Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[gtaus]

New Tool Alert - Crescent 19" Nail Puller 56

I looked all over my other garage for the sliding hammer nail puller that I thought had been passed down to me from my grandfather. I found lots of other tools, but not the nail puller I was looking for.

I checked Amazon and the Crescent Nail Puller 56 was over $50.00. However, our local Menards currently has the Crescent® 19" Crescent Nail Puller on clearance for $26.69 after sale price and 11% rebate.

This is more or less a specialty tool. It's main purpose is to dig down and extract embedded nails (with or without the nail head) from wood without causing severe damage to the lumber.

I will be using it to remove embedded nails in the pallet wood 2X4 stretchers where I use a reciprocating saw with a metal blade to cut off the nails holding the pallet planks, preserving the entire length of the pallet plank that way.

Depending on the pallet, sometimes I break it down using a circular saw, cutting the wood along the 2X4 stretchers, and end up with lots of 16-18 inch pallet plank pieces. If the pallet planks are really good, and worth saving whole, I will use the reciprocating saw and cut off the nails to remove the entire pallet plank. But that leaves those nasty bottom half of the nails in the 2X4 stretchers. That's where I can use this nail puller to take out those headless nails if I need to before cutting on a mitre saw. Don't want to ruin a $30 blade on free pallet wood with nails in it!

Occasionally, I get a pallet that I can take apart with my pallet buster bar, but those type of pallets are few and far between. I hardly ever use my pallet buster. You really need good quality wood on the pallet with very few nails in the planks. Otherwise, the pallet buster becomes a board buster.

Anyways, first use of the Crescent Nail Puller this evening on a number of 2X4 stretchers with embedded nails in them. No way to take out those nails with a normal hammer or crow bar. But the Crescent Nail Puller 56 really worked great. After a few attempts, I got the hang of the tool and got much faster at setting up and removing the nails.

Like I said, this is a specialty tool and I suspect many people might not need it in their toolbox. However, if you have lumber that you need to save but you have to remove embedded nails, this tool really works.

If you are interested, here is a nice YouTube video on how to use this tool....

 

[gtaus]

Yesterday, I took apart what is without a doubt the hardest pallet I have ever come across. The pallet planks only had 2 or 3 nails on each of the stretchers, but they just refused to loosen up and let me take the planks off.

I ended up using the sawzall method of cutting the planks off with a metal blade. The nails on the sides of the pallets were easy to cut, but I'm gonna have to get a longer demolition blade to cut out the nails on that middle 2X4. My metal blade is 5 or 6 inches long, but I'm going to get a 12 inch demolition blade for the reciprocating saw after strugging with that middle section.

In the process of taking off the first plank, I, of course, split the end of the board. The board came off, but the pallet nails were still in the 2X4. Usually, not a problem. However, for some reason, the nails in this pallet and 2X4 were super strong and would not come out. I got out my biggest, heaviest, 2-foot crowbar and put all my weight into the effort, but the darned nails would not come out! The best I could do was pop off the nail heads leaving me in an even worse situation. In the end, I just cut off the nails with the metal blade and called it done.

That was one pallet I wish I had never decided to breakdown.

On a more positive note, the pallets I have been breaking down have rewarded me with tons of wood ready to start building new projects. It took me about 2 hours, but I got all the pallet wood pieces picked up and put into storage bins. Now, instead of taking up the complete floor space of one stall of the garage, I have opened up a good 2/3 of the floor space there to start building.

Currently on my list, either 2 or 4 new pallet wood raised beds and maybe another 1 or 2 modular work benches like I built last year. Still looking for a good design for making a raised bed top cover to act as a mini greenhouse and/or just keep the birds and deer out of eating the stuff in the raised beds. Thinking about using pallet wood for the framing, then maybe hardware cloth and/or plastic for the cover.

Almost all the snow is gone, but we have snow in the forecast for tomorrow and a couple times this coming week. But the snow will not last long this time of year. I hope to be sharing some pictures of completed pallet projects relatively soon. Stay tuned...

As always, would love to hear what others are doing as it inspires me to crank out more projects of my own.

 

[fuzzi]

Just reading, catching up. I don't think I will use that nail remover tool, but it's good to know that it exists.

Weird...I never got a notification that you'd posted again...go figure.

 

[gtaus]

I don't think I will use that nail remover tool, but it's good to know that it exists.

That sliding hammer nail puller, the Crescent Nail Puller 56, is not a tool that I think most people really need. It's a specialty tool. It falls into the category of the perfect tool for seldom need applications.

Weird...I never got a notification that you'd posted again...go figure.

There is something with the BYC forums that if you miss clicking on a notification link when it pops up, you might not get another notification of any new posts on that thread. Happens to me all the time. Too bad, because a person thinks a thread is dead because they are not getting any new notifications.

On the other hand, I like to contribute to the thread "What did you do in the garden today," but there are so many daily posts on that thread that I cannot keep up with it. Additionally, I don't want to get a new notification each and every time someone posts on that thread because I would constantly be bombarded with notifications.

