zeboim Posted July 1, 2015 Report Share Posted July 1, 2015 I may have found a place that will supply me with all the pallets I want for free. Has anyone worked with this stuff before? How terrible is it to work with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Eric. Posted July 1, 2015 Popular Post Report Share Posted July 1, 2015 They're awesome for bonfires. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted July 1, 2015 Report Share Posted July 1, 2015 I may have found a place that will supply me with all the pallets I want for free. Has anyone worked with this stuff before? How terrible is it to work with? Depends what you're building. Generally you're gonna want to avoid contact with any tools you like. Pallets are gritty, contain nails and all sorts of other hidden surprises. Generally any wood that isn't good enough to be sold as dimensional lumber is turned into pallets. I personally wouldn't put any pallets through my tools (especially my jointer/planer, knives cost more than lumber usually. Also, you'll spend a lot of time removing planks and nails, before you can do anything with it. I'd rather just use rough sawn lumber from a lumber yard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted July 1, 2015 Report Share Posted July 1, 2015 There are entire websites dedicated to pallet woodworking. There are a couple of WTO members who process pallets and they can provide some insight... From my perspective, pallet woodworking takes a mindset that I lack... While it’s true that you can find pallets with awesome wood, most of the time it’s nasty, they are covered with encrusted dirt/grime, loaded with metal just waiting to nick your planer knives... You’ve got to get the pallets clean and metal-free to use them... And that takes time/effort... The issue is how much of your time do you want to spend – and what do you do with the 99% reject wood? I bet there is great satisfaction getting a nice piece of furniture from ‘free’ pallet wood, but I couldn’t balance the effort against my time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raefco Posted July 1, 2015 Report Share Posted July 1, 2015 If your into the craft show / flea market seen where rustic is king, or teaching cub scouts how to Build a bird house for a merit badge free pallets would be great, beyond that, I got nothing. Good luck 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted July 1, 2015 Report Share Posted July 1, 2015 I don't want to be a "Debbie Downer", but there is probably a reason that you can get them for free. They typically are either full of nails, dirt, grime, insecticide, or other chemicals to ward off who knows what. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted July 1, 2015 Report Share Posted July 1, 2015 I used a skilsaw and cross cut the boards well past the nails to get a bunch of short boards for a very rustic project once. I wouldn't try to plane /joint them due to risk of grit / stones / metal like everyone else mentioned. I cross cut the remaining 2x sections for the fireplace and ended up with loads of nails in the ashes to clean up. I do still collect the 3x3 blocking they use between bundles of plywood. Go over them with a strong magnet and a metal detector and a wire brush before planing/ jointing. I have gotten some interesting wood from possible foreign imports . Also be aware that some pallets are sprayed with strong insecticides to prevent international import of bugs. If I smell anything strange it goes in the dumpster. Wear gloves ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted July 1, 2015 Report Share Posted July 1, 2015 I used to like using pallets... I have made a few shop pieces using it. This shows a before/after pic.. This is where it sat until I burned it This pic shows me working some pallet wood, with a pallet wood handtool shelf behind it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted July 1, 2015 Report Share Posted July 1, 2015 Pallets run the gamut. You get treated crap from overseas and native hardwood from across the tracks (literally) in my town. I'd take the native all day, but dry it for a long long time. The overseas I get a little more nervous about. Inspect a load to see what you have access to. All we can do is guess or talk contingencies. As far as them being free, some manufacturing receives much on pallets that are not reused. My fab friend got parts on pallets that got welded into objects too large for pallets. Sad to move away from him... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncfowler Posted July 4, 2015 Report Share Posted July 4, 2015 Repurpose wood has been on my table several times, mostly making feeders, houses, My wife does craft shows mainly our items are bird related, repurpose wood has been a big seller the rougher the better, I also have some more refine items as well, the days of making fine furniture and high end items have been long passed, mostly due to my location, furniture cap of the world, in NC, so making custom pices are far and few between, even in the furniture market repurpose wood has been showing up and proven to be a big seller, the whole back to basic thing. Like stated in previous post's watch out for all the crap in the wood, expect to replace blades, as alway a good clean up after using pallet wood, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted July 4, 2015 Report Share Posted July 4, 2015 Also be aware that some pallets are sprayed with strong insecticides to prevent international import of bugs. If I smell anything strange it goes in the dumpster. Wear gloves ! Having worked in the grocery business and seeing the types of people that tend to hang out in back of the stores in