Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[chickengr]

Very nice crate. I could think of a lot of things I could make out of metal crates like that.



Yeah, I started this thread post COVID-19 when our lumber prices were still sky high. I wanted to build raised bed gardens and other small projects, but the cost of lumber was just too high. So, I got into repurposing free pallet wood. It turned into more of a hobby than I expected. Now, I'm hooked on trying to build stuff with free and reclaimed items. Not only saving myself lots of money, but also keeping all the materials I repurpose out of our landfills.

As to the cost of hardware, that's about all I have to spend on most of my pallet projects. I mainly use cheap drywall screws wherever I can. When I take apart my pallets, I save most of the nails for a potential future project. However, I just prefer using screws for ease of use and the ability to take apart things later if I want.

You mentioned that wood is still extremely expensive where you live. Have you considered updating your member icon with your geographic location? Sometimes it really helps to understand where a person lives. For example, my needs and concerns in northern Minnesota might be a lot different than our good friend @chickengr living in Greece. We all have different challenges based on where we live.



That sounds like a good situation for you. I would love to hear about and see your other pallet type projects. Lord knows I have posted lots of less than exciting pallet projects out of stuff I screwed together to serve a mundane purpose. But you never know who might be inspired to make the same, or similar, project to meet their needs.



Sounds like you might be a good candidate for some free wind powered generators! I was just watching some new YouTube videos on small wind turbines to produce electricity. One guy claimed his small wind turbine produced about 4X as much electricity as his solar panels. I thought that was interesting. Many of the newer wind turbines are much smaller and can capture wind from any direction.

Unfortunately, where I live, we don't have great sunshine nor constant wind, so solar panels and wind turbines are not on my short list.

However, if I had winds strong enough that I needed wind blockers, I might be looking into mounting some wind turbines on the blocking fence and generate some "free" electricity!

I am off grid. guy who sold me photovoltaic panels told me not to get a wind turbine as I planed. I wanted a 2 kw one. he was right. we have plenty of sunshine here and many times when there is little sunshine there is no wind either. I still want a wind turbine but a small and cheap one, not 2 kw.

 

[Dreamers Nook]

I am off grid. guy who sold me photovoltaic panels told me not to get a wind turbine as I planed. I wanted a 2 kw one. he was right. we have plenty of sunshine here and many times when there is little sunshine there is no wind either. I still want a wind turbine but a small and cheap one, not 2 kw.

That is a problem quite often. We have enough wind here (surrounded by state windmills), just isn't cost efficient for us.

 

[gtaus]

I still want a wind turbine but a small and cheap one, not 2 kw.

The YouTube videos I was watching were about new designs of smaller wind turbines to put in your backyard, not 20 feet up on a pole. It seems like the engineering on wind turbines is improving and there are a number of legitimate backyard sized wind turbines these days.

We have enough wind here (surrounded by state windmills), just isn't cost efficient for us.

It's just one of those things that if they keep on improving the technology and lowering the cost of the wind turbines, it might some day make sense for more people.

Like I said, one of the YouTube videos I watched was a guy who compared his backyard wind turbine to his solar panels, and he was getting about 4X the energy generation from the wind turbine. Of course, that all depends on where you live, how much sun you get, and how much wind blows.

But yeah, neither solar nor wind generation is something that would be cost effective for me either. Just interesting topics to follow.

 

[chickengr]

The YouTube videos I was watching were about new designs of smaller wind turbines to put in your backyard, not 20 feet up on a pole. It seems like the engineering on wind turbines is improving and there are a number of legitimate backyard sized wind turbines these days.



It's just one of those things that if they keep on improving the technology and lowering the cost of the wind turbines, it might some day make sense for more people.

Like I said, one of the YouTube videos I watched was a guy who compared his backyard wind turbine to his solar panels, and he was getting about 4X the energy generation from the wind turbine. Of course, that all depends on where you live, how much sun you get, and how much wind blows.

But yeah, neither solar nor wind generation is something that would be cost effective for me either. Just interesting topics to follow.

prices are dropping. there is a 700 w wind turbine (a good one) that went from 880 to 535 eur. worth as addition to 6 kw system. there are some 500 w at 330+ eur but need biblical catastrophe storms to produce 500 w.

 

[gtaus]

My new budget table saw from Menards came in earlier than estimated so I picked it up yesterday. Was planning on unboxing it and setting it up today, but unfortunately, Dear Wife's car broke down and that changed all my plans.

We are in a bad cold slump with nighttime temps down to -29F and the high today was only -11F. I am sure that affected the car, somehow, but I am not a mechanic. I had the car towed to our mechanic's shop but today was MLK holiday and the shop was not open. It can sometimes take a few weeks to get service on a car so we will be relying on the backup car until Dear Wife's car gets fixed.

Of course, her car breaking down is somehow my fault. It might be a long couple of weeks...

With the extreme cold, I have just stayed inside and watched a number of YouTube videos. I am still working on a plan for an adjustable height table saw stand built into one of my modular pallet wood workbenches that bolt together. I have not figured that one out yet. I might just have to start building something before a plan works out. With the cold right now, I don't want to spend any time out in the garage even though it's a nice and toasty +39F. When it gets warmer outside, I don't mind parking my car in the driveway. For now, it's in the garage.

