Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[Salacker]

Malls!! Check the loading docks at Malls and behind strip shopping stores. I've worked at a mall for 20 years. People with trucks or trailers come around every day and night to pilfer the pallets from the loading docks and areas behind the stores. Just say'in.

 

[gtaus]

We have a place here that has all the tools and gives classes too. It's kind of an artist workspace if I understand correctly. They have welding, woodworking, 3d printing and even sewing. Sounds like an amazing place. But...oldest is always working and youngest is soon leaving. We had wanted to do it together, so I'll wait a bit longer in the hopes we can.

Yeah, I can understand the desire of wanting to do things together. Sometimes it makes those small things all the more special. I hope you can work it out.

Another option might be to take whatever class(es) you can now, and then share that experience with the kids when they have the time. Or, even retaking the class with them at a later date. I know, in my experience, that often the second time around I seem to pick up more things and learn better. Especially if it comes to any type of skill.

Sounds like that artist workplace has a lot of options. My grandma sat me on her lap before I was in kindergarten and taught me how to sew on one of those old Singer sewing machines that you peddled with your feet. Of course, all I did was make a sack with a drawstring to hold my toy marbles, but it was sewing. I wish I would have learned more, because now I find myself wanting to sew some canvas covers for the patio chairs, the woodchipper, or the BBQ grill. You know, man-type sewing...

 

[gtaus]

Malls!! Check the loading docks at Malls and behind strip shopping stores. I've worked at a mall for 20 years. People with trucks or trailers come around every day and night to pilfer the pallets from the loading docks and areas behind the stores. Just say'in.

Last summer I picked up lots of pallets from behind the Harbor Freight store. One day, some guy comes running out and asks me what I am doing. I told him that I was loading up pallets and that I had already talked to the manager. Well, who did you talk to was what the guy wanted to know. So, I gave him the manager's name and he had no idea who that was. I asked him how he could not know the name of his own manager at Harbor Freight.

Turns out, those pallets behind the Harbor Freight store were from a Dunham's Sports Goods store, not Harbor Freight. The guy informed me that they have to send their pallets back to the warehouse as returns, and that I cannot just take them. OK, fine, we both understood that there was a miscommunication on this issue, and he let me keep the pallets I had already loaded into the trailer.

But I did ask him, why they put those pallets outside right next to the garbage bins. Every place that I have lived would treat that as garbage and if a person was to take from the pile, there would be nothing wrong with that. Well, he said, the store did not have any place to stage the return pallets, so they put them outside by the garbage bins. As far as I was concerned, that store wanted it both ways. They were not willing to pay for a secure staging area for their return pallets but expected people not to take them if they left the pallets outside next to the garbage bins.

By then, I already had stacks full of pallets at home and it was not a big deal for me. But I do make it a point to talk to the store manager of any place before I pick up pallets from them. Some places are more than happy to give them away, but some places don't.

FWIW, I later found out that anything staged outside by the garbage bins was considered garbage as far as the Mall was concerned. I also found out that the Mall doesn't have any security cameras overlooking the garbage bins. If I want to be sneaky, I could go there on a day that the store was closed and load up and nobody would ever know. But it's not worth it to me, even if I was in the right. Like I said, I now have 5 different sites I check for free pallets, and I don't need the aggravation of picking up pallets where they will get upset.

Also, if the store returns their pallets for exchange, then at least I know the pallets are not ending up in a landfill somewhere. Good for them in that respect.

I do agree with you that Malls can be an excellent place to get free pallets. It does not hurt to look and see what's available.

 

[ChicksnMore]

I think mattress stores must have some wonderful huge pallets that'd be fun to play with.

 

[gtaus]

I think mattress stores must have some wonderful huge pallets that'd be fun to play with.

That's an interesting idea. I'll have to check out our furniture stores and see if they have any pallets out back. I never heard of a pallet big enough to hold a mattress, but that would great if they shipped that way and you could get that pallet.

 

[Salacker]

Last summer I picked up lots of pallets from behind the Harbor Freight store. One day, some guy comes running out and asks me what I am doing. I told him that I was loading up pallets and that I had already talked to the manager. Well, who did you talk to was what the guy wanted to know. So, I gave him the manager's name and he had no idea who that was. I asked him how he could not know the name of his own manager at Harbor Freight.

Turns out, those pallets behind the Harbor Freight store were from a Dunham's Sports Goods store, not Harbor Freight. The guy informed me that they have to send their pallets back to the warehouse as returns, and that I cannot just take them. OK, fine, we both understood that there was a miscommunication on this issue, and he let me keep the pallets I had already loaded into the trailer.

But I did ask him, why they put those pallets outside right next to the garbage bins. Every place that I have lived would treat that as garbage and if a person was to take from the pile, there would be nothing wrong with that. Well, he said, the store did not have any place to stage the return pallets, so they put them outside by the garbage bins. As far as I was concerned, that store wanted it both ways. They were not willing to pay for a secure staging area for their return pallets but expected people not to take them if they left the pallets outside next to the garbage bins.

