Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[gtaus]

Pallet Wood Compost Bin in the Chicken Run

Shortly after I got my chickens, I thought it would be a good idea to make a pallet wood compost bin inside the chicken run. That way, I could make some compost for my garden while the chickens ran around on all that beautiful grass in the rest of the run. Of course, a few months later there was no grass left. All you could see was bare dirt that turned into mud after a rain. That was unacceptable.

I then converted my entire run into a chicken run composting system and have never looked back. But I kept the pallet wood compost bin inside the run because the chickens love to jump on top and catch a few rays on a sunny day, or if too warm, they go inside the bin and catch some shade from the top.

Anyways, I was outside working and saw a number of the chickens enjoying themselves on the compost bin. I took a quick pic to post for your consideration...

For anyone interest in how that compost bin was built, I used 3 full pallets for the back on the sides. Then I took a fourth pallet and cut it in half. One half of that pallet was used as the front where they could easily jump in there to eat the compost kitchen scraps and the other half was used for the top where the chickens love to sit. It worked out great and I would recommend a compost bin inside the chicken run for anyone who wants to make some compost.

As you can see in that picture, my entire run is now a composting system. That front half of pallet is about 22 inches high. If you look at the level of the grass clippings and leaves in the run in comparison to that front half pallet, the compost litter is about 18 inches deep right now.

Winter will come and cover the run with snow. The leaves and grass clippings litter will continue to break down even in the cold of winter. Come springtime, that top level will have dropped about 6 inches. Underneath a few inches from the top, I will have beautiful black gold compost ready to harvest.

I guess I should also say that I tried a number of different chicken toys in the run, but nothing worked. My chickens mainly wanted to scratch and peck for food, dig out dust baths, and sit around on a perch looking at other chickens. In the end, the only things they liked were that compost bin, a grazing frame with grass growing in it, and a big branch that Dear Wife and I dragged into the run, so they had another thing to perch on.

But of all the things I have tried in the chicken run, it's that simple pallet wood compost bin that they like the most.

 

[avjudge]

But of all the things I have tried in the chicken run, it's that simple pallet wood compost bin that they like the most.

I should look into making something like this for my chickens. I have a hoop run with a tarp and plastic over it, but the bottom foot or two open. If we get a windy snowstorm before the banks are high the snow drifts across the floor. (We used to always get our wind here after the storm, but, well, things are changing.) It melts or sublimates in a few days, but while it is there, the chickens hate it! I put a pallet flat on the ground, and a wooden sawhorse in as a roost, but I bet they would love a platform that is up out of the snow.

Also, we have a real gem of a local building center/lumbermill – that Ace Hardware I mentioned before. They even deliver to our home free, small orders included if you can wait for when they have a large order or bunch of orders to deliver on our road. I generally consider us lucky that Home Depot and Lowe’s have not made it closer been a 50 minute drive from here, available if that’s the best option but leaving business for the local guys.

 

[gtaus]

If we get a windy snowstorm before the banks are high the snow drifts across the floor. (We used to always get our wind here after the storm, but, well, things are changing.) It melts or sublimates in a few days, but while it is there, the chickens hate it! I put a pallet flat on the ground, and a wooden sawhorse in as a roost, but I bet they would love a platform that is up out of the snow.

Yeah, my chickens will not walk on the snow. My chicken run is open with only a bird netting on top. This year, I have saved a lot of leaves to toss on the snow during the winter. So, the girls should be happy with that to walk on.

Also, we have a real gem of a local building center/lumbermill – that Ace Hardware I mentioned before. They even deliver to our home free, small orders included if you can wait for when they have a large order or bunch of orders to deliver on our road. I generally consider us lucky that Home Depot and Lowe’s have not made it closer been a 50 minute drive from here, available if that’s the best option but leaving business for the local guys.

Sounds like a nice customer service situation for you. I always prefer to support the local businesses when I can.

None of my local businesses will deliver without charging big fees. I think our Menards charges something like $50.00 to load up any order on the truck. I checked into that a few years ago for some items too large to fit in my car, and it was just not worth the delivery fee to have the stuff delivered. I doubt if the delivery fee has gone down since then.

And, more and more, there are times where it is just cheaper to order something from Amazon, plus they deliver it free to my door. I don't have to go into town which saves me about $5.00 in gas and an hour or two running around picking up things.

Although I am an Amazon Prime member, it's really not my first choice for buying stuff. I want the local businesses to succeed. After COVID-19, I have seen a large shift to our local big box stores no longer carrying items in the store, driving you to order online instead. At that point, Amazon usually wins that game.

