Sunday, December 30, 2012

Pallet Wood Sled... in 30 minutes!

Hello Readers!

Well a snow storm decided to dump nearly a foot of snow on my home so I got the itch to show my daughter how to make a sled out of wood! Considering the fact that this was for outdoor snow use, I used pallet wood to construct the frame for this sled, we then applied some wax to bottoms of the skis. In the end the sled worked great! Too bad we got a foot of snow though, the sled worked a lot better with 4 inches on the ground. In any case when the snow melts a little we will be able to sled some more. Enjoy the pictures!

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Christmas Tree Star

Hello Readers,

My wife asked me last minute to make a star for the tree, so I had a little fun with the request. I used two tones of bare pallet wood and made a traditional kite star. Enjoy!

Christmas Gifts: Pallet Wood Boxes

Hello Readers!

Well I can finally say that the Christmas gift giving is over and I can show you what I was working on as Christmas gifts for the whole family.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

What the Waka? Stress Relief


Good Morning All,

Ever run into a piece of wood (pallet wood in this case) and wonder; "How the heck did that warp like that?" Working with pallet wood can be a twisted mess of metal, warp and work. These things lead to a lot of distress trying to make them work for a project, leading you to want to pull your hair straight out.

Friday, November 9, 2012

It is getting cold outside!

Hello Readers!

It's getting cold outside! And with it the year of woodworking is winding down to just a few more projects before I go into winter mode. I don't have a temperature controlled shop so unfortunately once the bitter cold of january comes, I will be only able to work on projects during the warmer days that I find time. But it's been a great year so far and I hope to end the year with a bang!

Take a look at my past projects here on Pallet Craft!

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Frustration leads to Rushing which leads to more Frustration

Hello Readers,


That's it! I have had enough for one day!... Well that is what I should have said, but if you know me I can't seem to help myself when it comes to frustration and working on things. I know I should stop, after all, all this frustration is just leading me to rush through critical parts of the project!

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Out of the shadows.

Hello Readers,

I have been working on several projects this year and I have made a lot of progress in the way of building things from pallet wood and ultimately showing the worth of the wood contained within the crude pallet structures.


I have had some great successes such as the highchair: http://palletcraft.blogspot.com/2012/10/pallet-highchair.html






As well as the storage bin: http://palletcraft.blogspot.com/2012/10/replacement-storage-shelves.html





The Pallet Gate: http://palletcraft.blogspot.com/2012/10/reclaimed-wood-gate.html







And many others. But I am looking to bring pallet wood out of the shadows and into a more "highlighted" discussion. And I have finally come up with 2 or 3 projects that will really shutdown the "non-believers" and finally prove once and for all the worth of pallet wood.

So what are the projects? Well that is still under wraps. but I promise, to have some  up here by the end of November. Until then, enjoy my recent projects on: Pallet Craft!

Monday, October 22, 2012

Bath Tray!

Hello Readers!

I thought I would take the time to show you what was my first project that I ever used a hand block plane on. I had just bought a block plane from Home Depot (lower end model) the night before, and I was eager to try it out. By the end I was and still am more than satisfied with it's operation. No sooner had I researched how to properly use one, was I practicing on the boards I used for this bath tray. I was happy with the newly planed wood, so I decided to go ahead and practice mortise and tenons for the base board to attach to the tray top. I made the mistake of cutting the tenons before I planed the base board and knocked off one... had to re-do it... Also, when cutting the mortises I stupidly punched through one of them after having done the first one nicely... So I had to fill it on the top. Overall I learned how to block plane boards, to plane the boards before cutting mortise and tenons, and what not to do when drilling and chiseling out mortises. Check out the photos below and see my other pallet projects here on Pallet Craft!


Wednesday, October 17, 2012

I've got Christmas projects on my mind!

Hello Readers!

Well from the title of this entry, you can probably guess what this is about. Yes, Halloween has not even come yet; Yes, Thanksgiving is more than a month away! But I have learned that planning and starting now will give me the time I need to get the projects done. Why wait until the snow is falling and the bitter cold bites?

