Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[gtaus]

That's a lot of pallet wood!

Yes, it's a cache of pallet wood that should last me a long time.

When I first started out picking up pallets, I could only find one or two pallets. But I found a couple of places that routinely put out free pallets.

Every week when I went into town, I would drive by those places and maybe pick up 4 or 5 pallets. Over a few months, my stockpile grew to what you saw in that picture.

Now I can be very picky about which pallets I want to take home. That's a good position to be in. I am currently interested in those odd pallets that have something unusual about them. Like solid wood tops, different sized lumber, or hardware that I can salvage from them.

For example, I found a few pallets that had been put together with long lag screws that cost about 85 cents each. I think I was able to salvage something like $50 of lag screws on just a couple of those pallets.

Another time I found some pallets that had been put together with deck screws. I backed those out and figured I saved maybe $30 or more good deck screws.

Point is, you can sometimes find value in those pallets besides the wood itself.

I'll bet you could make and sell some of those nice flower boxes you made for your wife. ... Could be a nice side project to make a few $$ with little investment.

I am mainly interested in only building stuff for our use. But if some of the ideas on this thread inspire others to start a side project, that's great.

Speaking of which, there is an online site that sells lots of pallet wood projects at pretty high prices. It is more into the arts and crafts project than what I care about, but it might inspire others to make their own.

Example for $100....

I don't know if you would call those pallet wood projects "Modern Rustic Chic", or what. I call my pallet projects "Backyard Functional"!

 

[electrycmonk]

Oh kewl…. I can share the compost bins evolution and expansion…

So today and yesterday I am actually building fresh composting bins with free pallets and left over woods from the previous “free pallet bins” that lasted 3+ years…

Yeah… late start today. Insomnia has been extra heavy last 2 months… but pictures to follow today… before the rain forecast that I updated in the Tejas thread!

 

[NanaK]

I am mainly interested in only building stuff for our use.

I totally understand. Hubby and I are the same way. I tend to just gift extra things, veggie plant starts, veggies, eggs, etc. Gives me a good feeling to share.

Oh kewl…. I can share the compost bins evolution and expansion…

Look forward to seeing your project!

 

[gtaus]

Oh kewl…. I can share the compost bins evolution and expansion…

Looking forward to the story of the evolution and some pictures. Pallet wood compost bins were my first projects and still in use today.

 

[gtaus]

New Tool - Doyle 14 inch Nippers for pulling nails

You guys know me by now that I love my tools. I got a new (nice to have but not totally necessary) tool today at Harbor Freight to add to my toolbox...

HF had a 30% off coupon this weekend, so I got this pair of nippers for $12.59 plus tax. That's a pretty good deal. I have a smaller 7-inch pair of nippers that I use for pulling nails, and they work great. But every once in a while, I have to pull out a tough long nail and need more leverage. This 14-inch nippers should do the trick.

I'll do a tool review after I have had time to actually use it. The YouTube online video reviews are generally positive. Of course, the big selling point is that these nippers are less than $20 and have a lifetime warranty. I'll let you guys know how much I use it after I have had it for some time. Right now, I'm not taking apart many pallets and probably won't again until next spring.

I might squeeze a few more projects in before winter snows me in.

 

[Knobby]

New Tool - Doyle 14 inch Nippers for pulling nails

You guys know me by now that I love my tools. I got a new (nice to have but not totally necessary) tool today at Harbor Freight to add to my toolbox...

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HF had a 30% off coupon this weekend, so I got this pair of nippers for $12.59 plus tax. That's a pretty good deal. I have a smaller 7-inch pair of nippers that I use for pulling nails, and they work great. But every once in a while, I have to pull out a tough long nail and need more leverage. This 14-inch nippers should do the trick.

I'll do a tool review after I have had time to actually use it. The YouTube online video reviews are generally positive. Of course, the big selling point is that these nippers are less than $20 and have a lifetime warranty. I'll let you guys know how much I use it after I have had it for some time. Right now, I'm not taking apart many pallets and probably won't again until next spring.

I might squeeze a few more projects in before winter snows me in.

I got a pair of these exact nippers included with my pallet buster tool. it does wonders pulling out nails that have had their heads pop off.

 

[gtaus]

I got a pair of these exact nippers included with my pallet buster tool. it does wonders pulling out nails that have had their heads pop off.

