Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[gtaus]

Cold and wet here too...but not that kinda cold ! I'm betting you find some fun ideas for the future.

Yep, getting cold here. Down to -17F tonight with a high of 1F tomorrow. Can't complain too much because the snowstorm is passing to the south of where I live. They expect to get as much as 3 feet of snow. Already those areas have cancelled school for the rest of the week. I'm only going to get the blast of cold air from the top of the storm and maybe a little dusting of snow. But not to be too concerned.

Anyways, the other day I had to take out my gas snowblower to clear the driveway. First pull on the starter cord and, of course, the starter cord snapped.

To make it even worse, this was a brand new recoil starter that I install just a few months ago. I sent a message to the Amazon seller and asked them to pay for a more heavy duty pull rope, but they just wanted me to send me a whole new unit. Well, I guess I'll take a new recoil starter on their dime, but I suspect it will still have a starter rope that is too light and will just break again.

So, I took out the propane heater this evening and put it on the snowblower to warm it up. I took off the recoil starter, and put my own, heavier, starter rope in the "new" recoil starter that the rope broke. Essentially, I upgraded the rope on the "new" starter with one that will not break in the cold.

IF the battery technology continues to improve, I think my next big snowblower might be electric instead of gas. Right now, the battery tech is just not strong enough to replace our big gas snowblowers where I live, but they improve every year with better batteries and more powerful electric motors.

Since I had the garage heated up to a nice 45F, almost tee-shirt temps where I live, I took advantage of the warm garage to work on my car and then I broke down one of the recent pallets I picked up with a complete half sheet of 5/8 plywood. I am really getting a nice little collection of 5/8 inch plywood to use on some future projects. Had to finish this post with a positive note and something related to pallets. Take care, everybody.

 

[ChicksnMore]

Yep, getting cold here. Down to -17F tonight with a high of 1F tomorrow. Can't complain too much because the snowstorm is passing to the south of where I live. They expect to get as much as 3 feet of snow. Already those areas have cancelled school for the rest of the week. I'm only going to get the blast of cold air from the top of the storm and maybe a little dusting of snow. But not to be too concerned.

Anyways, the other day I had to take out my gas snowblower to clear the driveway. First pull on the starter cord and, of course, the starter cord snapped.

To make it even worse, this was a brand new recoil starter that I install just a few months ago. I sent a message to the Amazon seller and asked them to pay for a more heavy duty pull rope, but they just wanted me to send me a whole new unit. Well, I guess I'll take a new recoil starter on their dime, but I suspect it will still have a starter rope that is too light and will just break again.

So, I took out the propane heater this evening and put it on the snowblower to warm it up. I took off the recoil starter, and put my own, heavier, starter rope in the "new" recoil starter that the rope broke. Essentially, I upgraded the rope on the "new" starter that will not break in the cold.

Since I had the garage heated up to a nice 45F, almost tee-shirt temps where I live, I took advantage of the warm garage to work on my car and then I broke down one of the recent pallets I picked up with a complete half sheet of 5/8 plywood. I am really getting a nice little collection of 5/8 inch plywood to use on some future projects.

Glad you were able to fix your starter rope. Sounds like you might need it. That storm fronts effecting us too, but here it's just crazy wind, cold and a little rain. Colds relative though . Think tonight's forecast says 40° for a low. I remember when we moved here years ago...we ran around in shorts all winter long and would gawk at all the native sweater wearers. Now we're running around in sweaters and shivering off and on.
Find any ideas for that plywood?

 

[gtaus]

Find any ideas for that plywood?

Well, I have used plywood to make workbench tops. So, that is one thought because I would like to build a few more workbenches.

Here is the link to the workbenches I have been making...

Instead of buying new wood, I have been making those workbenches out of pallet wood. I did end up buying one sheet of OSB for the solid tops because I wanted a smoother top than I would have been able to make with pallet wood slats of different thickness.

Also, maybe some of the plywood could be used to make carts to put my chop saw, drill press, scroll saw, and benchtop sander on so I can move them around.

I also want to build some drawers or bins for my workbenches, and maybe a solid plywood bottom on those drawers/bins would be the way to go.

I have lots of battery powered hand tools, like drills and impact drivers, etc... Might be nice to get those organized and up on a wall in a battery charging tool storage cabinet. Kind of like this...