So what will I be building? Well that is a secret and I will post all about them on December 26th and 27th. I don't want any gift receivers to read my blog and then know what is coming!

So in preparation for my builds, I have taken the time to collect more pallets and man am I thrilled with my latest pickups!

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Pallet wood gate!

Hello Readers!

Child safety time! Yes, my youngest of 7 months found the stairs (no child was harmed in the making of this blog...) so I decided it was time to build a safety gate! This project was made from wood that someone was throwing away, but mostly pallet wood. Yep, they threw away perfectly good wood... Like it was worthless or something!!! As always, enjoy!

P.S. Can you spot the evil cat! His name is Carl, and he is undoubtedly evil!


Replacement storage shelves!

Hello Readers!

This was another project that my wife asked me to build for her (seems to be a trend... yes...). To replace an old ratty hanging cubbie storage for my oldest daughters closet (nightmare) situation (totally messed up and unorganized pile of good toys and clothes...). I used some warped wood pallets to build this project to give it life of its own, and it shows! Well done me!... or is it the wife that should be thanked? Probably... Enjoy!

Pallet wood wall shelves!

Hello Readers!

Well my wife asked for these, so I built them for her so I could satisfy her request. Pretty simple really, I took a whole pallet and cut it in half and then hung them on the wall. As for the other shelves, those were to replace some laminated (BLAH!) shelves we had.

(I need a better camera... Stupid phone!)


Pallet Highchair!

Hello Readers!

I'm on vacation! So now I will share some projects I have been working on and have completed recently! Check out the self designed pallet wood highchair for my daughter who was 6 months old when I built it (she is 7 months old now), and we use it daily. As you will see from these images, the chair is made completely of pallet wood and contains an ornament duck on the back. I am very happy with how this came out in the end. This project took me one week to complete, having worked patiently on one part at a time each day. My wife asked me not to post pictures with the baby sitting in it on the internet, so I will be a good husband and abide by her request. Enjoy and comment below!

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Crib Mobile!


Hello Readers!

Take a look at my latest completed project. This crib mobile was constructed from a board I found discarded on the side of the road! The ornaments are birds and the mobile is hand spun and it continues to wind and unwind for about 5-10 minutes. Overall I am very pleased with how this came out.


Tuesday, August 14, 2012

My new inspiration hub! And an update for the Maloof rocking chair.

Hello Readers!

Just a quick update: I got plans for the maloof chair, so I will be studying these extensively for my build.

My wife has been perusing pinterest and the internet and has stumpled upon a few DIY pallet creations that she loves and wants me to recreate. Well its safe to say I am at no shortage of projects now... Here are a few of the projects she has in mind:

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Projects that were suggested.

Hello Readers!

Recently I had asked readers to suggest a few new projects for ideas for my blog, Pallet Craft! I did recieve two ideas and I will briefly describe them below, but if you would like to suggest more please do so by commenting below!

Monday, August 6, 2012

The learning process!

Hello Readers!

Well everyone goes through a learning period when figuring out what can and can't be done, and how you should and should not go about things. Here are a couple of my latest "woops" and "oh..." moments as a beginner at woodworking.

Friday, August 3, 2012

Pallet Crafting - Share your ideas!


Hello Readers!

You have probably seen lots of things made from pallets on the Internet, from chairs to storage and much more. However there is a key distinction between building projects from pallets and building projects with pallet wood.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

All About Part 2: Fumigation Treatment

Hello Readers!

Today I am going to share with you the other treatment method used on pallet wood; fumigation using Methyl Bromide. First, I would like to state that using these pallets that have been fumigated using methyl bromide could be extremely dangerous to your health!

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

All About Part 1: Heat treatment

Hello Readers!

I wanted to take this time to go further in depth on the use of heat treatment in pallets here in the U.S. and other U.N. member nations. This week I felt that conveying the truths about these processes would be important in clearing up a lot of confusion that

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

The Truth Must be Revealed!

