Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[gtaus]

I finished building another pallet wood raised bed v2.0 this evening. Went really well. Previously, I estimated that it only took me less than an hour to build. Well, today it took closer to two hours because I was cutting the wood as I was building the raised bed. It takes time to sort through the wood piles to find the boards I wanted, and then I had to cut them. If I would have had all those boards precut, the assembly probably would have been less than one hour of work.

Tomorrow, I plan on building another pallet wood 16X16 inch small planter for Dear Wife. She liked the first one I earlier this week, so the second planter will be the same.

Picture of the one I built earlier in the week...

Well, actually I will have to ask Dear Wife to help me move some of my finished pallet projects outside, so I have more room inside the garage to work.

It's getting a little tight in the garage and I can't move those things by myself - at least not without risking injuring my old back. Teamwork is key to preventing stupid injuries.

 

[gtaus]

Cheap, Easy, Temporary Worktable

Last week I picked up a couple of nice Euro pallets with a solid plywood top. Looks just like this...

I set one up on a couple of sawhorses in the garage to use as a worktable for my current project builds. It's working out really well because it gives me about a 4X4 foot tabletop to work on. The solid plywood top is great to work on because I can set down screws, tools, etc... on the top and they don't fall through the voids in a normal panel. Also, the solid plywood top is really easy to clamp down on from any side because all sides are open in this Euro pallet design as you can see in the picture. Since I work alone, I use lots of clamps to hold boards in place, so I keep everything as square as possible when I screws boards together. With a normal pallet, you would have those 2X4 stretchers between the top and bottom planks, with no opening to slide a clamp in for two sides of a normal pallet.

Also, it is nice to walk around the pallet tabletop when working on projects. When I am done with using it, I just take it off the sawhorses and set the pallet upright somewhere out of the way. Very nice!

In general, I have not picked up many of the Euro pallets that I find around here. Unlike the planks in this picture, most of the Euro pallets I have come across have really thin wood planks or even just narrow strips of plywood that I have no use for...

If we had Euro pallets with good wood planks like in that picture, I would take them. But I just have not seen any good ones around here, so I just leave them.

But last week I did score two Euro pallets with solid 3/4-inch plywood tops, and I took both of them. For a cheap, easy, portable tabletop, they work great.

 

[gtaus]

I finished building that second small 16X16 inch pallet wood planter for Dear Wife. It passed her inspection. So, that to-do list item is complete. Not that it is very interesting, but here is a picture of that planter on top of the pallet wood tabletop I previously mentioned...

Last year I made some nice 2X4 foot modular workbenches with wheels using pallet wood. Those are really nice workbenches. However, in the winter time, I need to get my car in the garage if we have some bad weather coming in. The modular workbenches cannot fold up for compact storage. So, I had to move them down into the basement for the winter.

But I lucked into picking up a couple of pallets with solid 3/4-inch plywood tops last week. As you can see, I just throw it on top of a couple of sawhorses and have a nice worktable to work on. When I don't need it, I just put the sawhorses outside, and the pallet takes almost no room standing upright in the garage. Perfect for my winter use considerations.

Another advantage to that pallet wood tabletop is that I can easily clamp down wood to the top because all the sides are open as you can see in that photo. That's a nice feature and I use my clamps a lot.

Well, I finished two new pallet wood raised beds v2.0 and two new small 16X16 inch planters. I'm well ahead of my spring to-do list. Not sure what the next project(s) will be, but I am thinking about making some kind of rack system to store my clamps. Additionally, I would like to build a storage rack that holds my power tools better. In both cases, I want those tools to be more easily accessible. At the moment, half of those tools are stored in bags, totes, or boxes and I have to "unpack" them whenever I want to use them. It's not a really big deal, but I would prefer to have my tools out in the open where I could just grab it off a rack and immediately go to work.

 

[gtaus]

Making Woodchips Out Of Pallet Wood Off Cut Bits And Pieces

But now I am wondering if I could run those small pallet wood bits and pieces through that electric woodchipper instead of burning them? I'll have to get my chipper out of storage and give that a try. I currently have a 5-gallon bucket full of pallet wood off cuts that I was going to burn in the fire ring next time I want a fire.

I'll update with a post if/when I find that woodchipper and run some pallet wood bits and pieces through it. Frankly, I am suspecting that the pallet wood pieces will probably just jam the small woodchipper. But I won't know until I try. Later on that experiment...