Right now I just have my power tools sitting on a shelf, which works, but it might be nice to get them up on a wall and freeing up workspace in the garage.

Problem is that I have way too many batteries to fit on a small cabinet like the one in that picture. So, I have been kicking around a number of ideas of a battery shelf system that makes it easy for me to rotate the batteries so they all get used, more or less, in order one after the other.

I was trying to make a sliding shelf system, like canned goods in the supermarket display, where you pull one can and the next automatically drops into place for the next use. But, my tool batteries have rubber grips of the bottoms precisely so they do not skid on surfaces.

So, now I thinking of making a pallet wood storage shelf where each shelf is like a mini-bin holding maybe 10 batteries and the bins can be moved up or down on the shelf. I have one of those shelf pin/peg kits that you drill holes in the side of the shelf and then you can adjust the shelves to whatever height you want.

I am thinking I could make shelves/bins that hold the batteries and move one shelf at a time and rotate the use of the batteries that way. The plywood I have from the pallets might be great for that type of project.

Those are some of the plywood uses I am currently thinking about. I'll probably have more ideas than plywood in no time. I guess that would be OK.

 

[ChicksnMore]

Well, I have used plywood to make workbench tops. So, that is one thought because I would like to build a few more workbenches.

Here is the link to the workbenches I have been making...

Instead of buying new wood, I have been making those workbenches out of pallet wood. I did end up buying one sheet of OSB for the solid tops because I wanted a smoother top than I would have been able to make with pallet wood slats of different thickness.

Also, maybe some of the plywood could be used to make carts to put my chop saw, drill press, scroll saw, and benchtop sander on so I can move them around.

I also want to build some drawers or bins for my workbenches, and maybe a solid plywood bottom on those drawers/bins would be the way to go.

I have lots of battery powered hand tools, like drills and impact drivers, etc... Might be nice to get those organized and up on a wall in a battery charging tool storage cabinet. Kind of like this...

Right now I just have my power tools sitting on a shelf, which works, but it might be nice to get them up on a wall and freeing up workspace in the garage.

Problem is that I have way too many batteries to fit on a small cabinet like the one in that picture. So, I have been kicking around a number of ideas of a battery shelf system that makes it easy for me to rotate the batteries so they all get used, more or less, in order one after the other.

I was trying to make a sliding shelf system, like canned goods in the supermarket display, where you pull one can and the next automatically drops into place for the next use. But, my tool batteries have rubber grips of the bottoms precisely so they do not skid on surfaces.

So, now I thinking of making a pallet wood storage shelf where each shelf is like a mini-bin holding maybe 10 batteries and the bins can be moved up or down on the shelf. I have one of those shelf pin/peg kits that you drill holes in the side of the shelf and then you can adjust the shelves to whatever height you want.

I am thinking I could make shelves/bins that hold the batteries and move one shelf at a time and rotate the use of the batteries that way. The plywood I have from the pallets might be great for that type of project.

Those are some of the plywood uses I am currently thinking about. I'll probably have more ideas than plywood in no time. I guess that would be OK.

All of those sound great . I don't have a lot of batteries so not so hard for me. I write numbers in sharpie on the side of my batteries though so I just use them by number. That way I know they're getting same usage. If you have a lot of batteries that's probably a pain digging through for the right number though.

 

[gtaus]

I don't have a lot of batteries so not so hard for me. I write numbers in sharpie on the side of my batteries though so I just use them by number. That way I know they're getting same usage.

I thought of putting a number on each battery, but as you said, that becomes less effective when you have a larger collection of batteries.

I bought into the Ryobi line of 18v One+ tools about 20 years ago. Over the years, I have bought additional tools and tool kits, usually with new batteries as part of the deal. I now have over 40 18v batteries, which is a lot, but averages out to maybe 2 new batteries per year. The amazing thing is that my ~20-year-old LI-Ion batteries are still working fine. I think the trick is to rotate them so they all get usage, are run down to empty every once in a while, and then fully recharged. Seems to prolong the life of the batteries when you spread the usage out over the entire collection.

Believe it or not, I don't remember ever buying a Ryobi battery by itself. It's always been part of a sale promo or in kits. Since I take good care of my tools, they just seem to last forever.

