Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[fuzzi]

Wow everyone, all of you are just so inspiring to me. I'm also going to work on building a chicken coop for my chickens and I also want to give them a really long and large run. Where the roof is I want to plant a couple of bushes for them to play in. They also smell good too so I believe that they will enjoy those. The coop though that is what's really going to be big. I'm going to try to incorporate the metal greenhouse frame so it will be a hoop coop lean-to. Yes I will post lots of pictures.

If you want to check out my initial build go here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/fuzzis-chicken-journal.1550586/page-9

It starts getting serious about page 9, 10.

 

[gtaus]

...she had all her apple trees hacked down cos she said the apples in the supermarket looked much nicer

I appreciate good looking food. I really do. But as a home gardener, I suspect that the stores toss out a lot of good eating food that does not present well. I wonder how much food like that is wasted? No way would I toss a tomato, pepper, or anything else I grew in my garden because it had a spot or two on it. Heck, I even salvage cucumbers and squash that a rabbit might have taken a nibble on here and there. You would never see that in a store, but I'm OK with eating 99% of the food that is not blemished and cutting out a bad spot as needed.

 

[Molpet]

I appreciate good looking food. I really do. But as a home gardener, I suspect that the stores toss out a lot of good eating food that does not present well. I wonder how much food like that is wasted? No way would I toss a tomato, pepper, or anything else I grew in my garden because it had a spot or two on it. Heck, I even salvage cucumbers and squash that a rabbit might have taken a nibble on here and there. You would never see that in a store, but I'm OK with eating 99% of the food that is not blemished and cutting out a bad spot as needed.

There's enough at the farm that a company started selling it. Fresh Produce Delivery Nationwide | Misfits Market https://share.google/oWXIDtXcXZdtuQsna

 

[BDutch]

I wonder how much food like that is wasted?

It’s sold cheaper to the food industry to make soup, sauces and salads.

 

[gtaus]

Pallet Run Salvage Report

I was able to get my old utility trailer out of winter storage, hook it up to the car, and made a quick run to our local Bobcat dealership to pick through some pallets. As I mentioned, they had some long pallets made up of all 2X4's and screwed together with those nice T25 Torx Head screws.

Long story short, I disassembled two pallets on site and tossed the 2X4's into my trailer. Mostly 4-foot long 2X4's, but I managed to get about three good 7-foot long 2X4's. I only had a short hour at the site before I had to head home, but I managed to disassemble those two full long pallets and pick up a few other special shipping boxes as well.

I looked up the current price of 2X4's at Menards and did a quick estimate of how much wood I salvaged this afternoon. Turns out, I probably salvaged $85 worth of 2X4's and maybe another $15 in the T25 Torx Head screws I salvaged. That's about $100 for a short hour of work. Not too bad.

There was at least one more huge pallet with Torx Head screws there that I am interested in getting, but it was on the bottom of a pile, and I just did not have the time today to work down to it. I might try to pick it up this weekend if the weather is good.

One of the benefits of these special long 2X4 pallets is that the screws come out clean and then the 2X4's are ready to use. No broken or bent nails in them to worry about.

 

[Mads505]

Pallet Run Salvage Report

I was able to get my old utility trailer out of winter storage, hook it up to the car, and made a quick run to our local Bobcat dealership to pick through some pallets. As I mentioned, they had some long pallets made up of all 2X4's and screwed together with those nice T25 Torx Head screws.

Long story short, I disassembled two pallets on site and tossed the 2X4's into my trailer. Mostly 4-foot long 2X4's, but I managed to get about three good 7-foot long 2X4's. I only had a short hour at the site before I had to head home, but I managed to disassemble those two full long pallets and pick up a few other special shipping boxes as well.

I looked up the current price of 2X4's at Menards and did a quick estimate of how much wood I salvaged this afternoon. Turns out, I probably salvaged $85 worth of 2X4's and maybe another $15 in the T25 Torx Head screws I salvaged. That's about $100 for a short hour of work. Not too bad.

There was at least one more huge pallet with Torx Head screws there that I am interested in getting, but it was on the bottom of a pile, and I just did not have the time today to work down to it. I might try to pick it up this weekend if the weather is good.

One of the benefits of these special long 2X4 pallets is that the screws come out clean and then the 2X4's are ready to use. No broken or bent nails in them to worry about.

I can get pallets free at work sometimes but man, pallets with proper clean screws sound like a dream. Great find!

 

[gtaus]

Can You Reuse Bent Screws?

Most of the Torx Head screws I removed from the special long 2X4 pallets today came out straight and are ready for reuse. That's great. However, I ended up with a handful of bent screws that I did not want to toss out. At 10 cents each, I hate to scrap those screws if I can reuse them in one of my pallet projects.

AI picture of bent T25 Torx Head screws like those I salvaged...

First of all, you should never try to straighten out a bent screw for structural support and safety. Screws are not nails. A bent screw is a failing screw and pounding it out straight weakens it more. Most bent screws are just scraped.

But wait, most of my screws are used in pallet projects like raised garden beds or planters. No need to worry about a screw breaking on a raised bed and killing somebody! So, at 10 cents per screw, I will reuse some of those bent screws. I will either hammer them out straight or put them in a vise and squeeze them straight. Not perfectly true like a new screw, but close enough.

Then I will pre-drill a hole, or make a pilot hole, to start the screw. Even the slightly bent screws can easily follow a pre-drilled path and work just fine...

Part of my pallet projects is to see how much salvaged material I can use. If you don't mind straightening out some of those screws, they can be reused in non-structural projects like my raised beds and planters. It's really nice to complete a project every once in a while, with 100% free pallet wood and 100% salvaged hardware (screws or nails).

 

[gtaus]

I can get pallets free at work sometimes but man, pallets with proper clean screws sound like a dream. Great find!

Yeah, I only find them at our local Bobcat dealership. They get some equipment on special heavy duty long 2X4 pallets and I look specifically for the pallets that use those Torx Head screws. They are the easiest to disassemble with just a drill or impact wrench with the proper bit.

Every once in while I find special hardware like heavy duty lag screws with matching fender washers. I think they use them for tiedown straps...

I have priced out some of those lag screws at about $1.00 each at our Fleet store. So, it's always a treat when I can find a pallet with 4, 6, or 8 sets of lag screws and fender washers.

Sometimes I salvage straps and ropes from their pallets. I guess it's just not worth their time to remove the hardware or tiedowns. But that's all to my benefit.

At any rate, if you have an industrial company where you live, you might be able to salvage some pallets like I do.

 

[chickengr]

Yeah, times change. I have lived in western Europe a number of years (France, Italy) but have made many trips in Germany. I found the German people to be very friendly. I hope you can find someone to help you. I would like to think young people are still expected to help those who would appreciate some kind assistance.

I remember working all day for older relatives that could not afford to pay for someone to clean up broken and fallen trees after a storm. I worked my butt off all day and was paid with a home cooked meal for supper. Well, it was a whole family effort, not just me. Dad drove us the two hours to get to their house, and me and my brothers with dad all worked to clean up their property. But that's what we did back in the day to help others who could no longer do some things for themselves.

I am old enough to remember such times. I think today's kids wouldn't help anyone even if it was about the smart phone which they cannot live without.

 

[gtaus]

I am old enough to remember such times. I think today's kids wouldn't help anyone even if it was about the smart phone which they cannot live without.

I understand your feelings. I just hope you are wrong.

BTW, have you been making any pallet projects lately? IIRC, you had a bunch of tools stolen a year or so ago. Would love to hear what you are doing these days. I know you said things got put on hold for a period.