Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[fuzzi]

Today's pallet project, a tool rack for my garden tools! I got the idea from @gtaus

I wanted one for inside our shed, so I picked the best looking pallet that was left.

I laid it against the door we never use and attached it to the right side of the door frame with one 2" screw to see if it would work.

Nope.

There's a loft directly above the door so there wasn't enough room to insert the tools into the pallet top.

So I cut an opening in each side of the top board to make it easier to slide the tools into the pallet:

Nope. Still didn't work.

I realized that I needed to cut another opening in the middle board:

Of course one side had a crack, and broke.

I reinforced it with a 2" screw.

Then I attached the pallet to the door frame again and tried adding a rake. Tada! It works!


I added a few screws to hang smaller tools:

I slide each long handled tool through the openings and then to the right or the left.

The big sledgehammer rests inside, on the bottom of the pallet, the smaller sledgehammer rests on top of the big one. Very steady.

The entire structure is resting on the floor but is being held steady with two 2" screws sunk into the door frame on the right. If I need to remove/move it I just need to remove the two screws.

Note: I was going to use my new handheld grinder to cut through the pallet wood, but after watching a how to video I chickened out, and decided to use my circular saw instead.

 

[gtaus]

Hubby and I have been married just 18m
Babies compared to everyone else, but best marriage for me by far!!!

Good to hear. Hope you have many years ahead of you.

I also made them a graze box using a full (irregular) pallet.

I made a graze box out of 2X4 lumber, but the chickens scratched too much stuff on top of the wire, blocking out the sun, and killed the grass growing in the box. I think this year I will either add another 2X4 to the frame, to make it higher, or just use a couple pallets like you did, but one on top of another to get it high enough that the chicken scratching won't cover the wire.

 

[gtaus]

I think all creatures like strawberries. The squirrels and deer attack mine if I don't cover them. I've caught squirrels eat the green ones too. I like some of the pics you posted.

Yep, I'm leaning towards the A-Frame design with the hardware cloth. I could make the sides open up for access. I could also put some plastic on the frame to turn it into a mini greenhouse or cold box to extend the growing season.

 

[gtaus]

There's a loft directly above the door so there wasn't enough room to insert the tools into the pallet top.

So I cut an opening in each side of the top board to make it easier to slide the tools into the pallet:

That was some good thinking our your feet! Congrats for making it work.

Note: I was going to use my new handheld grinder to cut through the pallet wood, but after watching a how to video I chickened out, and decided to use my circular saw instead.

I think handheld grinders are more dangerous than most any tool in the garage. If you use one of those chainsaw discs on the handheld grinder, then you can really hurt yourself in no time. I was going to buy one of them until I watched a number of YouTube videos on professionals who cut themselves pretty bad with the chainsaw disc.

Think twice before buying these chainsaw discs for grinders!!!

Here's why...

 

[ChicksnMore]

That was some good thinking our your feet! Congrats for making it work.




I think handheld grinders are more dangerous than most any tool in the garage. If you use one of those chainsaw discs on the handheld grinder, then you can really hurt yourself in no time. I was going to buy one of them until I watched a number of YouTube videos on professionals who cut themselves pretty bad with the chainsaw disc.

Think twice before buying these chainsaw discs for grinders!!!

Here's why...

I've never seen a blade like that for a grinder... trying to imagine a why for that blade...lol.

 

[gtaus]

I've never seen a blade like that for a grinder... trying to imagine a why for that blade...lol.

Some people use those chainsaw discs for the grinder for woodcarving and shaping. I was looking for something to dig out a basin in a tree stump to turn it into a planter. The chainsaw disc removes wood faster than any other grinder disc I have heard about. Unfortunately, the chainsaw disc can bite into the wood at a bad angle, causing kickback, and because of the way you hold and use a grinder, that disc can come right back at you and rip you up in less than a heartbeat.

There are just too many bad accidents (even by professionals) on YouTube with that chainsaw disc which is why I decided not to take a chance on it.