Glad you checked back in and feel free to share any thoughts or plans you might have related to pallet projects. Any thread is only as good as the members contributions.

 

[fuzzi]

That sliding hammer nail puller, the Crescent Nail Puller 56, is not a tool that I think most people really need. It's a specialty tool. It falls into the category of the perfect tool for seldom need applications.



There is something with the BYC forums that if you miss clicking on a notification link when it pops up, you might not get another notification of any new posts on that thread. Happens to me all the time. Too bad, because a person thinks a thread is dead because they are not getting any new notifications.

On the other hand, I like to contribute to the thread "What did you do in the garden today," but there are so many daily posts on that thread that I cannot keep up with it. Additionally, I don't want to get a new notification each and every time someone posts on that thread because I would constantly be bombarded with notifications.

Glad you checked back in and feel free to share any thoughts or plans you might have related to pallet projects. Any thread is only as good as the members contributions.

I may "shore up" my raised beds after reading your posts about where to place the support.

 

[gtaus]

I may "shore up" my raised beds after reading your posts about where to place the support.

I made some raised beds about 5 years ago and had the framing on the inside. Everything looked great that first year. But, when the soil gets wet, it gets heavy, and by the second year the long side walls started to bulge out. I had a few pieces of wood panel pieces blow out in the next year or two that had to be replaced.

It's not a big deal, I know the plants don't care, but I learned from my experience and now all my raised garden beds have the framing on the outside. IMHO, it's just a more solid design that should last longer. And, using free pallet wood that might not be the highest quality, I think design matters in holding everything together. Also, instead of making a 4X8 foot raised beds, I will make two 4X4 foot raised beds. The shorter distance also helps prevent the sides from bowing out.

Just went outside today to check on the pallet wood raised garden beds I built last summer, and they all look great after a long winter. I am happy with that design, so I'll be building another 2 or 4 of those raised beds this spring/summer.

 

[fuzzi]

I made some raised beds about 5 years ago and had the framing on the inside. Everything looked great that first year. But, when the soil gets wet, it gets heavy, and by the second year the long side walls started to bulge out. I had a few pieces of wood panel pieces blow out in the next year or two that had to be replaced.

It's not a big deal, I know the plants don't care, but I learned from my experience and now all my raised garden beds have the framing on the outside. IMHO, it's just a more solid design that should last longer. And, using free pallet wood that might not be the highest quality, I think design matters in holding everything together. Also, instead of making a 4X8 foot raised beds, I will make two 4X4 foot raised beds. The shorter distance also helps prevent the sides from bowing out.

Just went outside today to check on the pallet wood raised garden beds I built last summer, and they all look great after a long winter. I am happy with that design, so I'll be building another 2 or 4 of those raised beds this spring/summer.

My raised beds are not made from pallets, but cedar. They are 4x4 as well.

 

[gtaus]

My raised beds are not made from pallets, but cedar. They are 4x4 as well.

View attachment 3468129

Very nice. Did you make those interlocking 4X4 posts yourself, or was that a kit you purchased?

The first raised beds I built maybe 20 years ago were some landscaping timbers, two timber high like in this picture....

That worked great for me when I was younger. And I still have those same landscaping timber raised beds out in my main garden. They are about 5 inches high, so I still have to do a lot of bending over to maintain those raised beds.

When I hit my late 50's, I decided that taller raised beds would be easier for me to work. Since then, all my new raised beds are 16 inches high. I fill the bottom 8-10 inches of the bed with hügelkultur wood, then layers of organic material, then the top 6-8 inches with a topsoil/chicken run compost mixed 1:1.

Here are some pictures of my pallet wood raised beds under construction last summer. First of all, the basic frame...

Added the hügelkultur wood in the base...

A good layer of organics before the topsoil/compost mix is added in to top it off.

Those temporary diagonal boards on the corners are there to keep the bed square while I moved it from the garage where I built it and then brought it out to the backyard.

I'm a big fan of the hügelkultur method of filling the raised beds. We had a terrible drought a few summers ago and the only plants that survived and produced in my main garden without running water were in the hügelkultur raised beds. All the "normal" raised beds and everything planted in the ground dried up and died.

I don't know how much a cedar wood raised bed that size would cost, but a few years ago I priced out the cost of lumber for just pine boards and it was almost $150 per bed at that time. That makes for some expensive tomatoes, etc.... Anyways, I got into building with pallet wood/reclaimed lumber and my cost out of pocket for the wood was FREE. That's how I can afford to build more raised beds this spring.

I live on a lake, and my native topsoil is basically sand. Terrible for growing food. So, my major expense on building new raised beds is that I purchase a trailer full of Red River topsoil for $60 bucks a load. When mixed with chicken run compost, it is enough to fill the top portion of about 4 of these raised beds. It's well worth it to me and still I only end up paying maybe $15.00 per garden bed when I'm done.