Even our local WalMart has increased online ordering and curbside service. They sectioned off a big portion inside the store for staging curbside orders. All that space used to be stuff stocked in the store that I would buy. Now, if I want those products, I have to order them on WalMart online because they no longer stock them in the store. It's not a tradeoff that has worked well for the stuff I need. It must work for others, because I only see online and curbside deliveries expanding.

So, great for your local businesses that offer free deliveries even if you have to wait a few days for them to fill the truck on your route. That's a much better option than what I have available locally.

 

[gtaus]

Added a Trellis System to my Raised Bed

I finished building a trellis system on that new pallet wood raised bed v2.0 I just built the other day. I had four 8-foot-long 2X4's that I salvaged from some long shipping pallets I picked up at our local Bobcat dealership. Then I used some 4-foot-long 2X4's to make the top frame. I cut some 2X4's that were really not good for much else and put them inside the top frame. I will hang the tomato hooks and ropes from those cross pieces.

Here is a picture of the new trellis frame...

It's a pretty easy build, except for having to put that top frame on by myself. I think it took me just as long to get that top frame attached to the vertical 2X4's as it did for the building the entire rest of the project. There must be an easier way to do that?

Those pallet wood 2X4's are pretty strong, but not high-grade lumber. The back side of the 2X4's had a lot of bark on them and some of the edges were rounded off. None of that really matters for this trellis. However, one 2X4, on the front left, had a crack almost halfw up the board. I did not have a replacement for that 2X4, so I added a patch to it to make it stronger. If/when I get a better 8-foot-long 2X4, I'll swap it out. I used screws on the outside of the frame so it will be very easy to replace. Sometimes when you work with pallet wood, you have to accept the flaws in using inferior wood and just learn how to make it work. And it will work fine for this trellis system.

 

[avjudge]

Added a Trellis System to my Raised Bed

I finished building a trellis system on that new pallet wood raised bed v2.0 I just built the other day. . .

Here is a picture of the new trellis frame...

View attachment 3962885

You probably already thought of this but… these look easy to protect against deer. You could make four separate panels of framed chicken wire, the height you need to protect against deer, and attach each panel to a trellis upright on one side with hinges or zip ties serving as hinges, so each one of the four sides will swing open for access.

 

[gtaus]

You probably already thought of this but… these look easy to protect against deer. You could make four separate panels of framed chicken wire, the height you need to protect against deer, and attach each panel to a trellis upright on one side with hinges or zip ties serving as hinges, so each one of the four sides will swing open for access.

Exactly. I have already done that with one trellis. It works great. Which is also why I decided to add a trellis to the latest raised bed build. The trellis is there if I want to use it to grow tomatoes on a string, or climbing plants of any kind, or if not, the trellis frame is really not in the way for any other "normal" non-climbing plants.

The only difficulty I have is getting that top frame with the cross pieces installed. And that is only because I am working alone. If I had a helper, it would be super easy. I am exploring other ideas to add the top frame. Instead of building the frame all at once, maybe putting up the vertical posts then adding the top frame piece by piece somehow? I'm still working on better ways to build it. Again, if I had a helper, it would be super easy to build these pallet wood trellis systems.

While looking for another 8-foot-long salvaged 2X4, I found more 7-1/2-foot-long 2X4's. Those will make an excellent trellis system as well. So, I may get another chance to try a different way to build that trellis. I just did not have another 8-foot-long 2X4 to replace that one board with a crack in it. Oh well, that patch is working great and the plants won't care.

 

[gtaus]

Future (Unnecessary?) Pallet Breakdown Tool

As I get older, I look more and more to specialty tools that allow me to continue to enjoy my hobbies for a few years longer. A number of years ago, I watched a YouTube video on some guy who designed a homemade nail puller that was powered by a hand drill. That company went out of business. But I liked the idea.

Fast forward to a day or so ago, a YouTube video popped up on my recommended list about the BD70 Pneumatic Nail Puller. It's the same basic design but now powered by an air hose. Here is a picture of that tool...

The BD70 Nail Puller is advertised as a "professional" level tool. I guess that's why it costs so much. The older drill powered nail puller that is no longer available was about $30, but it did not look as well built as this BD70 model.

I am not ready to buy something like the DB70 Nail Puller, at this time, as I can still pull nails with a nice crowbar...

I have a couple of these crow bars that were handed down from my grandfather, to my father, to me. It does not need any expensive air tank and electricity to work. It never needs any maintenance. And it just works every time I pull it out of my tool bucket.

