtop...

It is what it is, and my original ideas for storage bins and shelves is not going to work like I thought. Nothing like actually building something to get a feel for what more you can do with it.

Anyways, I am rethinking the whole shelves and bins options. I am now thinking of making a rail type system, where I can slide in a shelf at various heights depending on what I want to store under the workbench. Also, I am thinking I will rip down some pallet 2X4 stretchers to half size (1-3/4 inches v. 3-1/2 inches) of a 2X4 for the shelf frame. That will work out good because most of my pallet 2X4 stretchers have those notches cut out for the forklifts. I will just rip those boards in half, toss out the bottom half with the cutouts, and you would never even know.

I might also attempt to make some drawers out of pallet wood. Nothing fancy, but a bin type drawer that can be taken completely out of the rack and carried around to where I am working. I saw one YouTube video where a guy made drawers like that and he really seemed to like that design.

Just wanted to add that I really enjoyed making this workbench. I got to use some of my tools that have been sitting on the shelf waiting for their calling. I had to take out my 36 inch bar clamps on this build because the benchtop was not perfectly square when I went to put on the benchtop. I was able to screw down one side of the benchtop wood and used my 36 inch bar clamps to force the frame back into square. Worked really good.

Also, I finally got the hole drilling situation resolved and drilled 8 perfect holes in the top frame - which will be used to bolt one workbench to another. If you remember, last time I mentioned that my drill holes were drifting all over the place and nothing came out on point. Today, the drilling was on point. Felt good to overcome my previous failures.

Finally, I was attempting to have my finished workbench the same height as my store-bought Harbor Freight woodworking bench. I am very proud to say that my end product was within a fraction on an inch in the height. You need a straight edge level to notice any difference at all. For my DIY skill level, that was an accomplishment I can take pride in!

For anyone coming late to this thread, here is a link to the YouTube video that inspired me to make these modular workbenches, but out of pallet wood...

 

[chickengr]

Please don't eat your hubby! He sounds like a nice guy.

More seriously, are you planning to butcher your pet food pig yourself, or is your backup plan to have your hubby butcher the pig? Or do you have someone else scheduled to butcher and process the meat? Just curious on how that works. I have raised small animals, but have never butchered anything bigger than a large goose or meat rabbit.

FWIW, I helped my grandfather butcher animals from a very young age. Mostly ducks, geese, and rabbits back in the day. I think I learned from an early age to respect the process, kill the animal without hesitation to minimize trauma to it, and thank the animal for the sacrifice. So, I grew up knowing where food came from, not thinking it was already prepackaged in the supermarket. I like to think it made me a better person. Long way around to suggesting that you might want to have the minors help in the butchering process so you can pass along your values towards food and respect for the process of raising animals that you will be eating. Sounds like you are already getting the minors involved in the housing and such.

I once helped my grandfather butcher a pig (I kept a big pot to collect blood for blood sausages). but 30+ years later I could not think of butchering my chickens, lol. it is still hard for me to make decision to butcher.


btw, I have not eaten blood sausages for ages. it seems people don't make them any more. blood sausages they sell in supermarket are not even similar to those people made once upon a time.

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

Finally finished my first modular mobile pallet workbench today!

And it looks so good!! I think it'll all come together pretty darn nicely.

Also, I finally got the hole drilling situation resolved and drilled 8 perfect holes in the top frame - which will be used to bolt one workbench to another. If you remember, last time I mentioned that my drill holes were drifting all over the place and nothing came out on point. Today, the drilling was on point. Felt good to overcome my previous failures.

I am glad you got it!!! That's awesome!

 

[gtaus]

And it [pallet workbench] looks so good!! I think it'll all come together pretty darn nicely.

Well, I suppose new brand new wood would look nicer, but I can tell you that this workbench is solid and functional. Beauty is in the eye of beholder, and when I look at this pallet workbench with wheels that only cost me $14.00, then I think it's a work of art!

FYI, there is always a learning curve on the first build. I have about half the wood cut for a second modular workbench and might get that one built today. The second build should go faster. I ran out of screws for the workbench and have to go into town to resupply.

However, with winter coming on, my snowblower failed to start yesterday so I might have to troubleshoot that first before I build another workbench. I don't want to get caught without a snowblower if we get that first big snowstorm of the year.

Priorities.

I am glad you got it!!! [drilling holes on point] That's awesome!

You would think that after I have drilled so many holes over my lifetime, that drilling holes into these workbenches would have not been a challenge. It turned out that I needed much more precision in drilling those holes because the modular workbenches will be able to be bolted together in different configurations. So, the holes on each workbench all have to be point on or the bolts will not pass through one workbench into the other.

Anyway, it took me a few attempts last week before I got it down, and then I drilled some perfect holes on the workbench to finish the build yesterday.

I celebrate little victories! Learning new skills can be a lifelong adventure. Working with reclaimed and pallet wood has been teaching me a lot. I'm still having fun with it.

 

[gtaus]

Started working too early today, trying to get my snowblower up and running. The pull rope had broken off, so I got that fixed. Unfortunately, the recoil assembly had a broken spring which means I have to order a new recoil assembly. Not a big deal. The snowblower is about 30 years old. Anyway, I got the electric start working on the snowblower and it started up and ran fine. So, the pressure is off to have that fixed. I can wait for the recoil assembly to come in the mail.

With that project behind me, I headed into town to pick up some more screws to make another pallet workbench. Got a bagful of screws which should last me a while. Made a few other stops, including Harbor Freight where I picked up yet another portable parts storage case. They are on sale this weekend for $6.99, normally $9.99. To make it even better, I had a $5.00 Harbor Freight cash rewards to burn so I ended up paying only $1.99 plus tax.

If you remember, I have been buying dollies at Harbor Freight and taking off the wheels to use on my pallet workbenches. The wheels were bolted on to the dolly, so I now have a handful of nuts and bolts in excellent condition that I can use in some future project. I use screws for the wheels on the pallet workbenches, so the nuts and bolts are not used. I bought this parts storage case to hold those nuts and bolts, and other stuff. Just trying to keep things a little more organized.

Picked up another 4 pallets in very good condition on the way home. Nice, new wood and everything. Bonus, I was able to use my Pallet Buster on those new pallets and that worked great. It's nice when you get to work with quality pallets.

I got all my wood cut for a second pallet modular workbench, but ran out of daylight before I could put it together. So, maybe tomorrow.

As I was picking out my reclaimed and pallet wood for the second pallet workbench, I found myself thinking - this board it too good for this cut, so I think I'll save it for a project later that might make better use of that particular board. I think I'm getting a feel for what quality of pallet wood I want to use and that depends on if it is seen or hidden. I guess it's good that I now have so much pallet wood that I can be picky.

Anyway, I'm a little anxious to get that second modular workbench built because I want to see if my drill holes match up and I can bolt the workbenches together. That is the real advantage of those smaller modular workbenches. So, I hope I have the holes drilled the same on the workbenches.