There are some safer options such as woodcarving discs....

They are easier and safer to handle, but they don't remove the wood as fast as the chainsaw disc. That's what I'm looking for now, but it's not high on my list. I am too busy making full sized pallet wood raised beds and planters that a tree stump planter is low on my list of things to do.

 

[gtaus]

Well, live and learn. Today I tried to take apart an old, patched up pallet to see how much wood I could salvage from it. The pallet planks were old, dark stained, and many were already cracked before I even started. Every one of the 2X4 stretchers had been reinforced with a splice. So, I had to deal with multiple nails in the planks, both on the original 2X4's but also on the splices. I think one plank, on just one edge, had about 15 nails in it holding the pallet together. It was really a nightmare to take apart that pallet.

Even worse, when I did get a pallet plank taken off the 2X4 stretchers, I discovered that they had simply bent and pounded the original nails into the 2X4 and then put another plank on top of the bent nails.

I used my circular saw to cut as many small pieces of planks as possible (about 17 inches long), so maybe I could use them in a planter. I wanted to save the dark planks to use in combination with lighter wood in a future planter build.

Last year I built these....

This old pallet I was taking apart had the really dark planks. Even if I could not salvage the entire width of the dark planks, I do like the looks of that middle planter with the thinner strips of dark wood. So, I continued to take apart the pallet saving even the broken pieces.

I think I spent maybe 2X-3X as much time and effort on that old pallet compared to a pallet in good condition. In the end, I looked at all the cracked and broken planks, maybe a small handful can be used. The 2X4 stretchers were all broken and had all kinds of nails bent and hammered down deep into the wood. Basically, it was a pile of junk wood with little to no salvage value. It will end up as burn wood (nails and all) this spring when I burn out some stumps.

My lesson: That pallet should only have been used as it was, maybe for something like a side or back wall of a pallet wood compost bin. The pallet had been repaired and was intact, so I could have used it whole. But I should not have attempted to take it apart to salvage the wood.

Oh well, I listened to a good radio program out in the garage while I was taking apart that pallet. Dear Wife got me out of her hair for an hour or so and she enjoyed watching one of her programs on the TV. Maybe with all the sawing, banging and pounding I was doing out in the garage made her think I was doing something useful. I hope so. But, like I said, in the end I looked down on a pile of junk wood that I will end up burning in a fire pit to remove a stump.

 

[fuzzi]

Well, live and learn. Today I tried to take apart an old, patched up pallet to see how much wood I could salvage from it. The pallet planks were old, dark stained, and many were already cracked before I even started. Every one of the 2X4 stretchers had been reinforced with a splice. So, I had to deal with multiple nails in the planks, both on the original 2X4's but also on the splices. I think one plank, on just one edge, had about 15 nails in it holding the pallet together. It was really a nightmare to take apart that pallet.

Even worse, when I did get a pallet plank taken off the 2X4 stretchers, I discovered that they had simply bent and pounded the original nails into the 2X4 and then put another plank on top of the bent nails.

I used my circular saw to cut as many small pieces of planks as possible (about 17 inches long), so maybe I could use them in a planter. I wanted to save the dark planks to use in combination with lighter wood in a future planter build.

Last year I built these....

View attachment 3453588

This old pallet I was taking apart had the really dark planks. Even if I could not salvage the entire width of the dark planks, I do like the looks of that middle planter with the thinner strips of dark wood. So, I continued to take apart the pallet saving even the broken pieces.

I think I spent maybe 2X-3X as much time and effort on that old pallet compared to a pallet in good condition. In the end, I looked at all the cracked and broken planks, maybe a small handful can be used. The 2X4 stretchers were all broken and had all kinds of nails bent and hammered down deep into the wood. Basically, it was a pile of junk wood with little to no salvage value. It will end up as burn wood (nails and all) this spring when I burn out some stumps.

