Have you seen pallets hanging around your local store or shopping center and wondered what you could do with them? Pallets offer a great raw material and are easy to turn into your own piece of furniture. If you’re not sure where to get pallets just start asking around at stores near you. Pallets arrive at stores carrying their merchandise but if businesses don’t reuse them, they have to find a way to get rid of them. That’s where you come in!
Pallet furniture can be made in a number of ways. They can be used in their original form by adding something to it (like metal hairpin legs) or dismantling the pallet and using it for raw material. Keeping the pallet in its original form is the quickest and easiest way to use it. You can make something simple like a table by locating a secure location in each corner to attach the metal legs. And this could be your final version depending on your intended use – it would be perfect for setting large plant pots on outside, for example. But it could also be a good foundation for something more finished like adding a glass tabletop.
Another way to use a pallet entails taking it apart and using the wood to build something else. Pallets can be taken apart by prying the pieces from each other with something like a pry bar. It could also be dismantled by sawing the pieces away – either by cutting the un-nailed wood away from the rest or by cutting right through the nails if you have appropriate power tools. If you’re using parts of the wood with nail remnants remaining, be sure to avoid them when using any other tool like a planer, or when screwing the table legs into the wood. Of course only do what you’re comfortable with and use appropriate safety gear like eye safety.
Now you are left with wooden pieces ready to put into any shape you’d like them. You can make a table, bench, or even a cabinet or shelving. Our metal table legs go well with the rugged look of rough-cut pallet wood and the more refined look of sanded and finished pallet wood. Have fun building your creation and remember to send us a picture!
