Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[Sally PB]

It's not pretty but it works.

Actually getting produce from your garden is prettier than the fence/barrier is not.

 

[gtaus]

After trying a few different things I ended up with the "cages" built around each raised bed, but that made access to the beds difficult.

My concern exactly. I know I can make simple protective cages easily, but I also know that I need easy access to the beds. That's why I am talking about removable panels or swinging doors...

So I put up a 4 foot fence around the garden area. And after a deer jumped over that this spring and nibbled a couple of plants I extended the height of the corner posts to around 10 feet and strung several runs of rope, spaced about a foot apart, all the way around the garden area, creating a 10 foot high visible barrier. It's not pretty but it works.

A know a guy here who has a grape vineyard and orchard. He started off with 6-foot-tall fencing, then went higher over 8 feet, and eventually had to add wire on top that makes everything look like a prison camp. But that is what it took him to keep the deer out of his garden.

Looks like this Google picture...

In my case, I'll be looking at individual cages for the raised beds, using salvaged and/or pallet wood as the frames. I don't want to spend the money it would require to build a deer proof fence around my garden. I really like growing my own food, but not if it ends up costing me $$$$ more than I could buy it at the local big box stores.

Yeah, sorry about your loss last year. Glad to hear that your fencing is protecting your garden this year. IIRC, you built some really nice cages for your garden beds. Too bad they made access difficult. Thanks for sharing, because I know that is a major concern for me as well. Any cage system I build has to provide easy access for me or it's not a workable solution.

 

[chickengr]

I imagine the oil would preserve the wood longer, but I wonder if that oil on the wood was a good choice for a food garden. I try to keep my food gardens as free from anything non-natural as possible. For the flower gardens, I don't mind so much.

once I watched a youtube video where a university professor says that plants can deal with some chemicals. he had a vertical bottle garden.

I wouldn't use burnt oil too much either. maybe a few pieces for the fence only (at he corners).

 

[chickengr]

This morning I went outside to discover that two of my raised beds filled with Roma tomatoes had been completely devasted overnight! I had 8 Roma tomato plants in them, full of nice sized green tomatoes, and this morning nothing was left. They literally ate dozens and dozens of tomatoes in one night! The deer are also starting to eat some of my bean plants, which they have left alone till now. They continue to munch on my pepper plants as well. I have never had this problem with deer before...

I have been watching a few hours of YouTube videos on how to deer proof my garden, or at least the individual raised beds which is what I think I will do. At the moment, I am thinking about adding those vertical 2X4's for a trellis system on each raised bed but adding removable chicken wire panels to keep out the deer. Still working on a number of ideas, but any solution has to be easy to remove so I can maintain the beds and harvest food.

My plan this summer was to build more raised beds this fall, but right now my priorities have all shifted into coming up with a system that protects my plants from the rabbits, squirrels, and deer that are wreaking havoc on my garden this year.

I really had a good year in the sense that my new raised beds were working out great. The plants love the chicken run compost and topsoil mix I use in the raised beds. My plants, for the most part, grew tall and strong as long as they did not get damaged by rabbits or squirrels. I would have had lots and lots of tomatoes this year, but the deer robbed me of that harvest last night. Anyways, I am very happy with the growing aspect of the garden, now I just need to find some good ways to protect the food from the animals.

get a dog. before I bought land there was a deer haven here. but with my dogs no animal comes near. a few (fox, marten, mink, badger, etc.) that dared to come got killed by my dogs.

 

[Smokerbill]

Home Depot is selling simulated pallet wood wall panels for $1.09 per square foot. Authentic pallet wood ought to be worth considerably more. Just need to find a buyer.

 

[gtaus]

Retiring an old Pallet Project

One of the reasons I like to make things with pallet wood is that I don't have to feel bad if there comes a day when I no longer need it.

Case in point, one of my first pallet projects was to custom build a pallet wood mobile storage rack/bin to hold my pallet wood that I was using in my current projects...

I was really happy with that build. It had separate bins for short, medium, and long boards. I had wheels on it to move it around the garage. I custom built it to fit between a work bench and a standing tool case. In most respects, it was a great build for my needs. It served me well for over 2 years.

However, I found a better way to temporarily store my pallet wood in my garage. The problem I ran into with the pallet wood storage bin was that it took up 4 feet long X 20 inches wide whether or not it was empty or full of wood. I started to think I needed smaller, more portable, bins that I could take out of the garage if I did not need them.

My solution was to use plastic garbage cans and simply putting a dolly underneath them...

I had about 6 of those garbage cans that were just sitting outside not being used. So, I did not have to buy them. I had a few dollies in the garage and put them to use to make the garbage can bins mobile.

Even when full of wood, I can move these garbage bins around the garage with just one finger! They are so much smaller than my old pallet wood storage bin, so I can tuck them into more spaces out of the way.

And if I empty one of those plastic garbage bins, I can store it outside in the rain and snow without a problem, or I can nest them one into another and keep them in the garage without taking up hardly any room.