the middle of the night, insecticide isn't the only thing that is sprayed on pallets. Like Steve said, wear gloves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted July 4, 2015 Report Share Posted July 4, 2015 I bet the boards Mel got off a pallet were from a large (possibly special made) pallet. The warnings we are talking about are for older weathered, maybe reused many times, standard size pallet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stobes21 Posted July 4, 2015 Report Share Posted July 4, 2015 I don't bother with them. Barn wood and old fence boards are a great source of authentic weathered/rustic wood that is far less likely to be contaminated with nasty chemicals. It's a fad that has been taken way too far in my opinion but if I'm going to jump on board at least that way is safer. Pallet wood almost always looks cheap and dirty to me. Sure, you may find some decent hardwood on a few, but I'd rather buy good hardwood from a reputable dealer than dig through a huge pile of crap to find it, run the risk of dangerous contamination, chew up my blades trying to clean it up, and then hope the end product looks as good as it would had I just bought decent materials to start with. I'm a hobbyist and don't get much time to work in my shop. I'd rather spend my money on wood and my time building stuff I like than my money on blades and my time trying to make dirty, crappy pine look like anything other than dirty, crappy pine. That being said, if the pallet wood you're using has an odor remember that shellac makes for an excellent sealer against smells. Go ahead and topcoat it with something more durable, but if fully applied the shellac should lock any nastiness inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted July 4, 2015 Report Share Posted July 4, 2015 No way i would put any pallet wood through any of my tools either. If i did, it would have to be run through the supermax with the wire brush attachment. It would clean the faces up pretty good before milling.http://www.supermaxtools.com/products-sanders/wood-supermax-19-38-combo-drumbrush-sander/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raefco Posted July 4, 2015 Report Share Posted July 4, 2015 I bet the boards Mel got off a pallet were from a large (possibly special made) pallet. The warnings we are talking about are for older weathered, maybe reused many times, standard size pallet. Pallets that masonry comes on in my area are almost all hard wood. On a good size job I might go through 25-30 skid of material a day but they are inventoried with the material that is shipped on them, most carry a $25 deposit. As we empty the skids we either stack them really tall or put a lot of weight on them to keep people from taking them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted July 4, 2015 Report Share Posted July 4, 2015 I don't bother with them. Barn wood and old fence boards are a great source of authentic weathered/rustic wood that is far less likely to be contaminated with nasty chemicals. It's a fad that has been taken way too far in my opinion but if I'm going to jump on board at least that way is safer. Pallet wood almost always looks cheap and dirty to me. Sure, you may find some decent hardwood on a few... I just cannot pass this by. DDT, cow spray, nasties to keep horses from chewing, E. coli, and others permeate many a barn board. Many plants receive fantastic pallets. Let's give some ideas on what to look for without just throwing in generalities. Please OP, go look and see what is there. Just realize that the post I quoted here may be exactly what you find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted July 5, 2015 Report Share Posted July 5, 2015 A while back I bought a used jointer. Other than a really cheap benchtop table saw, it was my first stationary woodworking tool. Boy was I psyched! I had checked it out when I bought it, so I knew it was in pretty good shape and the knives seemed pretty sharp. No problems. I asked a friend to help me move it from my vehicle to my shop. When we got it there he asked me what this heavy piece of machinery was for. I was so proud, I decided to demonstrate. I wanted to show how it took rough, irregular wood and gave it a nice, clean, flat surface. So, I went to my scrap pile and grabbed the most beat up 2x4 I could find. I looked it over for nails, staples, embedded pebbles, etc, and it looked OK. I ran it through the jointer and really impressed my friend! The next time I used the jointer, I noticed a little ridge down the freshly jointed surface. Sure, enough, there was a nick in one blade. I replaced the blades, but now the outfeed table was too low. I tried to raise the outfeed table, and snapped one of the gib screws. I tried to drill out the broken screw, but I have never been able to get those screw extractor things to work, and cutting a slot for a screwdriver, heating it, etc didn't work either. I eventually found a machine shop that was able to drill out and replace the gib screw, and also sharpen the original knives. I am never running a beat up old board over my jointer, ever again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeboim Posted July 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2015 holy crap guys! I'm really glad I asked first. I figured I could plane the boards down and make them perty, but I had no idea about all the garbage found in them. I never even thought about them being treated/hit with all those chemicals. I think I'll stick to my hardwood dealer and leave the pallets to the craft show peeps. Thanks for the advise! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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