That's the idea for use of the nippers. I have a smaller 7-inch pair of nippers, and they work great. But sometimes you get one of those long nails that the head breaks off and the 7-inch nippers does not provide enough leverage to pull it out. If I was younger and/or stronger, maybe it would not be an issue. Anyways, the 14-inch nippers are supposed to bring a lot more leverage to the task and pull those stubborn nails out. Failing that, you could nip/cut off the nail shank, pound the tiny remaining bit in the wood, and call it good.

I appreciate any tool(s) that make my life easier.

Believe it or not, I was pulling nails from some reclaimed lumber this summer and came upon some nails, with broken off heads, and they were just too hard for me to pull out with existing shorter pliers and nippers. At that time, I thought to myself, if only I had a longer handle on these nippers, I could pull that stubborn headless nail out! That's why I bought this longer pair of 14-inch nippers.

 

[Knobby]

That's the idea for use of the nippers. I have a smaller 7-inch pair of nippers, and they work great. But sometimes you get one of those long nails that the head breaks off and the 7-inch nippers does not provide enough leverage to pull it out. If I was younger and/or stronger, maybe it would not be an issue. Anyways, the 14-inch nippers are supposed to bring a lot more leverage to the task and pull those stubborn nails out. Failing that, you could nip/cut off the nail shank, pound the tiny remaining bit in the wood, and call it good.

I appreciate any tool(s) that make my life easier.

Believe it or not, I was pulling nails from some reclaimed lumber this summer and came upon some nails, with broken off heads, and they were just too hard for me to pull out with existing shorter pliers and nippers. At that time, I thought to myself, if only I had a longer handle on these nippers, I could pull that stubborn headless nail out! That's why I bought this longer pair of 14-inch nippers.

I just pull the nails out, to the point that the short nippers lose leverage, then place a piece of wood underneath them to gain more fulcrum leverage

 

[gtaus]

Just a quick afterthought....

Harbor Freight sells an even longer pair of nippers, the 16-inch Pittsburgh nippers...

Initially I was considering this pair of nippers instead of the Doyle 14-inch nippers. However, I did a lot of online research and what people are saying is that the new batch of Pittsburgh nippers are using an inferior metal compared to the older versions of this item and that the jaw teeth are cracking even on soft metals. Also, the jaw teeth are not aligning in these new nippers and that makes good cuts almost impossible.

When I went into HF this afternoon, I checked out this Pittsburgh 16-inch nippers. Sure enough, the teeth were not aligned. I cannot tell by looking at the nippers how hard the jaws are, so I am just going by what I have read.

Also, one of the YouTube channels I watch every week is on tool reviews. The guy there suggested that the 14-inch Doyle nippers were the better option in his opinion because the heads on the Doyle are extra hardened and the Doyle nippers were better built.

In either case, HF is pretty good at returning tools that do not live up to your expectations. Both brands have lifetime warranties, which is good. But the reviews I watched said the Doyle nippers were of higher quality, so that's what I got.

For sure, you can get some professional nippers if you want to put out $40-$60 bucks. But I usually don't need my DIY tools to meet those higher standards.

 

[gtaus]

I just pull the nails out, to the point that the short nippers lose leverage, then place a piece of wood underneath them to gain more fulcrum leverage

Yes, that works in most cases. But you have to get the nail started out before you even can use that option. That's why I only expect to use these longer 14-inch nippers for only those really tough cases. If I can bite down on the headless nail, then these nippers should be able to complete the job in one motion.

That's why guys in demolition are using these longer nippers. Time is money for them and if a tool can do the whole job at once, that has value to them. Well, that's what one guy on YouTube was saying as he was showing his demolition toolbelt and his must have tools for the job.

Like I said, after I have had a chance to use the nippers for a while, I'll post an update on what I really feel about them. If I don't find them useful enough, I'll post that too. I don't get paid by anyone to fake a review.

I use my 7-inch nippers all the time and they pull out almost all the nails I come across. And like you said, you can pull even more nails a bit until you lose leverage, then slide a piece of wood under the head of the nippers, and finish pulling out the nail. But I have faced a few nails that I could not get enough leverage on from the start and could not pull them out with my 7-inch nippers.