My lesson: That pallet should only have been used as it was, maybe for something like a side or back wall of a pallet wood compost bin. The pallet had been repaired and was intact, so I could have used it whole. But I should not have attempted to take it apart to salvage the wood.

Oh well, I listened to a good radio program out in the garage while I was taking apart that pallet. Dear Wife got me out of her hair for an hour or so and she enjoyed watching one of her programs on the TV. Maybe with all the sawing, banging and pounding I was doing out in the garage made her think I was doing something useful. I hope so. But, like I said, in the end I looked down on a pile of junk wood that I will end up burning in a fire pit to remove a stump.

Learning experience.

 

[ChicksnMore]

Well, live and learn. Today I tried to take apart an old, patched up pallet to see how much wood I could salvage from it. The pallet planks were old, dark stained, and many were already cracked before I even started. Every one of the 2X4 stretchers had been reinforced with a splice. So, I had to deal with multiple nails in the planks, both on the original 2X4's but also on the splices. I think one plank, on just one edge, had about 15 nails in it holding the pallet together. It was really a nightmare to take apart that pallet.

Even worse, when I did get a pallet plank taken off the 2X4 stretchers, I discovered that they had simply bent and pounded the original nails into the 2X4 and then put another plank on top of the bent nails.

I used my circular saw to cut as many small pieces of planks as possible (about 17 inches long), so maybe I could use them in a planter. I wanted to save the dark planks to use in combination with lighter wood in a future planter build.

Last year I built these....

View attachment 3453588

This old pallet I was taking apart had the really dark planks. Even if I could not salvage the entire width of the dark planks, I do like the looks of that middle planter with the thinner strips of dark wood. So, I continued to take apart the pallet saving even the broken pieces.

I think I spent maybe 2X-3X as much time and effort on that old pallet compared to a pallet in good condition. In the end, I looked at all the cracked and broken planks, maybe a small handful can be used. The 2X4 stretchers were all broken and had all kinds of nails bent and hammered down deep into the wood. Basically, it was a pile of junk wood with little to no salvage value. It will end up as burn wood (nails and all) this spring when I burn out some stumps.

My lesson: That pallet should only have been used as it was, maybe for something like a side or back wall of a pallet wood compost bin. The pallet had been repaired and was intact, so I could have used it whole. But I should not have attempted to take it apart to salvage the wood.

Oh well, I listened to a good radio program out in the garage while I was taking apart that pallet. Dear Wife got me out of her hair for an hour or so and she enjoyed watching one of her programs on the TV. Maybe with all the sawing, banging and pounding I was doing out in the garage made her think I was doing something useful. I hope so. But, like I said, in the end I looked down on a pile of junk wood that I will end up burning in a fire pit to remove a stump.

Still love those planters you made. They're pretty! I keep wanting to try building something pretty but still have to roof my joined coops. Right now wind free days are precious and there's so much yard and garden spring cleaning to do too. My to do list grows so fast this time of year!

 

[gtaus]

My to do list grows so fast this time of year!

I have the same problem. My ambition easily exceeds my ability. But I push forward, complete what I can, and then be happy for what I get done.

Winter continues to hang on here where I live. We have a 3-day snowstorm expected to hit us in a few hours, with as much as 18 inches of snow forecast for the period. I hope the weather guessers are wrong. At any rate, the snow does not last long in April. By the weekend, we are expecting highs in the mid-40F's, so that should melt off some of these snow from the 3-day storm.

But, what it does do, is push out any real pallet work I can get done this week. I was hoping that I could get out to the raised bed gardens and measure them up for some A-Frame protective covers like I talked about is previous posts. But my 16-inch-high raised beds are still all under snow cover, and if we do get another 18 inches of snow, then it will be another few weeks before I can do anything with them.

Also, all my pallets are stored outside and under snow. So, I can't get them now and another 18 inches of snow is going to push any effort out another week or more.

Well, lots of time to watch more YouTube videos to see if I can find any new pallet project ideas.