Anyway, more related to pallet projects, my current idea is to build a shelving cabinet system using those pin/pegs along the side. Then I would just use all the batteries on the lowest shelf, remove that empty shelf and move all the other shelves down the cabinet, recharge the used batteries, and then put them on a shelf on the top of the cabinet. Not exactly a fully automated system, but it would at least ensure that I rotated my batteries by taking off the bottom shelf and putting recharged batteries on the top shelf.

Since my 18v batteries are typically longer (about 5-1/2 inches) than a pallet slat is wide (3-1/2 to 4 inches), I have been looking at joining a number of slats with gluing them together, maybe with or without using wooden dowels, and then cutting them back down to size. I have never done glue ups like that, so it would be a new skill for me.

Picture of what I'm talking about...

If that does not work out, then I guess I could cut some of the plywood I salvaged from my recent pallet pickups. That certainly would be easier. But I hope to find a better use for that plywood than just using it as a shelf.

One of the best things about using pallet wood is that if something does not turn out the way you thought it would, you really have not lost any money. So, you might as well try it and see how it turns out.

 

[Sally PB]

That last picture shows exactly how my hubby built the pieces of his "footlocker" out of nice oak pallet wood. He drilled tiny holes and used deheaded brads for additional strength, along with the glue.

That storm was MUCH worse south of me. We never lost power, which surprised me, but I'll get over it. We got about 1/16" of freezing rain. Enough not to want to go anywhere (fine by me), but not so much it was taking trees down with extra weight. It's getting very windy again, but warm enough now that the ice is melting off the trees.

 

[ChicksnMore]

I thought of putting a number on each battery, but as you said, that becomes less effective when you have a larger collection of batteries.

I bought into the Ryobi line of 18v One+ tools about 20 years ago. Over the years, I have bought additional tools and tool kits, usually with new batteries as part of the deal. I now have over 40 18v batteries, which is a lot, but averages out to maybe 2 new batteries per year. The amazing thing is that my ~20-year-old LI-Ion batteries are still working fine. I think the trick is to rotate them so they all get usage, are run down to empty every once in a while, and then fully recharged. Seems to prolong the life of the batteries when you spread the usage out over the entire collection.

Believe it or not, I don't remember ever buying a Ryobi battery by itself. It's always been part of a sale promo or in kits. Since I take good care of my tools, they just seem to last forever.

Anyway, more related to pallet projects, my current idea is to build a shelving cabinet system using those pin/pegs along the side. Then I would just use all the batteries on the lowest shelf, remove that empty shelf and move all the other shelves down the cabinet, recharge the used batteries, and then put them on a shelf on the top of the cabinet. Not exactly a fully automated system, but it would at least ensure that I rotated my batteries by taking off the bottom shelf and putting recharged batteries on the top shelf.

Since my 18v batteries are typically longer (about 5-1/2 inches) than a pallet slat is wide (3-1/2 to 4 inches), I have been looking at joining a number of slats with gluing them together, maybe with or without using wooden dowels, and then cutting them back down to size. I have never done glue ups like that, so it would be a new skill for me.

Picture of what I'm talking about...

If that does not work out, then I guess I could cut some of the plywood I salvaged from my recent pallet pickups. That certainly would be easier. But I hope to find a better use for that plywood than just using it as a shelf.

One of the best things about using pallet wood is that if something does not turn out the way you thought it would, you really have not lost any money. So, you might as well try it and see how it turns out.

I've never tried glueing wood together like that. I've always had a cross board to hold it all together. I'd think it'd need the dowels or brads for strength? I like it.

 

[ChicksnMore]

I started on rebuilding my oldest coop. Our goats had chewed up the wood on the old one. It still functioned but was really ugly with the siding chewed up. The old one was also built from pallets. This one is smaller ands reusing the pallets from the old coop and a bunch of scrap wood. It's attached to the old run.

I'm not skilled enough to build pretty...but I know it'll function well and last well when I'm done. It's smaller then I'd like, but our new goat won't be able to reach it there to chew on it.

 

[CKfarm22]

Our pallet wood (first) coop! It was a PAIN to get all the pallets apart to use the wood

 

[CKfarm22]

It's beautiful!! Everything that a chicken coop should be. I'm glad you didn't paint it.

We did too, we actually used old oil to “stain” it. We sold this one to build our current lol