By then, I already had stacks full of pallets at home and it was not a big deal for me. But I do make it a point to talk to the store manager of any place before I pick up pallets from them. Some places are more than happy to give them away, but some places don't.

FWIW, I later found out that anything staged outside by the garbage bins was considered garbage as far as the Mall was concerned. I also found out that the Mall doesn't have any security cameras overlooking the garbage bins. If I want to be sneaky, I could go there on a day that the store was closed and load up and nobody would ever know. But it's not worth it to me, even if I was in the right. Like I said, I now have 5 different sites I check for free pallets, and I don't need the aggravation of picking up pallets where they will get upset.

Also, if the store returns their pallets for exchange, then at least I know the pallets are not ending up in a landfill somewhere. Good for them in that respect.

I do agree with you that Malls can be an excellent place to get free pallets. It does not hurt to look and see what's available.

Most of the pallets that I have obtained over the years have come from the loading dock of Dunham's Sports. The delivery drivers NEVER reuse them at the Dunham's at my mall. The managers were always glad to have them removed it kept them from having to clean up the mess. I am the Supervisor of Security at this mall LOL and if a bunch of pallets piled up at any of the stores loading docks it is my job to speak to the store managers and have them removed. Its always best to get permission from store management. People come around all the time and I never bug them about taking pallets it makes my job easier. I would leave the blue ones and the red ones alone however, they may want to reuse those cause they are more durable.

 

[gtaus]

Most of the pallets that I have obtained over the years have come from the loading dock of Dunham's Sports. The delivery drivers NEVER reuse them at the Dunham's at my mall.

All I can say is that the manager of our local Dunhams came running outside and told me that I could not take their pallets which were stacked right next to the garbage bins.

I would leave the blue ones and the red ones alone however, they may want to reuse those cause they are more durable.

I have heard/read that colored pallets belong to shipping companies and are reused by them, and they have a rental fee. I don't take colored pallets, even if free, because I just don't care to use colored wood in my projects. Also, I'm not sure what type of paint they use, and most of my pallet projects have been related to gardening. I prefer the look of natural wood.

Also, I have built up a significant supply of pallets (maybe ~50 pallets) in the backyard and can be more selective in what pallets are worth my time to load up. That's a really good place to be in. Pallets with broken and cracked boards take just as long to break down as pallets with good wood. In fact, older broken pallets that have been rebuilt a number of times often have many more nails to hold the pallet together and it actually takes longer to break those pallets down to useable wood.

When I first started collecting pallets, I would load up anything and everything and harvest whatever wood I could salvage from them. I built some really nice planters and raised garden beds. But now I mainly look for the better pallets with more useable wood after breakdown. It's nice to know that I don't have to take everything and can concentrate now on the better pallets.

 

[gtaus]

Its always best to get permission from store management.

I agree. No use to get people upset about loading up free pallets. If you look around, you can probably find other sources that are more than happy for you to take them away for them.

 

[gtaus]

I made my weekly run into town today and picked up 7 nice pallets from Harbor Freight. Nice surprise was finding 4 pallets that had the full 2X4's (not notched out for the forklift) so that will make some good wood for a project. Usually the 2X4's have notches cut out of them for the forklifts, and that limits what you can use those 2X4's for in a project.

Also, since I was in town, I stopped at Home Depot and checked out what they had available in their cull wood carts. Nothing that interested me today, but you never know so it was worth a look. Just wanted to remind people that sometimes you can get some really good deals out of the cull carts.

There is a heavy snowstorm passing south of where I live. I am not expecting to get much snow, but our temps are dropping down to -12F tonight and there is an advisory out for wind chill. Unfortunately, that just means my unheated garage is going to stay too cold for working out there.

I don't do so well in sub-freezing temps anymore. And there is nothing so important that I need to set up the propane heater to heat the garage. I'll just wait for a few more weeks and maybe we will start to see some temps in the low 40F's. Until then, I guess I'll be watching YouTube videos and planning future pallet projects. Later...

 

[ChicksnMore]

I made my weekly run into town today and picked up 7 nice pallets from Harbor Freight. Nice surprise was finding 4 pallets that had the full 2X4's (not notched out for the forklift) so that will make some good wood for a project. Usually the 2X4's have notches cut out of them for the forklifts, and that limits what you can use those 2X4's for in a project.

Also, since I was in town, I stopped at Home Depot and checked out what they had available in their cull wood carts. Nothing that interested me today, but you never know so it was worth a look. Just wanted to remind people that sometimes you can get some really good deals out of the cull carts.

There is a heavy snowstorm passing south of where I live. I am not expecting to get much snow, but our temps are dropping down to -12F tonight and there is an advisory out for wind chill. Unfortunately, that just means my unheated garage is going to stay too cold for working out there.

I don't do so well in sub-freezing temps anymore. And there is nothing so important that I need to set up the propane heater to heat the garage. I'll just wait for a few more weeks and maybe we will start to see some temps in the low 40F's. Until then, I guess I'll be watching YouTube videos and planning future pallet projects. Later...

Cold and wet here too...but not that kinda cold ! I'm betting you find some fun ideas for the future.