It took a few times looking around for my little electric SunJoe woodchipper, but I finally found it in my other garage hidden underneath a cover. So, I took it out of storage and brought it up to my main garage.

Here is a picture of a 5-gallon bucket full of pallet wood bits and pieces off cut from my work this past week. As I previously stated, my intention was just to burn them in the fire ring out back.

That bucket is full of all kinds, sizes and shapes of cut offs. So, let me break it down to what I found works, and what does not. Small pieces like this worked fine...

It might be hard to tell in the picture, but the largest piece there was maybe 1-1/2 inch square and most of the pieces were much smaller. My electric chipper had no problem with them.

Next, some larger pieces which were maybe 2 inches wide by 4 inches long. Some of them worked OK, but I ended up jamming the woodchipper and had to clear everything out. Bottom line, too big for my SunJoe chipper...

Anything with a nail, or bits of nails in them, were removed from the bucket and were not sent through the woodchipper. Those nails would totally jam up the chipper and/or destroyer the chipper blades...

Picture of the SunJoe chipper setup up for chipping the pallet wood bits and pieces...

Picture of the woodchips I made after going through the entire 5-gallon bucket of bits and pieces (less the chunks too large or with nails)...

It's too hard to see how many wood chips I made, so I put them into a couple 5-gallon buckets for you. As you can see, after chipping up a 5-gallon bucket of pallet wood bits and pieces, I ended up with one full 5-gallon bucket of chips and the second bucket was 1/3 full...

It took me about 30-45 minutes to make that many wood chips from the bits and pieces of pallet wood off cuts I had in that initial 5-gallon bucket.

Was it worth it? Well, I can get a trailer full of free wood chips at the local county landfill and it only takes me about 20 minutes to load out a full trailer. Compared to that, I would say it's not worth the effort. However, instead of dumping those pallet wood bits and pieces as garbage, or burning them in the backyard fire ring, I was able to upcycle them into some woodchips that I can use as nest bed litter. Those 45 minutes of work chipping up pallet wood bits and pieces gives me enough clean wood chips for my chicken coop nest boxes for about 6 months. I would then compost those wood chips as they get dirty and need to be replaced.

Well, that's the conclusion to my experiment. I am interested into what others think. Does is make more sense to burn the pallet wood bits and pieces or to take the time and effort to chip them up and use them for chicken nest boxes, etc...?

 

[ChicksnMore]

Making Woodchips Out Of Pallet Wood Off Cut Bits And Pieces



It took a few times looking around for my little electric SunJoe woodchipper, but I finally found it in my other garage hidden underneath a cover. So, I took it out of storage and brought it up to my main garage.

Here is a picture of a 5-gallon bucket full of pallet wood bits and pieces off cut from my work this past week. As I previously stated, my intention was just to burn them in the fire ring out back.

View attachment 3762032

That bucket is full of all kinds, sizes and shapes of cut offs. So, let me break it down to what I found works, and what does not. Small pieces like this worked fine...

View attachment 3762033

It might be hard to tell in the picture, but the largest piece there was maybe 1-1/2 inch square and most of the pieces were much smaller. My electric chipper had no problem with them.

Next, some larger pieces which were maybe 2 inches wide by 4 inches long. Some of them worked OK, but I ended up jamming the woodchipper and had to clear everything out. Bottom line, too big for my SunJoe chipper...

View attachment 3762040

Anything with a nail, or bits of nails in them, were removed from the bucket and were not sent through the woodchipper. Those nails would totally jam up the chipper and/or destroyer the chipper blades...

View attachment 3762042

Picture of the SunJoe chipper setup up for chipping the pallet wood bits and pieces...

View attachment 3762045

Picture of the woodchips I made after going through the entire 5-gallon bucket of bits and pieces (less the chunks too large or with nails)...

View attachment 3762049

It's too hard to see how many wood chips I made, so I put them into a couple 5-gallon buckets for you. As you can see, after chipping up a 5-gallon bucket of pallet wood bits and pieces, I ended up with one full 5-gallon bucket of chips and the second bucket was 1/3 full...

View attachment 3762058

It took me about 30-45 minutes to make that many wood chips from the bits and pieces of pallet wood off cuts I had in that initial 5-gallon bucket.

