Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[gtaus]

I'm a little late to the game but I love pallets. I have used them to build everything from pens and sheds to furniture.

Your pictures look great! I'd love to hear more about your projects and the equipment you use to build your stuff. It's all about learning from others if I can. I mostly make pallet wood raised beds, compost bins, tool holders, and such. But I really like hearing from others what they can do with free pallets.

And don't feel you have go back and read the thread to see what was posted. This thread needs new posts from others and what they are building, even if it has been posted before. People come and go, so feel to post anything and everything you can that you want to share.

There is a industrial business right by my house so I have a pretty endless supply and they always let me know when they are getting large equipment delivered so I can have the pallets if I want them.

I wish I had that type of contact with the businesses in town. We have a Bobcat dealership that gets stuff shipped on large pallets. Sometimes the pallets are made out of all 2X4's. I love those pallets. Not only do I get some 6-, 7-, or 8-foot long 2X4's, but they are almost always the easiest pallets to breakdown.

Sometimes they have special hardware on them like deck screws instead of twisted pallet wood nails which are harder to break apart. I will get pallets with special bolts and washers still on them from time to time. I know it might not sound like a big deal, but sometimes those bolts cost almost $1.00 each at the local hardware stores.

I have talked to the manager at the Bobcat dealership, and he is more than happy to see us load up some pallets. Whatever we don't take, he eventually has to pay to have them hauled off and disposed of at the landfill. So, it's a win-win where we get free pallets and he gets to reduce some of his disposal costs.

 

[chickengr]

Thanks. I'll find out probably this weekend if Dear Wife can make something good to eat out of those old laying hens. I have my expectations set low, so as not to be too disappointed if the meat is as tough as I expect.

Many years ago, I started off with raising 50 meat chickens which we butchered at about 8 weeks old. Those were good tasting chickens. However, I don't think we saved any money on price per pound over chicken meat at the big box grocery store. I like to think our chickens tasted better.

white cx meat chickens don't taste good. we now have some coloured meat chickens that we raise like backyard chickens. they are ready to butcher at 3-4 mo. they taste great.

 

[chickengr]

Well, our cooking class instructors said that if/when your crock pot(s) die, then upgrade to an Instant Pot because it can slow cook and so much more.

Dear Wife is from the Philippines so one of the first cooking appliances we bought was a rice cooker. They are also good for steaming vegetables, like an Instant Pot, just not as fast. We still have two working rice cookers, so probably going to outlast us. Depending on the type of rice you are cooking, you are looking at maybe 15 minutes in an Instant Pot whereas the rice cooker takes about 20 minutes. So, for rice, it's not such a big deal.

We only use our crock pots once or twice a year. Dear Wife has never used the brand-new pressure cooker I bought her ~8 years ago. But we use the rice cooker daily. If the rice cooker dies, then for sure I'll get that Instant Pot to replace them all. Everyone I know who has an Instant Pot loves it.

15-20 minutes to cook rice? I cook it in 10 minutes in any saucepan.

I could not live without my pressure cooker. I cook on gas and wash dishes in dishwasher so electrical appliances are not for me. I have too many things to do and I cannot spend much time in the kitchen. these days I pick up veggies and prepare them for winter so all other things to do have been accumulating.

 

[chickengr]

I'm a little late to the game but I love pallets. I have used them to build everything from pens and sheds to furniture. There is a industrial business right by my house so I have a pretty endless supply and they always let me know when they are getting large equipment delivered so I can have the pallets if I want them. All the woodsheds in this picture were built with pallets. And so was the rabbit hutch.

welcome! looks great. I hope you will post more pictures.

 

[Sally PB]

There is a industrial business right by my house so I have a pretty endless supply and they always let me know when they are getting large equipment delivered so I can have the pallets if I want them.

Oh, wow!! That is fantastic. A huge win for everyone.

Yes, please, post more pictures.

