Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[gtaus]

I bought 5 x 2 meter fencing mesh that is similar to cattle panel. they rolled it and brought it to me. it was very hard so that roll was huge.

I guess you are lucky in that respect. Lots of people here in the US state that their local stores will not deliver cattle panels to their house. My local Fleet store will deliver cattle panels on a flatbed trailer but the minimum charge to my house would be $35. A cattle panel costs $29, so the delivery charge would be more than the cost of panel itself. However, that $35 deliver rate is a flat rate no matter how many cattle panels they load up. If you had 10 or 20 cattle panels delivered for that same $35, then it would be a much better deal.

 

[chickengr]

I guess you are lucky in that respect. Lots of people here in the US state that their local stores will not deliver cattle panels to their house. My local Fleet store will deliver cattle panels on a flatbed trailer but the minimum charge to my house would be $35. A cattle panel costs $29, so the delivery charge would be more than the cost of panel itself. However, that $35 deliver rate is a flat rate no matter how many cattle panels they load up. If you had 10 or 20 cattle panels delivered for that same $35, then it would be a much better deal.

I got things delivered for free at my old place. now I live away from stores and have to pay.

 

[gtaus]

Best Tool for Removing Headless/Embedded Nails!

Before I breakdown a pallet, I like to take a moment or two to decide what method I will use on the pallet demolition to maximize the usable wood. Along with that consideration is I have to ask myself if I am OK with leaving parts of the nails embedded in the wood planks and/or the 2X4 stretchers. If you use power tools for pallet breakdowns, I recommend you get a nail/wood demolition blade for the circular saw just in case you hit a nail, but a demolition blade is absolutely required for the reciprocating saw because you will be cutting off the nails.

My favorite pallet wood breakdown method is the circular saw demolition approach where you run a circular saw alongside the 2X4 stretchers - right, middle and left. You can breakdown a pallet in little time with that method, but you end up with a lot of plank pieces only about 18" long. If the planks are good enough, I'll often only cut off only the ends and use a pry bar to life up the middle section. That leaves you a plank board about 36+ inches long.

In the circular saw method, you end with a small chunk of wood and nails still stuck on the 2X4 stretcher. Easy enough to knock off that leftover piece with a hammer, or if you cut really close to the 2X4, you could use a chisel to split the plank wood piece and leave only the nails to pull out. If you can clamp the 2X4 into some kind of vise, it goes easier.

Again, for most of my projects, the circular saw method is the fastest method for me and yields a lot of usable wood in little time.

Another method is using a reciprocating saw to cut the nail between the 2X4 stretcher and the plank. This leaves the top half of the nail in the plank, and the bottom half of the nail in the 2X4 stretcher. If I have a pallet with some really good solid long planks, then I might use the reciprocating saw method to harvest the entire length of the plank wood.

Google picture of that process...

Notice the length of that demolition blade in her reciprocating saw. I have found that I prefer the 12-inch long demolition blades for pallet breakdowns. It just works better than shorter blades because you have to reach into the center 2X4 stretcher and a short blade on the saw makes that a harder job.

When I decide to use the reciprocating saw method, I mostly have it in my mind that I don't need to remove those half nails still embedded in the wood. A lot of my pallet projects don't need nail-free boards.

However, on occasion, I have the perfect bit of wood for my project, but it has a headless and/or embedded nail in it that I cannot remove with a hammer or crowbar. And maybe it has to come out because I need to cut the wood in that exact spot. What to do then?

There is an old manual tool that has been around over a hundred years that still works the best in those situations where you have to pull out a headless or embedded nail in some wood. It's called a slide hammer nail puller, or a nail pull slider, or some other combination like that depending on the model you buy. They all look basically like this...

You can find then for about $40 regular price in many big box stores. I got my sliding hammer nail puller on sale for about $20 with sale price and rebate. It's one of those tools that I rarely use, but when I need it, it's the only tool that does the job it was designed for with relative ease. Some people refer to it as grandpa's tool, but in truth, there is little to break on this hammer and you could end up passing it on to your grandchildren as well.

Of course, you can use the slide hammer nail puller for lots of projects other than pallet wood. Here are a few short YouTube videos on how, and when, to use this tool.

The slide hammer nail puller is just one of those tools that is not absolutely needed except in rare occasions, and then it's about the only tool that can do that specific job. It's a one trick pony, I guess. But I like having it in my toolbox.

 

[gtaus]

Update of VEVOR 6.5 inch Reversable Bench Vise Installation

Last week I mentioned that I had ordered the VEVOR 6.5 inch Reversable Bench Vise...

