Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[electrycmonk]

Sounds like you have a nice setup. I often wonder what it would be like if I had a nice tractor to work with.

But, honestly, I'd probably be driving it down the road to pick up the mail more than working around the yard!

My setup is no where near that much. I waited and snagged stuff on sale, craigslist and FB-land marketplace as well as auction sites around DFW too. I have a couple that I will be selling when I’m done fixing them.

 

[gtaus]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. How close to I-35 are ya?

No I-anythings close to where I live. More like County Road XX.

 

[gtaus]

Trying to get a little more painting done on the chicken coop before it gets too cold and/or snow falls. I have been replacing some rotted trim I made with OSB strips with some of the better pallet wood planks I have salvaged. It's been raining almost every day, so the painting job is not going fast. Well, neither am I.

Ran into a little problem with my white barn paint which is getting soaked up into the wood. Have had to give each board 3-4 coats to stop seeing the wood underneath bleed through. Looking better now, but a lot more painting than I expected. Also, painting trim is a real pain in the butt. Seems like I paint a little, but spill a lot. That white trim paint really sticks out if you spill some on the red barn paint.

I won't be able to repaint everything to make it look new, either. Some of the wood is behind wire and some of the wood around the bottom of the coop is covered by compost. I'll just have to do what I can.

I don't like doing a half-baked job, but that is what I will end up with when all done. Oh well, the chickens don't care and from a distance, you probably won't notice all the shortcuts I had to take.

 

[Smokerbill]

I repurposed the form I made for the concrete pad I poured. After adjusting the dimensions a little, I used my narrow crown air stapler and attached a section of 1/2"x1" welded wire screen, commonly used as rabbit cage floors.

Now I have a nice, sturdy compost sifter, about 36x28 inches and six inches deep. Next I need to devise a way to support it while I shovel in compost and shake it.

I'll add a pic of the completed sifter next time I take my camera outside. Too tired right now. LOL

 

[Member 671655]

My 7 year olds “day shelter” for the birds when they wanna chill

 

[gtaus]

I repurposed the form I made for the concrete pad I poured. After adjusting the dimensions a little, I used my narrow crown air stapler and attached a section of 1/2"x1" welded wire screen, commonly used as rabbit cage floors.

Now I have a nice, sturdy compost sifter, about 36x28 inches and six inches deep. Next I need to devise a way to support it while I shovel in compost and shake it.

I'll add a pic of the completed sifter next time I take my camera outside. Too tired right now. LOL

View attachment 3649106

One idea I thought looked interesting was this...

I would put a cart underneath the sifter, but it looks like it would be really easy to sift the compost with the frame hanging from above.

My old manual sifting setup was more like this...

Instead of shaking the sifter, I would run the flat edge of a shovel across the wire or use a small board and run that over the wire, back and forth, and the compost would get sifted.

Another approach is something like this...

If I did that method, I'd make it so I could have a garden cart under the sifted compost so I would not have to shovel it up off the ground again.

 

[fuzzi]

One idea I thought looked interesting was this...

View attachment 3649142

I would put a cart underneath the sifter, but it looks like it would be really easy to sift the compost with the frame hanging from above.

My old manual sifting setup was more like this...

View attachment 3649145

Instead of shaking the sifter, I would run the flat edge of a shovel across the wire or use a small board and run that over the wire, back and forth, and the compost would get sifted.

Another approach is something like this...

View attachment 3649155

If I did that method, I'd make it so I could have a garden cart under the sifted compost so I would not have to shovel it up off the ground again.

I don't sift mine, saves lots of work!

 

[gtaus]

I don't sift mine [compost], saves lots of work!

Well, then there is that approach as well.

I personally sift all my compost. Back when I was buying bagged compost, I would find bits and pieces of glass, metal, plastic, etc... in those bags. Not a lot, but enough that I was sure to sift everything first before I put it into the garden.

Now, I sift everything to reject the larger bits of chicken run litter that need to be sent back for more time in the chicken run composting system. Only my best sifted compost is used in my raised beds. But that sifted compost is mixed 1:1 with topsoil, so I don't want any big chunks of partially decomposed material in the raised bed mix.

I have so much chicken run compost that I invested in making a cement mixer compost sifter. Here is my current setup, for comparison.....

That system rock and rolls for sifting compost. Each of those carts is 7 cubic feet, and it takes me only about 10 minutes to sift a full cart of compost.

For the volume of compost that I sift, my new cement mixer compost sifter is a real time and labor saver. But I used the old compost frame on top of a wheelbarrow for many years before I got my chickens and turned my chicken run into a composting system.

Even the rejected compost at the end of the barrel would make great top mulch, if I wanted. But I just dump it back into the chicken run for another go round of composting. Anyways, that's black gold in my book under that barrel!

 

[Smokerbill]

One idea I thought looked interesting was this...

View attachment 3649142

I would put a cart underneath the sifter, but it looks like it would be really easy to sift the compost with the frame hanging from above.

My old manual sifting setup was more like this...

View attachment 3649145

Instead of shaking the sifter, I would run the flat edge of a shovel across the wire or use a small board and run that over the wire, back and forth, and the compost would get sifted.

Another approach is something like this...

View attachment 3649155

If I did that method, I'd make it so I could have a garden cart under the sifted compost so I would not have to shovel it up off the ground again.

Excellent ideas! I think the first picture in your post will be the method I use. There are a pair of large cedar trees about 4 feet apart right next to the compost pile. I bet I could find a strong branch to attach to sifter to. I'd sift directly to the ground and then shovel it into my wheelbarrow.

Here's the sifter. Free wood being used for a second time, free screen, and reused the same screws. I probably overdid it with the staples, but it's fun shooting staples, so I had a good time!

 

[Smokerbill]

I don't sift mine, saves lots of work!

That would! Mine has a lot of branches, wood chips and other big stuff in it that I'd rather not put in the raised beds.

I'll try to set it up tomorrow for a trial run.

I've been removing a lot of plants from my garden, so there are some areas I can start amending with compost to get them ready for next spring.