Hello Readers!

I have been writing to this blog for the past few weeks to share my endeavors with pallet woodworking, and over that time I have seen my blog grow exponentially. This is definitely an exciting time for me as I get to share all of these experiences with more and more of you, however, it has been received with some mixed reviews as well.

Monday, July 30, 2012

Progress, Progress and more Progress!

Hello Readers!

This past weekend, a major trend took place, it rained constantly and unrelentlessly. That being said, I was able to utilize my carport this weekend to get things moving on the pallet entertainment center, and the recycled lumber crib mobile. So lets dive right into the action!

Friday, July 27, 2012

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Blast from my not so distant past: Bread Box!

Hello all!

This was a gift that I made for my fiance the year before our wedding. This breadbox was my first wood working creation that I built with my own two hands, so please excuse the crudeness of the door! It is all purchased wood that I picked up from a hardware

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Temptation Neutralized! Entertainment Center Update.

Hello Readers!

So yesterday evening was very productive indeed, although I did not get as far as I wanted, I was able to get  a good leg up. Yesterday was also an incredibly tough trial of temptation.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

The work ahead!

Hello Readers!

Today I have a goal set in mind for the entertainment center and mobile builds. I feel this will be important for  me to set these goals to ensure I have all the different parts available as I need them. To see the plans for these builds that I put together please visit their respective links.

Entertainment Center: (http://blogspud.blogspot.com/2012/07/pallet-board-corner-entertainment.html)

Today I am focusing

Monday, July 23, 2012

Why I Pallet Craft!



Hello All,

This is part of my series Pallet Craft on my blog. It is pooring out once again, and because I have nowhere else to work on my projects except for my mobile work station (outdoors), I decided to blog about why I do what I do.

Woodworking in general came to me as something foriegn that I had never really given a lot of thought of doing (I mean common, I was a tech student), I thought

Friday, July 20, 2012

Got the parts from the side of the road!...Seriously!

Hey all!

Today I have something cool to share! So we just got a bunk bed second hand for my daughter to have in her room.As we were building it we were saying to ourselves that we wanted to put her stuffed animals on the

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Pallet Craft: Rainy day, perfect for brainstorming!

Hello All,

Well today was kind of a bummer, a rain day interupted my plans to wood work, but my wife suggested a project that she would like me to do... a mobile for our daughter's crib. "BRILLIANT!" I thought to myself as I grabbed a pen and some

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Sign Carpenter!



Hello Everyone!
So I have been blogging at my site: Pallet Craft and I realized I haven’t talked about my name sign in ASL. I am not deaf nor do I have any deaf children, but my wife wanted to

Monday, July 16, 2012

Blast from My not so Distant Past! Wedding Cake Table!

Hello All,

Well I did some inventory of my pallet stock and I need more pallets to begin my entertainment center project (http://blogspud.blogspot.com/2012/07/pallet-board-corner-entertainment.html). So I have to wait till I can re-assess my inventory after my next pallet pickup on Wednesday evening.

In the mean time however, I

Pallet Craft: Never buy wood filler again!

Hello All,

OK so working with pallets is not always perfect, the wood is definitely not top grade by any means and I will not pretend it is. So occasionally you are going to want to use a wood filler at some point. Now Elmer's, as well as Varathane and Rustoleum sell wood filler that is pretty good, but the cost can add up significantly and this is especially so if you are an active wood worker. So here is my "not new but surprisingly overlooked" method.

Step 1: Collect

Friday, July 13, 2012

Pulling Boards from a Pallet (without rendering them useless)

Hello all,

I have been working with pallets a lot lately and I thought to myself "what if folks want to do this too?"

So I decided to share what I found to be the best way to remove a board from the pallet without destroying the pieces.

Step 1: Cut the boards off of the top of the pallet.

From the edges as close to the brace boards as possible, cut the top boards (top because there are more boards on top usually) with a laser circular saw or hand saw if you have none.

Step 2: Pry the