It was selling for $100 before Christmas, but I got it on sale as shown above. It has a lot of positive reviews. I already have a 4-inch bench vise, but I wanted to upgrade. My plan was to install the new bench vise on my long pallet wood workbench I built a couple years ago....

That was one of very first pallet projects. I had picked up a couple 6-foot-long pallets, added some legs, put some wheels underneath, and called it a done project. It's a great workbench for rough projects. As you can see, I just used pallet wood planks for the top, so the top is not smooth like if I had used a sheet of plywood. But it's a great workbench for banging out stuff that don't need a level top. I also used pallet wood planks for the bottom shelf. Lot of storage underneath.

My idea was to mount the VEVOR bench vise on the front right hand edge of that workbench. Because the workbench top with different thickness planks was not level, I had to mount my new bench vise on a 2X8 chunk of wood, and then mount the wood on the bench. I also had to put a few shims underneath the 2X8 to make it level so it would rock and roll all over the place.

Here is one look fron the side at the mounting of the bench vise...

By mounting it on the front right edge, I can rotate the bench vise either forward or to the side and it clears both edges of the bench legs. That means, if I want, I can clamp down a board or pipe vertically in the vise and it will clear the workbench.

Here is what it looks like from a front view...

It might not be the prettiest mounting job I have ever done, but it's sold as a rock and if I want, I can unscrew the whole thing from that workbench and put it somewhere else.

After I got it mounted, I de-nailed a number of 2X4 stretchers that were left over from my pallet breakdown earlier in the week. In fact, those were some really nasty 2X4's with lots of nails in them. I am happy to report that once I clamped down the 2X4 in the vise, and cranked it down hard, those 2X4's did not move even when I was using my big crowbar to take out some long pallet nails in the wood.

I'd give this VEVOR 6.5 inch Reversable Bench Vise a 5 Star rating. I really like it. And, I don't know how you could beat the price. I was in Menards the other day, and their 5-1/2-inch reversable vise was selling for $119.00 This VEVOR is a much better deal, IMHO.

For anyone looking for a good bench vise, I would highly recommend checking out the VEVOR bench vises on Amazon.

 

[gtaus]

Now that I got my attached garage somewhat heated, I have been working out there every afternoon for the past week. I turn on my little 60,000 BTU hot-dog propane heater for about 10-15 minutes and it gets up to about 55F. Warm enough, and comfortable enough, for me to work out there with a sweatshirt. Very nice.

Before I had my slab heat fixed in the garage, the temps would get down below freezing. I have lots of 18v Ryobi batteries that I could not leave out in the freezing garage. Li-Ion batteries do not like to be frozen. So, I took them all inside the house. However, my shelf in the house is not as big as my garage battery shelf. One of the first pallet projects I made this past week was to build one extra tier on my battery shelf inside the house. Not a big deal, but good use of some pallet wood for a utility shelf addon.

I mentioned that I have been breaking down pallets over the past week. I took apart 6 pallets and salvaged most of that wood. Last week, I took the old Ford Explore into town on my weekly run and picked up another 6 pallets from the back of an auto store. They actually had 3 stacks of 8 pallets each. I took the best 6 pallets I could find out of those piles and loaded them into the Explorer. I would have taken more, but I can only fit 6 pallets in the back of the Explorer. Those pallets are still sitting in the back of the Explorer.

Just wanted to mention that I built up a good stash of pallets in my backyard, and I am now to the point where I only bother to pick up the best pallets I can find. When I was first starting out, I picked up every pallet I could find and was glad for it. I'm still glad for free pallets, but now I only pick out the best ones to take home.

Turns out the best pallets are also the easiest to breakdown and salvage the most wood. It's the old broken and repaired pallets that have nails all over the place and that makes it hard to breakdown the pallets later.

I have started building a few pallet projects that have been on my list for a while now.

The first is the stackable compost bin design. I have built 2 tiers of the stackable bins so far. I ran into some pallet wood challenges that I am working out. Specifically, how pallet wood planks are not all the same thickness and how that affects a design that is going to be stackable. I worked out one issue, making each stackable tier the same size. Now I'm working on the legs which allow the stacking concept. I hope to have a more detailed description on my pallet wood modifications to the design with pictures maybe later this week.

Here is a Google picture of the stackable bin concept I am modifying to use my pallet wood...

I had to use a hammer to persuade the feet from the top tier to fit into the bottom tier. They were off just ever so little. The hammer worked, but I am going to try some modifications so that the feet from the top tier slide into the bottom tier easier. I love thinking about modifications that are required to make a build out of free pallet wood.

