Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[Molpet]

It's still a great table saw, but it weighs a lot and takes up lots of floor space in my garage when I use it

Put it on locking wheels and a top like avjudge's Dad

 

[gtaus]

That’s what my dad has except his is older. It sits in the middle of the workshop and when not in use has a slab of Homasote on top so it serves as an additional worktop.

That a good use for the table saw when not in use. But, as I mentioned, I don't have a dedicated workshop. I use my garage. Which means I have to be able to move my equipment out of the way when I want to garage my cars.

All my workbenches have wheels on them as well. It's just what I have to do to with what I have available. If I do end up buying a smaller, lighter table saw without a stand, I can just put it on top of one of my workbenches with wheels and easily move it out of the way.

I guess Craftsman must have made some pretty good saws if your dad has one even older than my 30-year-old table saw. Growing up in the 1970's, Craftsman, sold at Sears, was considered great tools. Now, we don't even have a Sear's department store anywhere to be found.

 

[gtaus]

Put it on locking wheels and a top like avjudge's Dad

That would have been a good idea, but I have already built a couple of modular pallet wood workbenches...

Those modular workbenches are 2X4 feet, with wheels, and notice the holes drilled into the benchtop 2X4 frame. I have holes like that drilled on all 4 sides of the top. That allows me to bolt the workbenches together in a number of configurations. For example, bolting 2 of them together to make a 4X4 workbench, or a 2X8 foot workbench for longer projects.

As you can see, I can store a bunch of bulk items underneath the top inside the workbench. This past summer, I upgraded one of the workbenches and put in adjustable shelving to hold my small parts cases...

I put those shelves on both ends and I also added shelving in the middle as well...

Now those workbenches are packed full of tools and supplies. I just rolled them out of the way inside the garage so I could park my cars. I really like those pallet wood modular workbenches. I don't think I could ever get that much storage under my Craftsman table saw.

But I never really considered putting a workbench top on the table saw either. At the time I built my pallet wood modular workbenches, my Craftsman table saw was in another garage, in storage.

I got the idea of modular workbenches from YouTube. I just added wheels to my workbenches and used pallet wood instead of buying lumber from the big box store. I used some screws and brad nails, but the only real expense for me was buying the wheels. I took the wheels off some Harbor Freight dollies that I got on sale for less than $10.00. For me, in my garage, I needed to add wheels, so it was worth the extra money.

If anyone is interested, here is one of the YouTube videos on how to build these modular workbenches...

 

[gtaus]

Budget Table Saw Comparisons

I was looking more at that Performax 8-1/4 inch table saw that is on sale at Menards this week. Reading the specs, reviews, and trying to get an idea if it will be good for my pallet projects. The online reviews are positive, but I don't trust online "honest reviews" much anymore. Too many of those reviews are paid positive reviews.

In my research into that Performax saw, the Skil 8-1/4 inch table saw always popped up as well. The Skil table saw is about $150.00 more expensive, but it looks almost exactly the same...

Performax table saw...

Picture of Skil 8-1/4 inch table saw model TS6308-00...

I compared the general specs of both saws, and they matched up perfectly. Looks like they both were made at the same Chinese factory to me. I wonder if Menards just has them rebranded under the Performax name to sell them in their stores at a discount?

As expected, Skil is a more well-known brand name and costs more. But is it worth $150 more to get their logo on the saw? Probably not for me.

Back in the 1980's, I was overseas in Hong Kong. We visited a factory where they made VCR's for the American market. The $500 name brand VCR (like Sony) was made on the same line as a cheaper no-name brand VCR for $150. They just had different logos and/or external cases. That was a big eye opener for my younger me!

At any rate, I suspect lots of tools and such are all made by a few Chinese factories and they just swap out decals, colors, or exterior shells and sell the same product under other brand names. That's why I like to read the specs on similar models, and I put less weight on the name brand decal on the tool.

 

[gtaus]

Ordered my new budget table saw

At any rate, I suspect lots of tools and such are all made by a few Chinese factories and they just swap out decals, colors, or exterior shells and sell the same product under other brand names. That's why I like to read the specs on similar models, and I put less weight on the name brand decal on the tool.

Talked to the old-timer working in the hardware section of Menards about getting that budget Performax table saw for my pallet projects. He has a lot of years of experience in woodworking. He worked at a custom cabinet shop and said that he has worked on table saw costing over $7000. He knows his equipment.

He told me that he attended a Menards training session, and they were told that the tools are basically made at about 3 factories in China, and indeed that many times they just swap out the outer shell and decals for different brands. I mentioned that I had compared the specs on the Skil 8-1/4 inch table saw and the Performax 8-1/4 inch table saw, and they were the same. He was not surprised.

Well, it will take a week before I get my new table saw. Probably won't have any initial reviews for some time because we are in the dead of winter here in northern Minnesota and my double garage is filled with parked cars. No plans on building anything in the garage until it gets a big warmer outside to park my car. Nights are still dipping down to -16F this week. More important for me to have the car in the garage and warm in case I need it.

My first project with the new table saw will probably be to build a modular workbench with a lower top to put the saw on. That way top of my table saw will be level with the tops of my other workbenches to use as outfeed tables. I have not yet worked out the details of the build, but it should not be too hard of a project.