Was it worth it? Well, I can get a trailer full of free wood chips at the local county landfill and it only takes me about 20 minutes to load out a full trailer. Compared to that, I would say it's not worth the effort. However, instead of dumping those pallet wood bits and pieces as garbage, or burning them in the backyard fire ring, I was able to upcycle them into some woodchips that I can use as nest bed litter. Those 45 minutes of work chipping up pallet wood bits and pieces gives me enough clean wood chips for my chicken coop nest boxes for about 6 months. I would then compost those wood chips as they get dirty and need to be replaced.

Well, that's the conclusion to my experiment. I am interested into what others think. Does is make more sense to burn the pallet wood bits and pieces or to take the time and effort to chip them up and use them for chicken nest boxes, etc...?

Could you use those pieces in the bottom of your planters as the wood base?

 

[gtaus]

Could you use those pieces in the bottom of your planters as the wood base?

Yes, that's a very good idea! That pallet wood is nothing more than heat treated wood. It should make an excellent filler. Thanks.

 

[gtaus]

Harbor Freight 1000 Pound Dolly's on Sale This Week for $8.00

Just wanted to mention once again that Harbor Freight is having a "Parking Lot Sale" this week and the 1000-pound dolly is on sale for $8.00. ITC members have early access to this price, but everyone can purchase the dolly on sale come Friday thru the weekend.

You can use them as a dolly, or course, but I remove the casters and use them in my pallet projects such as mobile workbenches. Those casters are rated for 250 pounds each, and if you purchased them separately, you would pay almost $6.00 per caster. Those casters are good enough for inside my garage with a hard cement floor. It's a great hack to get some casters on the cheap.

I have some powered tools that I am thinking about building some mobile stands for them. I have a benchtop bandsaw, a benchtop belt sander, and a 1X30 belt sander sitting out in the garage right now. I need to get my 1X30 belt sander up and running and I think a small mobile stand would be better for that tool instead of it sitting on a benchtop taking up space. That might be a good pallet project sometime in the near future.

A few days ago, I chipped up a bunch of pallet wood bits and pieces with my small electric SunJoe woodchipper. Those woodchipper blades really need to be sharpened, and that is one of the reasons I purchased that 1X30 belt sander. I don't think I will be chipping up pallet wood bits and pieces again, but it's springtime and there are lots of small branches fallen on the ground and it would be good to chip them up in my spring clean-up.

Anyways, I plan on purchasing 2 more HF dollies this week just to have some extra casters to take off if/when I need them. FYI, the HF Dolly usually goes on sale for $10.00, so this $8.00 per dolly is the lowest price I have seen in a very long time.

 

[gtaus]

Update on Using the Pallet Wood Bits and Pieces Turned Into Woodchips

Since I chipped up a 5-gallon bucket (plus another 1/3 bucket) full of pallet wood bits and pieces, I filled my chicken coop nest boxes with the fresh wood chips. What you see here is enough nest box material for about 4-6 months for me...

I don't know if the hens like harder wood chips, or not, but they are still laying eggs in the nest boxes. In the past, I have used lots of mostly free nesting material including dried grass, leaves, pine shavings (not free), wood chips, shredded paper, and most recently shredded cardboard. It all seems to work but my favorite nesting material is the shredded cardboard.

Again, I was just experimenting with different ways to (re)use those leftover bits and pieces of pallet wood. Turning them into wood chips takes some time in my small woodchipper, so I don't think I will do that again. I did like the suggestion from @ChicksnMore of just using the pallet wood bits and pieces in planters. So, I might be dumping a few buckets full of pallet wood off cuts into the new pallet wood raised beds I built this winter when I set them up this spring as hügelkultur raised beds. That's a better use of that material then burning them in the backyard fire ring.

 

[Sally PB]

I am interested into what others think. Does is make more sense to burn the pallet wood bits and pieces or to take the time and effort to chip them up and use them for chicken nest boxes, etc...?

I'd keep the idea in my back pocket as a possibility. If you had the time and wanted to chip up some sticks, you could do some of the pallet wood too.

Thanks for the information.

 

[avjudge]

Harbor Freight 1000 Pound Dolly's on Sale This Week for $8.00

I used a couple of these dollies to make rolling bases for 30 gallon galvanized trash cans. Since the crosspieces are wood I could cut them and sister them to make the dimensions larger or smaller as needed, then I put a wood block at each corner to hold the barrel in place and a square board in the center for the trash can bottom to sit on. I find that if I don’t put that last piece underneath, the bottom of the barrel bows downward under the weight of 150 pounds of feed. I’ll see if I can get a good picture tomorrow.