The second project I am working on is building a new pallet wood raised bed v2.0.

Picture of last year's build...

I got all the 2X4 framing put together for the new raised bed this afternoon, and I have all the planks cut for the sidewalls. I had to stop there without putting everything together because I don't want to assemble everything in the garage and then NOT be able to move it myself. It's just too heavy and bulky for me to handle by myself. Last year, I built the frames inside the garage and put everything together on sawhorses out where I will be setting the bed down.

Well, besides the raised bed being heavy and bulky, I live in northern Minnesota and our winter still can stretch out another 8 weeks, or more. If the weather gets bad, I still need to get my car into the garage. So, all my projects right now are being built with the idea that I could clean up everything and get the car back into the garage in about half an hour.

Finally, I have been using my new VEVOR bench vise a lot since I got it mounted to my pallet wood work bench. It's great to clamp down a 2X4 stretcher and pull out the nais. Today, I used the anvil portion of the bench vise to hammer straight some of those pallet nails. Worked pretty good.

One thing I tried new today was to hold the head of the bent nail in a vise grips...

Then I put the bent nail into the vise jaws and tighten it down. Straightens out the bent nails even better, I think. I was working with some small 1-1/2 inch nails, and I found I could hold on to the nail better with the vise grips than with my fingers and get more of the nail shank inside the bench vise jaws.

I don't know if I will ever use those old pallet nails, but I cannot get myself to throw them out even if I have to straighten them out first! I just prefer to use screws for almost everything I build these days.

 

[wrathsfarm]

Speaking of cold shops, one of my first small pallet projects for this year needs to be a couple heated cabinets for my paints, stains, glues, and automotive sprays, etc.
But they can also be used for cordless battery's also.
Here's a couple diy videos I've saved for myself.

Here's one for the bee keepers among us. A diy heated honey cabinet. But all these could be modified slightly for egg storage also. Right now I'm just using a mini fridge for summer but I added a light for this winter that keeps it between 60-65 degrees F during the winter.

 

[Sally PB]

I love thinking about modifications that are required to make a build out of free pallet wood.

I know what you mean! It can keep me awake at night! Problemproblemproblem....thinkthinkthink...ideaideaidea... OH!! I want to go try that RIGHT NOW!! Oh. It's 2:30 am.

Here's one for the bee keepers among us. A diy heated honey cabinet.

What a great idea! I have to keep my honey (bought from another beekeeper; I don't have my own honey yet) stored near the wood stove so that it doesn't crystalize. Out of the way, but still plenty warm. Cupboards and pantries get too chilly.

 

[Sally PB]

Oh, one more thing about honey... it is one of the most often "faked" foods out there. I bought some "raw unfiltered honey" at Costco. It's in the basement. It has not crystalized at all, but my real honey from a real beekeeper did.

Just FYI; back to building ideas!

 

[wrathsfarm]

I know what you mean! It can keep me awake at night! Problemproblemproblem....thinkthinkthink...ideaideaidea... OH!! I want to go try that RIGHT NOW!! Oh. It's 2:30 am.

What a great idea! I have to keep my honey (bought from another beekeeper; I don't have my own honey yet) stored near the wood stove so that it doesn't crystalize. Out of the way, but still plenty warm. Cupboards and pantries get too chilly.

I thought the honey lovers would like it
I mainly saved it for the build detail. I think the electronics is way overboard, tho. A simple small lamp cord and thermo cube does the same but the you tubers gotta go above and beyond constantly for subscribers so I get that.
I have an extra full size fridge I'm going to set up for next winter with a couple lights for bigger egg storage. I like the fridges for year round cold/warm storage, even if I just use it to keep water from freezing.

 

[gtaus]

I know what you mean! It can keep me awake at night! Problemproblemproblem....thinkthinkthink...ideaideaidea... OH!! I want to go try that RIGHT NOW!! Oh. It's 2:30 am.

I am glad to hear that I am not the only one suffering from that condition!

Anyways, I have a few ideas to improve that stacking compost bin design to make it work better with free pallet wood. Mind you, it's working OK now, but I think I can make it better. Of course, the issues are that the pallet wood planks are not all the same thickness compared to buying 1X6 boards from the lumber yard. Like I said, I had 2 issues to work out in my modifications for using pallet wood. I worked out the first issue, now I'm going to solve that issue with the interlocking legs. Once I get that dialed in, I'll upload some pictures of my build and design improvements/modifications.