 

[Sally PB]

Talked to the old-timer working in the hardware section of Menards about getting that budget Performax table saw for my pallet projects. He has a lot of years of experience in woodworking. He worked at a custom cabinet shop and said that he has worked on table saw costing over $7000. He knows his equipment.

He told me that he attended a Menards training session, and they were told that the tools are basically made at about 3 factories in China, and indeed that many times they just swap out the outer shell and decals for different brands. I mentioned that I had compared the specs on the Skil 8-1/4 inch table saw and the Performax 8-1/4 inch table saw, and they were the same. He was not surprised.

Isn't it great to talk to people like that? They are such a wealth of knowledge. Has he been at Menard's for very long? Hope he stays, and I hope the store understand what an asset they have working for them.

 

[gtaus]

Isn't it great to talk to people like that? They are such a wealth of knowledge. Has he been at Menard's for very long? Hope he stays, and I hope the store understand what an asset they have working for them.

I think the "old-timer" has only been with Menards for about 6 months. I hope he stays for a while because I like to talk to him about my potential purchases. He has years of real-life experience. I find value in his life experience.

I don't get the notion that our Menards values any of their employees, but I would love to be wrong. They have a high turnover from what I see.

It could be my age, but I just find I enjoy talking to those guys who have actually worked with tools in their life when I go to the store to make a purchase.

For example, when I told this old-timer that I was shopping for a budget table saw for making pallet projects as a hobby, he told me that their budget Performax saw I was looking at is a good seller with very few returns. From an experienced point of view, he told me that a lot of success using any table saw is just in knowing how to set it up for a square cut, regardless of how much you paid for the saw. Many people would be just as good off with a budget table saw for their DIY projects. He did not try to upsell me on a more expensive saws, which they do sell, mainly to contractors.

Like I said, I purchased a larger Craftsman 10-inch table saw with stand about 30 years ago for just over $300. That was good money back then. It still works today, so I got my money's worth out of it. However, with all the table saw improvements over the years, this $125 Performax budget table saw has many more features over my old Craftsman table saw. Assuming the motor spins the blade, I should actually have a better working saw for my needs.

Keep in mind that I only buy as much tool as I need. I'm not a contractor making my living using my tools. Other than my pallet project hobby, I only occasionally have some DIY repairs around the house. I bought into the Ryobi 18v One Plus line of tools about 20 years ago and still use my first tools from that first Ryobi kit I purchased. But they always get the job done for me.

I have nothing against others who do buy the "best" contractor brand tool names and are willing to pay more for the highest performance tools. But I suspect that anybody reading a pallet project thread on a chicken forum is looking for ways to save money.

With that in mind, when I do start using my new table saw, I'll post another small review of my thoughts on that purchase. It might not be until this spring, but I will post a short review after I have had a chance to use the saw for a while.

 

[AGeese]

Sorry for interupting, or if this was answered, but what is it that you want to avoid when locating some pallets? Like what factories in particular because of whatever treatments or chemicals they might have been used with?

 

[AGeese]

I think the "old-timer" has only been with Menards for about 6 months. I hope he stays for a while because I like to talk to him about my potential purchases. He has years of real-life experience. I find value in his life experience.

I don't get the notion that our Menards values any of their employees, but I would love to be wrong. They have a high turnover from what I see.

It could be my age, but I just find I enjoy talking to those guys who have actually worked with tools in their life when I go to the store to make a purchase.

For example, when I told this old-timer that I was shopping for a budget table saw for making pallet projects as a hobby, he told me that their budget Performax saw I was looking at is a good seller with very few returns. From an experienced point of view, he told me that a lot of success using any table saw is just in knowing how to set it up for a square cut, regardless of how much you paid for the saw. Many people would be just as good off with a budget table saw for their DIY projects. He did not try to upsell me on a more expensive saws, which they do sell, mainly to contractors.

Like I said, I purchased a larger Craftsman 10-inch table saw with stand about 30 years ago for just over $300. That was good money back then. It still works today, so I got my money's worth out of it. However, with all the table saw improvements over the years, this $125 Performax budget table saw has many more features over my old Craftsman table saw. Assuming the motor spins the blade, I should actually have a better working saw for my needs.

Keep in mind that I only buy as much tool as I need. I'm not a contractor making my living using my tools. Other than my pallet project hobby, I only occasionally have some DIY repairs around the house. I bought into the Ryobi 18v One Plus line of tools about 20 years ago and still use my first tools from that first Ryobi kit I purchased. But they always get the job done for me.

I have nothing against others who do buy the "best" contractor brand tool names and are willing to pay more for the highest performance tools. But I suspect that anybody reading a pallet project thread on a chicken forum is looking for ways to save money.

With that in mind, when I do start using my new table saw, I'll post another small review of my thoughts on that purchase. It might not be until this spring, but I will post a short review after I have had a chance to use the saw for a while.

That's too bad, the Menards near me has long term employees. Usually the checkers change out every few months.

 

[Molpet]

Sorry for interupting, or if this was answered, but what is it that you want to avoid when locating some pallets? Like what factories in particular because of whatever treatments or chemicals they might have been used with?

Avoid MB stamped pallets
https://greenwaypsllc.com/pallet-treatment-codes/