Modifying Wooden Pallets

One thing that I see a lot of upcycling/repurposing ideas for are wooden pallets. I've seen them used for garden planters...





Even for kitchen storage!



I love the way a lot of these look and want to give some of them a go myself.

Has anyone tried to upcycle wooden pallets for any sort of DIY projects?

 

I love the idea to use them for a pig pen. So cost effective too.

And my kids would love a cubby made from them too. I might have to see if there are some examples online - we always have people in the neighborhood getting rid of those pallets so finding good ways to upcycle them is always a helpful thing.

 

I love this! I'm thinking of rushing down to my hardware store and getting something like this made. I will paint in dragon red and sun yellow!

 

I have seen cabins built out of repurposed pallets.

 

The biggest issue I've found with pallets is the amount of labor that has to go in to taking them apart if you want to re-use boards from one onto another. A lot of times you get the board part way off then it breaks. Has anyone found an easy way to disassemble pallets?

 

There probably is not an easy way to do that. They are designed to hold together under duress and as a result have very long nails etc to hold them together.

 

I found this and like it but the price is a bit high. There were others that used a square part to go under the pallet board but this looked like it could be used on different things besides just pallets like decks and roofing.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DODX6R4/ref=sspa_dk_hqp_detail_aax_0?psc=1

 

Thanks Keith, I like the first video the best. It seems the least labor intensive and seemed to be pretty quick.

 

I think it could possibly be improved upon to make the first part faster still.

 

My problem with those methods is that use lose the nails which you may need during shtf. If you pry open a gap like they both do, you can save the nails and the wood both. It isn't quick, but I used to scavenge, repair and sell pallets back in the day. You can get them free and sell good ones for $2-$3 each. I would often clear $200/day. You need a full sized truck and a small trailer as well as a big area to store pallets and a good waist height work table.

 

How's that? How would you do it faster? Video please. LOL

 

in the first video he uses a small block under each slat and then after he knocks it loose he then moves that block and resets it each time under the next slat. Wouldn't it be possible to use one long board to slide under all three slats and then pound away at each location to knock the slats loose without resetting each one separate? If one was to do a lot of these then maybe a jig could be built to hold and support the pallets and just slide one board in to streamline the system