Here's a picture of a galvanized panel raised garden bed I made about 4 years ago, long before I got into pallet projects. Anyways, check out that outstanding quality topsoil mixed with my chicken run compost. That's about as good as it gets....

Every year, I mix in fresh chicken run compost into the beds as the hügelkultur bed levels drop as the wood and organic matter decays. The compost I make in the chicken run is better than the compost I used to buy in the big box stores. Every year my raised beds get topped off with fresh compost. I feed the soil, the soil feeds the plants, and the plants feed me.

 

[fuzzi]

Very nice. Did you make those interlocking 4X4 posts yourself, or was that a kit you purchased?

Oh, no. I just assembled them! They were purchased from Greene's Fence Co. (https://greenesfence.com) The one I purchased last year is doing great, so I invested in two more this year.

Here's bed #1 from a week ago:

I live in the very wet and warm (zone 8a) Southeast where most wood rots very quickly. We also have termites, so cedar wood is recommended. If I can get five years out of these beds it is well worth the investment.

I became aware of raised bed planting back in the early 1980s, probably from Rodale. I never used boards but just dug trenches for paths, throwing the dirt on the beds. It worked well for many years. I'm older now, can't bust the sod as I did 40 years ago, so I garden "smarter".

When I hit my late 50's, I decided that taller raised beds would be easier for me to work. Since then, all my new raised beds are 16 inches high. I fill the bottom 8-10 inches of the bed with hügelkultur wood, then layers of organic material, then the top 6-8 inches with a topsoil/chicken run compost mixed 1:1.

I discovered Hugelkultur last year. There's a very good YT channel that I binge-watched with a master gardener "Scott", think I first learned about it there. (https://m.youtube.com/@GardenerScott)
I didn't have much wood for the bottom so I used small branches and canna lily stalks. Some of them sprouted but eventually I pulled them all. On top of the wood and brush I put a thick layer of dry leaves, then partly-rotted leaves/grass clippings, then some peat moss, Blackow, mostly-rotted compost, and some cheap topsoil from Lowe's. It did well, and when the dirt level dropped a couple inches by Autumn I added leaves. When I got to the bottom of the bed I found nothing but dirt, all the branches had totally decomposed! I added some watermelon rinds, they were gone by the time I planted this year. I'm sold!

I don't know how much a cedar wood raised bed that size would cost, but a few years ago I priced out the cost of lumber for just pine boards and it was almost $150 per bed at that time. That makes for some expensive tomatoes, etc....

The price of a 4x8x14" cedar kit wasn't much more than your estimate, but without the investment I probably wouldn't be gardening as much as I am this year.

I live on a lake, and my native topsoil is basically sand. Terrible for growing food. So, my major expense on building new raised beds is that I purchase a trailer full of Red River topsoil for $60 bucks a load. When mixed with chicken run compost, it is enough to fill the top portion of about 4 of these raised beds. It's well worth it to me and still I only end up paying maybe $15.00 per garden bed when I'm done.

We have a sandy clay soil, which needs lots of amendment. When we get mid-summer droughts my flower beds in the ground are like dust, and without adding humus the soil won't hold water.

Enter the compost pile(s)!

We have a third acre in an older suburban area and the yard (not "lawn", "lawn"=grass. Our yard is green and grows) provides us with huge piles of clippings from March to October. We're next to hardwoods on one side, which helps provide us with leaves. Over the last few years we switched from a riding mower to a powered push type with a bagger! My dh dumps the clippings onto a pile which I supplement with cardboard and weeds. I also use the mower to run over piles of leaves from the huge sycamore tree in the front yard.

This year when I set up the two new raised beds I did not buy any soil. I used lots of thick branches, partly-rotted leaves/grass clippings, peat moss, a little remaining Blackow, mostly-rotted compost, wood ashes, and finally dirt from the bottom of the compost pile which I dug from just above the clay soil. I had two bags of peat moss from last year, so I didn't spend money filling the new beds.

Here's a picture of a galvanized panel raised garden bed I made about 4 years ago, long before I got into pallet projects. Anyways, check out that outstanding quality topsoil mixed with my chicken run compost. That's about as good as it gets....

Every year, I mix in fresh chicken run compost into the beds as the hügelkultur bed levels drop as the wood and organic matter decays. The compost I make in the chicken run is better than the compost I used to buy in the big box stores. Every year my raised beds get topped off with fresh compost. I feed the soil, the soil feeds the plants, and the plants feed me.

Mine doesn't have chicken manure, yet. Think about how lovely my gardens will be after I add some litter from the chicken run.

It's satisfying to use what we are given by God/His nature, and see the results.

This probably should have been posted in the gardening area...oh well.

 

[fuzzi]

Oh, no. I just assembled them! They were purchased from Greene's Fence Co. The one I purchased last year is doing great, so I invested in two more this year.

Forgot to mention that I put the cardboard shipping boxes in the bottom of the raised beds to start the Hugelkultur.