So, today I retired my old pallet wood mobile storage bin to another garage used to store stuff. Maybe someday I'll use it again in my main garage or find a new use for it somewhere else. In any case, it served me well and I have no problems using my new system.

Maybe it is just me, but I don't expect my pallet projects to last a lifetime. I like the fact that I can make something without spending a lot of money using free pallet wood and then put it aside later on if/when I find a better solution for my needs. Often times, I have to build something first and use it for a while before I can determine what needs to be improved. Pallet projects are perfect for that approach.

 

[Smokerbill]

Retiring an old Pallet Project

One of the reasons I like to make things with pallet wood is that I don't have to feel bad if there comes a day when I no longer need it.

Case in point, one of my first pallet projects was to custom build a pallet wood mobile storage rack/bin to hold my pallet wood that I was using in my current projects...

View attachment 3931280

I was really happy with that build. It had separate bins for short, medium, and long boards. I had wheels on it to move it around the garage. I custom built it to fit between a work bench and a standing tool case. In most respects, it was a great build for my needs. It served me well for over 2 years.

However, I found a better way to temporarily store my pallet wood in my garage. The problem I ran into with the pallet wood storage bin was that it took up 4 feet long X 20 inches wide whether or not it was empty or full of wood. I started to think I needed smaller, more portable, bins that I could take out of the garage if I did not need them.

My solution was to use plastic garbage cans and simply putting a dolly underneath them...

View attachment 3931288

I had about 6 of those garbage cans that were just sitting outside not being used. So, I did not have to buy them. I had a few dollies in the garage and put them to use to make the garbage can bins mobile.

Even when full of wood, I can move these garbage bins around the garage with just one finger! They are so much smaller than my old pallet wood storage bin, so I can tuck them into more spaces out of the way.

And if I empty one of those plastic garbage bins, I can store it outside in the rain and snow without a problem, or I can nest them one into another and keep them in the garage without taking up hardly any room.

So, today I retired my old pallet wood mobile storage bin to another garage used to store stuff. Maybe someday I'll use it again in my main garage or find a new use for it somewhere else. In any case, it served me well and I have no problems using my new system.

Maybe it is just me, but I don't expect my pallet projects to last a lifetime. I like the fact that I can make something without spending a lot of money using free pallet wood and then put it aside later on if/when I find a better solution for my needs. Often times, I have to build something first and use it for a while before I can determine what needs to be improved. Pallet projects are perfect for that approach.

With a little modification that old pallet wood storage rack would make a nice looking 3 tier flower planter.

 

[gtaus]

Home Depot is selling simulated pallet wood wall panels for $1.09 per square foot. Authentic pallet wood ought to be worth considerably more. Just need to find a buyer.

View attachment 3931284

I guess I have a (potential) small fortune of wall paneling out in the backyard pallet wood storage pile!

Actually, I really like the woody look of authentic pallet wood walls that I have seen. I could live with it.

Google pics of a few pallet wood walls...

 

[gtaus]

With a little modification that old pallet wood storage rack would make a nice looking 3 tier flower planter.

Good suggestion. I'll ask Dear Wife if she has any interest in it. If not, it will be fine sitting in my storage garage until another idea comes to mind.

 

[gtaus]

Sawzall Pallet Disassembly Demonstration

Just came upon this YouTube video demonstrating the Sawzall method of pallet disassembly that I thought was pretty good.

Got me thinking about a few improvements like making a stand to hold the pallet vertically and up off the ground so you would not have to bend so far over. Yeah, I'm at that age where I think about accommodations like that.

I have used the Sawzall method of pallet disassembly many times. It's great to save the full length of your planks. Sometimes it's the perfect method for pallet disassembly, depending on what project I am working on.

The only downside to the Sawzall method is that you are left with nail heads in the planks and the bottom half of the nails is still in the 2X4 stretchers. You need to understand that before you use this method. If you are working on a project that it does not matter if the half-cut nails are still in the wood, then it's not a problem.

If you have to clean up the planks and remove those nail heads, you can use a punch easy enough, or I would use my Air Locker AP700 to punch the nail heads out really fast.

If you do a lot of pallet disassembly, then the Air Locker AP700 is a great tool to speed up the de-nailing process. It's not required, but it does make the job faster and easier. I can punch out those nails with the Air Locker AP700 about 3X-4X faster than with a hammer and punch.

Unfortunately, I have not found a good, or easy, way to pull out the bottom of those nails from the 2X4 stretchers. That is a real pain in the butt to pull out those cut off nails. It can be done, but it's a lot of work.

Basically, I will use the Sawzall method if I only need the full 2X4 stretchers for a project and I don't have to worry about pulling those nails out. If I have to cut the 2X4 stretcher down to size for anything, then I don't want any nails in the wood before my saw blade gets damaged.

If you really get into pallet wood projects, I think it is most helpful to know the various methods used for pallet disassembly. Because pallets can drastically vary in the way they are built, it is good to know a number of ways how to take them apart. With experience, you get a feel for what method is the best to disassemble that pallet you have on hand. The Sawzall method is one of the basic methods I think everyone should know, and try out, just to get an idea of what it can do for you.