 

[Theurbanhomestead]

Your pictures look great! I'd love to hear more about your projects and the equipment you use to build your stuff. It's all about learning from others if I can. I mostly make pallet wood raised beds, compost bins, tool holders, and such. But I really like hearing from others what they can do with free pallets.

And don't feel you have go back and read the thread to see what was posted. This thread needs new posts from others and what they are building, even if it has been posted before. People come and go, so feel to post anything and everything you can that you want to share.



I wish I had that type of contact with the businesses in town. We have a Bobcat dealership that gets stuff shipped on large pallets. Sometimes the pallets are made out of all 2X4's. I love those pallets. Not only do I get some 6-, 7-, or 8-foot long 2X4's, but they are almost always the easiest pallets to breakdown.

Sometimes they have special hardware on them like deck screws instead of twisted pallet wood nails which are harder to break apart. I will get pallets with special bolts and washers still on them from time to time. I know it might not sound like a big deal, but sometimes those bolts cost almost $1.00 each at the local hardware stores.

I have talked to the manager at the Bobcat dealership, and he is more than happy to see us load up some pallets. Whatever we don't take, he eventually has to pay to have them hauled off and disposed of at the landfill. So, it's a win-win where we get free pallets and he gets to reduce some of his disposal costs.

Yeah man the huge pallets are great. I have gotten ones built with 2x4s and 4x4s which allows me to build some of those sheds.
Have you talked to any contractors near you? I got a bunch of windows from them that they were just going to trash and used those and the pallets to build a greenhouse. The most expensive part of the whole project was the caulk that I bought to seal things up.
I have also used the pallet slats to make siding for sheds. You need to be a little picky about the slats you use but it works well. I use a table saw and an old blade that I don't care if it cuts nails and make a notch on one side so it lays more flat.

 

[Molpet]

15-20 minutes to cook rice? I cook it in 10 minutes in any saucepan.

I could not live without my pressure cooker. I cook on gas and wash dishes in dishwasher so electrical appliances are not for me. I have too many things to do and I cannot spend much time in the kitchen. these days I pick up veggies and prepare them for winter so all other things to do have been accumulating.

My electric pressure cooker has a keep warm after the timed cook. So if I forget it's waiting for me and doesn't burn the house down.

 

[Theurbanhomestead]

This is the greenhouse, but red, built out of pallets and scrap windows. I tried to get a sort of close up of the siding that I made. Not sure if you can tell how it works or not from the picture.

 

[Sally PB]

I freakin' LOVE your red greenhouse! That is awesome.

 

[gtaus]

Yeah man the huge pallets are great. I have gotten ones built with 2x4s and 4x4s which allows me to build some of those sheds.

I had to run into town today, so I drove past the Bobcat dealership to checkout any new pallets in the back. I found three long pallets with good wood that looked interesting. If it's not raining tomorrow, I think I'll take the utility trailer into town and picture them up. I love salvaging those long 2X4's.

Have you talked to any contractors near you? I got a bunch of windows from them that they were just going to trash and used those and the pallets to build a greenhouse. The most expensive part of the whole project was the caulk that I bought to seal things up.

I live out in the country, and don't know any contractors. But it sure sounds like you have the good connections. Although I save lots of money by building my garden projects with pallet wood instead of buying it at the local big box stores, I get just as much satisfaction taking a landfill product and giving it another life.

I have also used the pallet slats to make siding for sheds. You need to be a little picky about the slats you use but it works well.

I posted some really good YouTube videos about using pallet wood for Shake style shingles and siding. I think that it looks fantastic. I would like to build a greenhouse using pallet wood boards as Shake siding.

I use a table saw and an old blade that I don't care if it cuts nails

Yep, I have a number of tools just for pallet wood projects. I swapped out my regular circular saw blades for demolition blades just in case I hit a nail. I don't have an old blade for my table saw, but I bought - and use all the time - a metal detector I bought from Harbor Freight on sale for about $20.00...

I don't mind using reclaimed/pallet wood for my projects to save money, but there is no saving money if you destroy a $50.00 saw blade, for example.