Pallet Wood...


Pbmaster11

Recommended Posts

Good evening everyone...

 

I was listening to talk radio today.... scanning AM radio during my travels and stumbled on some random conversations about construction materials. They were taking callers, talking about rafters and proper ventilation of a building... all very boring to me but then one caller was talking about pallet wood and home projects.

 

This caller warned the listeners that wooden pallets are now being sprayed with pesticides, and other chemicals to disinfect and make sterile.

 

Any comments? if this is true I would warn anyone using pallet wood. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I use tons of wood from sheet metal pallets. Big thick hardwood timbers that are beautiful when milled down.

post-6956-14092779417591_thumb.jpg

post-6956-14092779972366_thumb.jpg

post-6956-14092780239403_thumb.jpg

I certainly hope this wood contains no chemicals. I've used it in everything from cutting boards to changing tables.

Certainly sitting out in years of weather, then being milled down, sanded, and sealed, should reduce any toxins to a negligible amount, if any...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Pretty certain the pallets we receive are complety untreated. I think it depends on the industry in which they're used. These come from a machine shop that receives them with coils of sheet metal on top.

Good point. If you can get them from a place that does NOT deal with food at all, you can up your chances of not being sprayed. A majority of the food that I've seen comes on CHEP, PECO, iGPS (plastic), and any other plastic pallets. But, there are some non-perishables that come on the typical 3 stringer 2-4way pallets. So, to combat pests, some are treated. Just another tip to help in looking for the best pallet wood available. There is some good stuff out there. Walnut, cherry, oak, ash, and maple (more curly maple than you think!).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Curly maple is considered a downgrade condition for a mill especially when it's only in part of a board. Heavy consistent curl is prized but if the mill has orders for clean white maple it goes in the downfall pile, which is what pallet makers buy. In a high speed production mill curly grain can end up chipped and torn into a mess.

Cherry with lots of sapwood gets treated the same way. Yea ,you might find a piece of nice cherry here and there in a pallet but the whole board at the mill didn't meet the spec for the grades they had orders for.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Curly maple is considered a downgrade condition for a mill especially when it's only in part of a board. Heavy consistent curl is prized but if the mill has orders for clean white maple it goes in the downfall pile, which is what pallet makers buy. In a high speed production mill curly grain can end up chipped and torn into a mess.

Cherry with lots of sapwood gets treated the same way. Yea ,you might find a piece of nice cherry here and there in a pallet but the whole board at the mill didn't meet the spec for the grades they had orders for.

If I was to use pallet wood, it would probably be for smaller projects. I don't like the full "rustic" look with nail holes and so on. Not my taste. But for a project that requires boards to be no longer than 14-18" in length, pallets could work.

At my dad's work, they actually buy pallet wood before it becomes pallets. They make custom pallets for their manufactured products. I am considering having him bring me home some pieces every now and then to see what I can get.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

I find that motorcycle dealerships have excellent hardwood pallets. I have gotten mahogany, teak, cherry, blackwalnut, and hard maple(Harley Davidson uses only hard maple and glues their pallets together so no nails). Also snowmobile pallets are excellent but Asian hardwoods are a mystery to me. Other that snakewood I don't know what they are.

 

Also no sprays or treatment used on them. I did get a pallet from a food co-op that was way heavier than usual and I ended up using it to ship a engine across country for a friend.

 

Chef

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you want better pallets, go for people that ship heavier items.  

 

A few of the sawyers I know have recently started sawing poplar and even aspen (!) for use as pallets in low-weight high-volume shipping.  The idea being the softer hardwoods are perfectly fine for pallets of lightweight items, and cut down on fuel costs. Heavier items need stronger pallets, and get the nice oaks and hard maples...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I'm so glad I joined ! I run a 4 man sheet metal shop and one of the first comments I read here reminded me that the sheet metal pallets I've been tossing and the same ones my wholesaler gives away have a use !I should make sure they're not sprayed though given that metal seems to be coming from China more and more :-( :-( :-(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Who's Online   2 Members, 0 Anonymous, 47 Guests (See full list)

  • Forum Statistics

    31.2k
    Total Topics
    421.8k
    Total Posts
  • Member Statistics

    23,759
    Total Members
    3,644
    Most Online
    R Parekh
    Newest Member
    R Parekh
    Joined