Having said that the crowbar is powered by armstrong. There may come a day that my arms are not strong enough to pull those stubborn pallet nails anymore. If that day should come, I would certainly consider buying the DB70 Pneumatic Nail Puller to give me a few more years of enjoyment as I build pallet projects.

I have worked in health care as a male RN for a number of years. I have helped many patients find accessibility devices that allow them to enjoy life after a serious injury or accident. I have no problem using any special tool for myself if that means I can enjoy my hobbies longer.

I saved the link to the YouTube video I recently watched until the end of this post. I am not a big fan of unboxing videos, in general, but this 9-minute video had maybe only 1 minute of info that demonstrated the nail puller in action...

Although it may be some time, if ever, that I consider getting that BD70 Pneumatic Nail Puller, let me put in another good word on the Air Locker AP700 Nail Puncher that I use all the time in my pallet wood breakdowns.

The AP700 speeds up nail removal by punching out the nails from boards as much as 3X-4X faster. My investment in the AP700 was a good decision for me, for amount of pallets I take apart to build stuff, but you can use a hammer for the job. The hammer just takes longer.

I know lots of people might be more interested in pallet projects if it was not so much work to take the pallets apart and de-nail the lumber. Well, here are a couple of tools that might be useful if you have any challenges using manual tools, or if you just want to up your game and speed up the breakdown process.

 

[fuzzi]

Hey @gtaus , look at what I saw at the Farmers' market today!

He was selling them as "Barn Wood Christmas Trees"...for $15 each!

 

[chickengr]

Future (Unnecessary?) Pallet Breakdown Tool

As I get older, I look more and more to specialty tools that allow me to continue to enjoy my hobbies for a few years longer. A number of years ago, I watched a YouTube video on some guy who designed a homemade nail puller that was powered by a hand drill. That company went out of business. But I liked the idea.

Fast forward to a day or so ago, a YouTube video popped up on my recommended list about the BD70 Pneumatic Nail Puller. It's the same basic design but now powered by an air hose. Here is a picture of that tool...

View attachment 3968442

The BD70 Nail Puller is advertised as a "professional" level tool. I guess that's why it costs so much. The older drill powered nail puller that is no longer available was about $30, but it did not look as well built as this BD70 model.

I am not ready to buy something like the DB70 Nail Puller, at this time, as I can still pull nails with a nice crowbar...

View attachment 3968445
I have a couple of these crow bars that were handed down from my grandfather, to my father, to me. It does not need any expensive air tank and electricity to work. It never needs any maintenance. And it just works every time I pull it out of my tool bucket.

Having said that the crowbar is powered by armstrong. There may come a day that my arms are not strong enough to pull those stubborn pallet nails anymore. If that day should come, I would certainly consider buying the DB70 Pneumatic Nail Puller to give me a few more years of enjoyment as I build pallet projects.

I have worked in health care as a male RN for a number of years. I have helped many patients find accessibility devices that allow them to enjoy life after a serious injury or accident. I have no problem using any special tool for myself if that means I can enjoy my hobbies longer.

I saved the link to the YouTube video I recently watched until the end of this post. I am not a big fan of unboxing videos, in general, but this 9-minute video had maybe only 1 minute of info that demonstrated the nail puller in action...

Although it may be some time, if ever, that I consider getting that BD70 Pneumatic Nail Puller, let me put in another good word on the Air Locker AP700 Nail Puncher that I use all the time in my pallet wood breakdowns.

View attachment 3968451

The AP700 speeds up nail removal by punching out the nails from boards as much as 3X-4X faster. My investment in the AP700 was a good decision for me, for amount of pallets I take apart to build stuff, but you can use a hammer for the job. The hammer just takes longer.

I know lots of people might be more interested in pallet projects if it was not so much work to take the pallets apart and de-nail the lumber. Well, here are a couple of tools that might be useful if you have any challenges using manual tools, or if you just want to up your game and speed up the breakdown process.

I like the idea of using car lift jack. never thought of it. hope to be able to work longer with it's help. I usually get tired fast.

 

[gtaus]

Hey @gtaus , look at what I saw at the Farmers' market today!
View attachment 3968956
He was selling them as "Barn Wood Christmas Trees"...for $15 each!

Thanks for the post. I'm not much into the Arts and Crafts scene, but I do see lots of listings online for stuff like that. Dear Wife wants me to make a pallet wood Wishing Well as was posted a while back on this thread. Maybe this winter...