Well, I got a bit excited to learn about a budget friendly miter gauge from Vevor for table saws that I saw on YouTube...

Of course, I checked the affiliate link right away to see how much it cost. Unfortunately, they are already all sold out. I clicked on the link to put it into my Amazon Wishlist. Don't know if I will actually buy one, but it would be nice to consider it if the cost was right.

If not, I have been happy with my DIY upgrade to my miter gauges with the old school method of just attaching a board to the gauge...

 

[gtaus]

Conventional (GMA) versus Euro Pallets

I am wondering if anybody following this thread has a preference on what type of pallets they like to use. The conventional pallets with the 2X4 stretchers, or the Euro pallets with the blocks of wood separating the planks? Please let me know.

Since I make lots of raised beds with my pallet wood, I have preferred the conventional (GMA) pallets with the 2X4's. If you are building a goat shed, or any other type of structure, I would think the pallets with the 2X4's would be a better choice compared to the Euro pallets.

I have picked up a number of Euro pallets in the past and have used the planks for projects. But I have yet to find a use for all those blocks of wood I end up with after disassembling the Euro pallet.

I just thought of this today when I drove past Harbor Freight and noticed they had 2 stacks of pallets outside for free. Very nice. However, they all were Euro pallets which surprised me. I see more and more Euro pallets lately.

My old 1993 Ford Explorer was parked for the winter, but now that Dear Wife's car is in the shop for repairs for an unknown period of time, I have been thinking about putting insurance back on the Explorer as a backup vehicle and picking up some of these new pallets as a bonus.

 

[chickengr]

Conventional (GMA) versus Euro Pallets

I am wondering if anybody following this thread has a preference on what type of pallets they like to use. The conventional pallets with the 2X4 stretchers, or the Euro pallets with the blocks of wood separating the planks? Please let me know.

View attachment 4033663

Since I make lots of raised beds with my pallet wood, I have preferred the conventional (GMA) pallets with the 2X4's. If you are building a goat shed, or any other type of structure, I would think the pallets with the 2X4's would be a better choice compared to the Euro pallets.

I have picked up a number of Euro pallets in the past and have used the planks for projects. But I have yet to find a use for all those blocks of wood I end up with after disassembling the Euro pallet.

I just thought of this today when I drove past Harbor Freight and noticed they had 2 stacks of pallets outside for free. Very nice. However, they all were Euro pallets which surprised me. I see more and more Euro pallets lately.

My old 1993 Ford Explorer was parked for the winter, but now that Dear Wife's car is in the shop for repairs for an unknown period of time, I have been thinking about putting insurance back on the Explorer as a backup vehicle and picking up some of these new pallets as a bonus.

I don't mind euro pallets if they have real wood blocks. unfortunately many of them here have minced cardboard blocks that are good to burn in a stove only. also euro pallets are the same size so easier to work with.

 

[gtaus]

I don't mind euro pallets if they have real wood blocks. unfortunately many of them here have minced cardboard blocks that are good to burn in a stove only.

I picked up a few Euro pallets with real wood blocks. I kept the wood blocks for a future project, but don't what for yet. Most of my Euro pallets have had those minced cardboard blocks like you mentioned. I tossed them into the burn pit. Seems like a waste, but I cannot imagine them being of any better use than a campfire.

also euro pallets are the same size so easier to work with.

Same size is an advantage, certainly. Do you use the full Euro pallets for your projects? I just take them apart and use the planks for other projects, like more raised beds for the garden.

 

[chickengr]

I picked up a few Euro pallets with real wood blocks. I kept the wood blocks for a future project, but don't what for yet. Most of my Euro pallets have had those minced cardboard blocks like you mentioned. I tossed them into the burn pit. Seems like a waste, but I cannot imagine them being of any better use than a campfire.



Same size is an advantage, certainly. Do you use the full Euro pallets for your projects? I just take them apart and use the planks for other projects, like more raised beds for the garden.

I mostly use full pallets as walls. I use cheap tin or free plywood (when I have it) to close the holes.

 

[gtaus]

I mostly use full pallets as walls. I use cheap tin or free plywood (when I have it) to close the holes.

That will work, of course. Have you consider using the board-on-board method of filling those spaces? I made a roof top for a reclaimed lumber storage rack using pallets and then added additional pallet planks to fill the gaps....

That would be perfect as a sidewall mounted vertically. As a roof top, I put a slight slant on it so the water would drain off the back end of the roof. Is that design 100% waterproof? Probably not, but it's good enough for my storage rack.

I would think that using those completed board-on-board pallets would be great for building a goat shed, for example. Anyways, I can find lots of pallets to use extra planks much easier than free plywood or tin.

Some of the advantages on the board-on-board method of filling those gaps is that it takes almost no time for me. I just use my nail gun to fasten down the additional planks to fill the gaps. But even if you had to manually nail in each board, or use screws, it would not be hard or take very long. Also, I like the natural looks of the completed panel using all pallet wood planks. If you wanted, a person could paint those pallet panels filling in tiny cracks in the wood while at the same time adding color to your project.