Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[gtaus]

I like your stacking idea. For some of the chicken wire panels I made I ripped 2x4s down the middle to build the frames. They're solid, but much lighter than if I used complete width 2x4s.

Thanks for the pictures. Looks like you have been busy. Love seeing what other people are doing.

I think the stacking idea for the cages will work out better for me. It took me awhile to get there, but for now, it seems to be my best way forward.

As to ripping my 2X4's, I have found that I can dial the rip back to 3/4 of an inch for my pallet wood chicken wire protective cages. That gives me 4 rips per 2X4. For my needs, 3/4-inch-thick rips are the sweet spot, being strong enough for the cage yet lighter to move around.

I agree that using full 2X4's is too heavy, and let's face, just overkill for many of our projects. I mean, they use 2X4's to build a house! Don't think I need that strength for some garden cages. I cut some 2X4's down the middle to build my earlier cages, but I found them a bit heavy and perhaps more wood than I needed. I tried out ripping the 2X4 down to 3/4 inch thick rips and that seemed to work better - lighter and yet still plenty strong for my projects.

I thought that was a real black bear in your garden at first! I live on a lake, and we do have black bears that pass through the property every once in a while. We have to keep our garbage cans inside the garage with the doors closed. Also, nobody has bird feeders out in the yard because it will attract bears. It's better for people and wild bears to keep to themselves!

 

[Smokerbill]

The deer are used to the black bear archery target now. For the first couple weeks it was there my heart would skip a beat when I glanced over and saw it. LOL

I'll try the 3/4 inch rip next time. Sounds like a better idea, and it's more economical.

 

[gtaus]

New Band Saw Purchase!

I have been looking at getting a small 9-inch band saw for a year or so. Yes, I have not really needed one before, but I'm at a stage in my life where I am more willing to spend some money on myself for my hobbies. I watched too many YouTube videos on band saws and talked myself into buying one if the price was right.

Turns out, while in Harbor Freight a few weeks ago, they had last year's 9-inch Central Machinery band saw model on Clearance for about $80.00!

I don't know anything about band saws, so I read a number of reviews online and watched some YouTube videos. Everyone seemed to be happy with this band saw and thought it was good value at full retail price.

And to compare the Clearance price with this year's model (the same specs as last year) was an eye opener...

Different brand, but basically the same saw. Since the store only had one of Clearance band saws left, I bought it. I'm still learning how to set it up properly and use it. So far, I really like it. Of course, now every project I do I'm looking for a reason to use the band saw! New toys, new ideas!

I have used the band saw on a few small projects and it's the better tool for some things. I was cutting tapers on the legs of my stackable compost bins, for example. Much safer using the band saw than trying to free hand cut the taper legs on my miter saw like I had been doing. Safer is better.

Of course, one of the real reasons for a band saw is cutting curves in wood. I have yet to do that on any of my projects. But I suspect I'll be looking for projects that will make use out of my new band saw.

 

[gtaus]

I'll try the 3/4 inch rip next time. Sounds like a better idea, and it's more economical.

Well, I have all the free reclaimed and pallet wood I could want. But I find the 3/4-inch rip to be the sweet spot for me. If you had to buy the lumber, no doubt you would want to try the most economical method. If you give the 3/4-inch rip a try, let me know what you think of it. Again, for my protective cages, it's more than strong enough.